Kéllé Bryan
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|---|---|
Bryan in 2019
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| Born | (1975-03-12) 12 March 1975 (age 49) |
| Alma mater | Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouses |
Jay Gudgeon (m. 2010) |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres |
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| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels |
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| Formerly of | Eternal |
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Musical artist
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| Website | www |
Kéllé Bryan (born 12 March 1975) is an English singer and actress, known as a member of girl group Eternal. In 2018, she began portraying the role of Martine Deveraux in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, a role she played until 2022. She is also part of the Loose Women panel.
Bryan was born on 12 March 1975 in Plaistow, Greater London.[1] Aged 11, Bryan joined the Italia Conti Academy stage school, where she completed eight years of performing arts and qualified as a dance teacher. While at the school, she met Louise Nurding – the pair met executive record producer Denis Ingoldsby, who was forming a girl group.[2] According to Louise, Eternal was initially planned as a trio consisting of her and the Bennett sisters. But then it was proposed that it could be a quartet, so Louise suggested her best friend Kéllé.[3]
Bryan appeared in ITV's The Bill, and on 31 March 1992 she appeared as Debbie in BBC's EastEnders who was a college friend of Lloyd Tavernier (Garey Bridges).[4]
In 1993, Bryan and Nurding, together with sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett formed the 1990s British R&B girl group Eternal. Eternal sold millions of albums,[5] including 16 consecutive top 15 UK chart singles such as "Stay", "Just a Step from Heaven", "Oh Baby I", "Power of a Woman", "I Am Blessed", "Someday", "Don't You Love Me", "I Wanna Be the Only One" and "Angel of Mine".[citation needed] According to Bryan, without Louise,[5] who left before the start of the recording sessions for the second album[citation needed] she was "frozen out" by the Bennett sisters and eventually fired by their solicitor by fax.[5]
Following her departure from Eternal, Bryan signed a record deal with Mercury Records and began work on her debut solo album, Breakfast in Bed, which would never be released.[5] Her debut single, "Higher than Heaven", was dropped in the UK on September 20, 1999,[6] and debuted at number 14 on the national chart.[7] The second one, "I Wanna Know", was to be released in 2000, but was cancelled.[8]
In 2006, Bryan was a contestant on Love Island 2, finishing as the female runner-up.[5]
In 2008, she contributed backing vocals to "I Found Love", the debut single by Lankai. Bryan also had starring roles in the musical comedy, The X-Tra Factor and a film called The Naked Poet, playing the part of Michelle.[9] In 2012, she played the part of Fran in the BBC comedy Me and Mrs Jones.[10] Bryan joined the cast of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks in September 2018, portraying the role of Martine Deveraux.[11] From May 2019, she has been appearing regularly on ITV's show Loose Women.[12] After four years of appearing on Hollyoaks, Bryan announced her exit from the show on 3 June 2022 with her final scenes airing that same day.[13]
On 1 June 2023, Bryan made a surprise appearance on stage at former bandmate Louise's Shepherd's Bush Empire concert where they performed 1994 Eternal single "Crazy".[14]
Bryan was diagnosed with lupus in 1998 and is a patron of St Thomas' Lupus Trust.[15]
In 2010, she married Jay Gudgeon.[16] The pair have two children together.[17]
In 2014, Bryan began to develop serious symptoms of her lupus. She lost a lot of hair, her sight, hearing, and movement deteriorated, and she was unable to speak. She then had a seizure, and the doctors confirmed that her lupus was affecting her brain.[18] After the seizure, Bryan had to relearn how to read and write, and continues to struggle with short-term memory loss.[19]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Breakfast in Bed |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK[20] | |||
| "Higher than Heaven" | 1999 | 14 | Non-album single |
| "I Wanna Know"[8] | 2000 | cancelled | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | EastEnders | Debbie | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Celebrity Love Island | Herself | Runner-up |
| 2007 | The Virus | Nurse | Short film |
| 2009 | The Brothers | Jen | Main role |
| 2012 | Me and Mrs Jones | Fran | Main role |
| 2012 | Rocket's Island | Wendy Sparks | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Naked Poet | Michelle | Film |
| 2018–2022 | Hollyoaks | Martine Deveraux | Series regular |
| 2019–present | Loose Women | Herself | Panelist |
| 2023 | Significant Other | Shelley | Main role |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–2006 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Jill | Buxton Opera House |
| 2006–2007 | Cinderella | Cinderella | Catford Theatre |
| 2007–2008 | Cinderella | Cinderella | Oakengates Theatre |
| 2008–2009 | Aladdin | Princess Jasmine | Rickmansworth Watersmeet Theatre |
| 2009–2010 | Cinderella | Cinderella | Derby Assembly Rooms |
| 2010–2011 | Cinderella | Cinderella | The Playhouse, Weston Super Mare |
| 2023-2024 | Snow White | Good Fairy Elementa | Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton |
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Actress | Nominated | [21] |
| 2020 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [22] |
| 2020 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Performance | Nominated | [23] |
| 2021 | 26th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | Nominated | [24] |
| 2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [25] |
| 2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (shared with Richard Blackwood) | Nominated | [25] |
| 2021 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Performance | Nominated | [26] |
| 2022 | The British Soap Awards | Best Leading Performer | Nominated | [27] |
{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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