Charlie Brooks

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This article is about the actress, for other uses see Charles Brooks (disambiguation).

Charlie Brooks

Born	Charlene Brooks May 3, 1981 (1981-05-03) (age 27) Barmouth, Wales, UK

Charlene Brooks (born May 3, 1981, Barmouth, Wales, UK) is a Welsh actress best known for playing the role of Janine Evans (neé Butcher) in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1999 until 2004. She returned to this role for four episodes in April 2008. But she will return in Autumn 2008 permanently.

[edit] Acting career

Brooks has also appeared in episodes of The Bill, London's Burning, Jonathan Creek and The Demon Headmaster.

In a break from EastEnders in spring 2003, Brooks appeared in a Bill Kenwright production of the play Office Games at the Pleasance Theatre in London opposite fellow Soap Opera Alumnus Adam Rickitt.

Brooks had a chance to show off her versatile acting skills whilst working at EastEnders as she portrayed Janine in a number of harrowing storylines involving cocaine addiction, prostitution and murder. She filmed a behind the scenes show for the BBC "The rise and fall of Janine Butcher" which aired in February 2004. It showed the history of the character Janine Butcher and also followed Brooks as she filmed her most dramatic scenes involving the murder of Janine's husband Barry Evans.

In May 2004, Brooks left EastEnders; after her character Janine was wrongly arrested for the murder of Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman). Her character's trial took place 18 months later, but she did not appear on screen and the character was cleared of murder.

At the 2005 British Soap Awards, Charlie won the award for Best Exit.^[1]

Since leaving EastEnders, Brooks has appeared in the ITV1 drama The Golden Hour, the BBC medical drama Casualty, the 2005 BBC adaptation of Bleak House, the independent film Take 3 Girls which is yet to be released, an episode of ITV's Heartbeat and as the voice of Mary Dixon for the BBC Radio adaptation, Dixon of Dock Green.

In December 2005, Brooks released the work-out DVD Charlie Brooks - Before and After Workout, which rapidly became the biggest-selling fitness release in the country.

During 2005, she had been approached by EastEnders bosses to return as Janine for a trial, as they had successfully approached Janine's father Frank (played by Mike Reid) for a brief comeback. She rejected the offer and the trial was filmed without her, instead focusing on the activities outside of the court. According to press reports, EastEnders bosses offered her the chance to return during the summer of 2006, but she turned the offer down, however in May 2007, Brooks admitted that she might one day return to EastEnders "if the time was right". She made a brief return in April 2008 to attend the funeral of her character's father, Frank Butcher.^[2]

In May 2006, Brooks played Beverley Allitt to much critical acclaim in a BBC1 docu-drama called Beverley Allitt: Angel of Death.^[3] In 2007 she appeared in a short run of Our Country's Good at the Liverpool Playhouse and later that year appeared in a second series of both Robin Hood and Love Soup for the BBC.^[4] ^[5] The Sun announced on 5 November 2007 that Charlie will make her return to EastEnders in the spring of 2008, appearing for four episodes to attend the funeral of Janine's father Frank Butcher (played by Mike Reid, who died in real life on 29 July 2007).

Charlie briefly reprised her role in April 2008, however Charlie announced that same month she is considering a full-time return to the show. She said "We have spoken about it, and we will just have to play it by ear."^[6] ^[7]

On May 2, 2008 it was announced she will be returning permanently to EastEnders in Autumn 2008. On May 15, 2008 Charlie announced her intentions to remain at EastEnders for just a year and said she will leave for good in 2009.^[8]