Gemma Bissix (born 6 June 1983) is an English actress. She has been acting since the age of 9. Her most prominent roles have been in soap operas, as Clare Bates in EastEnders (1993–1998, 2008) and Clare Devine in Hollyoaks (2006–2007, 2009, 2013); she was awarded with two British Soap Awards for the latter role. Away from soap opera, Bissix has appeared in various television programmes and she competed in the 2009 series of Dancing on Ice. She has appeared in various pantomimes. Bissix returned to Hollyoaks in 2013.
Gemma Bissix | |
|---|---|
 Gemma Bissix (2010) | |
| Born | Gemma Bissix 6 June 1983 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Television | EastEnders Hollyoaks Dancing on Ice |
Personal life
editBissix was born in St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey, UK, the eldest of five siblings. Her parents divorced when she was 11.[1][2] She was brought up in Elmbridge, Surrey, and attended Thames Ditton Primary School and Hinchley Wood School.[3]
She is a patron of the White Lodge Centre[4] for disabled adults and children in Chertsey, and hosts charity auctions at her father's bar, Reds, in Weybridge.[3]
Career
editActing
editBissix began her acting career at a young age. At the age of nine, in 1993, she was cast as Clare Tyler (later Bates), the daughter of Debbie Tyler (Nicola Duffett) and stepdaughter of Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), in the long-running BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Her first acting role, Bissix had received no formal training, and has since commented, "that was my training [...] quite a lot of people [attend] drama school, I was trained by EastEnders."[5]
Following her departure from EastEnders, Bissix took a break from acting for a few years. After leaving school she ran a pub for two years, worked for her father's electrical wholesalers, and also worked in Marks & Spencer as a bra measurer.[5][6] However, she still desired to act, and continued to audition for roles. In 2000 she guest starred in the Doctor Who radio drama, The Fires of Vulcan, and in 2002 she returned to television, guest starring in an episode of the medical drama series Doctors. She then played Sadie in an episode of the CBBC show The Crust and also appeared in three pantomimes and various adverts.
In April 2006, she joined the cast of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, playing Clare Devine (later Cunningham). She took over the role from model/actress Samantha Rowley, who had played the character since November 2005, but was subsequently axed because the producers wished to take the character, who had been cast as a likeable teenager until this point, into a darker and more "evil" persona, and Rowley did not want to play a villain. Hollyoaks producer Bryan Kirkwood commented, "Gemma was a fantastic asset to the Hollyoaks cast. Recasting Gemma in the role of Clare was the first thing I did when I joined Hollyoaks and it was a decision which paid off handsomely. She was excellent in the role of Clare Cunningham and I wish her all the best of luck..."[7]
On 19 September 2007, it was announced that Bissix would be reprising her role as Clare Bates in EastEnders, ten years after she had last appeared in the soap.[8] She was reintroduced by the executive producer of EastEnders, Diederick Santer, and returned on-screen on 1 February 2008. Of her decision to return to EastEnders, Bissix has said "I'm ecstatic. It really is fantastic. Clare's a deeper character [than Clare was in Hollyoaks] – I've got more scope with her and it's more of a challenge. I'm back home...".[9] It was announced on 23 May 2008 that Bissix was leaving the soap once again in Summer 2008.[10]
She returned to Hollyoaks as Clare Devine for a brief stint in May 2009.[11] Discussing her soap opera roles in EastEnders and Hollyoaks Bissix said, "For me they're completely different. I prefer Hollyoaks Clare because she is just so much fun to play. I was saying to somebody that if she was in the real world, she'd be in prison or on death row. With the EastEnders Clare she was more realistic. We all know somebody like that – a little tart trying to get a bit of money where she can."[12] On 5 February 2013 it was confirmed that Bissix would reprise her role as villain Clare Devine, and made her final appearance in the soap on 16 October 2013, after the character of Clare was killed off.[13]
Bissix appeared in the fourth episode of ITV musical drama series, Britannia High, titled Fame.[14] She toured in Victor Leigh's stage play The Game Of Murder for two months, beginning August 2009.[15] She appeared in pantomime as the Bad Fairy in Sleeping Beauty at the Theatre Royal, Bath in December 2009.[16] It was also reported in 2009 that she is the new face of Echo Falls wine.[3] In 2010 she appeared in pantomime again as Cinderella at Fairfield Halls, Croydon,[1] and in Spring 2011, she appeared in the murder mystery theatre production, Busybody.[17]
She ended 2011 by making another pantomime appearance at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable in Jack and the Beanstalk.[18] Bissix toured the UK as Shirley Smith in Mike Stott's comedy play, Funny Peculiar, in 2012.[19]
Other television work
editOn 14 March 2008, Bissix appeared on a Sport Relief special of Strictly Come Dancing, with cricketer Darren Gough, to raise money for the charity appeal. The pair scored 22 out of 30 points with their dance, the American Smooth. She also appeared in an EastEnders special edition of The Weakest Link, in June 2008. She was the 1st one voted off.
