Jill Halfpenny (born 15th July 1975 in Gateshead) appeared on Coronation Street between December 1999 and December 2000 as Rebecca Hopkins, a nurse at Weatherfield General and lover of Martin Platt.
Best known for her roles as Nicola Dobson in Byker Grove, Kate Mitchell in EastEnders and Izzie Redpath in Waterloo Road, her other television credits include roles in The Bill, Touching Evil, Peak Practice, Breeze Block, Mount Pleasant, Wild at Heart, Lightfields, Babylon, In the Club, Humans, Three Girls, Liar, Stone, Year of the Rabbit, Dark Money, The Drowning, The Holiday, Everything I Know About Love, The Long Shadow and The Cuckoo.
Film roles include Command Approved, How to Stop Being a Loser, Imaginary Boys, Ghost Stories and Walk Like a Panther.
On stage, she appeared in productions of Abigail's Party and Way Upstream.
A second Coronation Street connection came when she narrated the short Argos sponsor bumpers for the programme between January 2021 and April 2023.
Achieving most publicity as the winner of the second series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, she is an ambassador for the children's charity "Kidscape" and was named "Freeman of the Borough of Gateshead" in 2013.