Bissix appeared on Dancing on Ice in 2009. She was partnered with Andrei Lipanov, but became the first female to be eliminated after failing to win the judges support in the skate-off with Melinda Messenger. 'Bissix said she was "absolutely gutted" at being voted off as she was the show's "biggest fan".'[20] She later took part in the Sense City Ice Skate challenge in support of Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association.
She participated in the BBC's Celebrity MasterChef, which aired in June 2009.[21] She was selected by the judges to go through to the quarter-final. In October 2009 she appeared on the BBC One show Hole in the Wall.[21] She was a member of the winning team, donating the winnings to the White Lodge centre for disabled adults in Chertsey, of which she is a Patron. In April 2011 she appeared on the Celebrity Edition of the BBC One show Total Wipeout. Since 2009, Bissix has been a panellist on some editions of the Channel 5 talk show The Wright Stuff contributing to a newspaper review and topical debate.[22][23]
Filmography
edit| Year | Programme | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–1998, 2008 | EastEnders | Clare Bates | Series regular |
| 2002 | Doctors | Roxanne Lloyd | Episode: "A Crisis of Faith" |
| 2005 | The Crust | Sadie | Episode 11 – "Pizza Passion" |
| 2006–2007, 2009, 2013 | Hollyoaks | Clare Devine | Series regular |
| 2008 | Britannia High | Lizzie Porter | Episode: "Fame" |
Awards
edit| Year | Ceremony | Award | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The British Soap Awards | Villain of the Year | Hollyoaks as Clare Devine |
Won | [24][21] |
| Best Actress | Nominated | ||||
| Most Spectacular Scene | Nominated | ||||
| Best Storyline | Nominated | ||||
| Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [25] | ||
| Best Bitch | Nominated | ||||
| Best Storyline | Nominated | ||||
| 2008 | Digital Spy Soap Awards | Best Exit | Won | [26] | |
| British Soap Awards | Won | [27] | |||
| Most Spectacular Scene | Won | ||||
| Inside Soap Awards | Best Bitch | Nominated | [28] | ||
| Best Bitch | EastEnders as Clare Bates |
Nominated | [21] |
References
edit- ^ a b Moody, Graham (9 December 2010). "Soap star Gemma Bissix happy to be home in Kingston". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "SAGGY, BAGGY, OLD & ALONE". The People. 24 February 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ a b c Grove, Kerry (9 August 2009). "Elmbridge girl Gemma Bissix asks 'where's better than Surrey?'". Your Local Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Our Patrons". White Lodge Centre. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ a b "This Morning". This Morning. 1 February 2008. ITV. ITV1.
- ^ "Gemma Bissix | Celebrities | Maxim Girls | Maxim Magazine UK". Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
- ^ "Ex-'Hollyoaks' actress returns to 'EastEnders'", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 3 February 2008.
- ^ BBC – EastEnders – News – Gemma Bissix Returns
- ^ "Gemma Bissix: "I'm back home"", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 3 February 2008.
- ^ BBC – EastEnders – News – Gemma Bissix set to leave
- ^ "Exclusive: Gemma Bissix returns to Hollyoaks". Channel 4. 25 March 2009. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
- ^ "TV Guide". Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
- ^ "Gillian Taylforth joins 'Hollyoaks' cast". Digital Spy. 4 February 2013.
- ^ "Gemma Bissix (Clare Bates, 'EastEnders')", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 29 July 2008.
- ^ "Former Hollyoaks actress at Playhouse", Weston and Somerset Mercury. URL last accessed 2 August 2009.
- ^ "Soap actress to star in panto", This is Bath. URL last accessed 7 July 2009.
- ^ "Soap siren Gemma Bissix to star in Busybody at the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe ", Chester Chronicle. URL last accessed 11 April 2011.
- ^ "What's On at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable Archived 30 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine", The Grove Theatre. URL last accessed 17 September 2011.
- ^ "Gemma Bissix – Interview". East Life. 24 March 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "Bissix voted off ITV ice contest". BBC News. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d Ritchie, Gayle (2 July 2012) [18 August 2009]. "Soapstar Gemma Bissix reckons bad girl image has stalled her love life". Daily Record. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "Uxbridge College shows it is made of The Wright Stuff". Hillingdon & Uxbridge Times. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ Duff, Seamus (14 February 2022). "Hollyoaks' Gemma Bissix unrecognisable from Clare Bates 16 years after show debut". The Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "'Hollyoaks' celebrate Soap Awards success", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 3 February 2008.
- ^ "Inside Soap Awards 2007: The Nominations", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 3 February 2008.
- ^ BBC News Online (21 March 2008). "EastEnders wins Digital Spy prize". Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ "The British Soap Awards 2008: The Winners Archived 18 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 5 May 2008.
- ^ "Miles, Tina (8 May 2013) [15 July 2008]. "Love at the 2008 Soap Award nominations". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
External links
edit- Gemma Bissix at IMDb
