| Cheryl Fergison | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cheryl Ann Campbell 4 March 1964 South East London, London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | White British |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Notable works | See below |
| Television | EastEnders |
| Spouse | Jamshed Saddiqi (divorced) Yassim al-Jemoni (2011—) |
| Children | 1 son |
Cheryl Fergison (born Cheryl Ann Campbell on 4 March 1964) is a British actress most notable for playing Heather Trott in the long running BBC soap opera EastEnders.
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After training at Rose Bruford College, Fergison started playing the role of Heather Trott in June 2007. The idea of Heather was conceived by the EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer. Prior to starring as Heather, Fergison made a brief appearance on the show as a friend of Mo Harris.
Her stage credits include Measure For Measure, for the Royal Shakespeare Company[1] and most recently the 2006 season at the Scoop at More London.[2]
She also appeared in The Bill in 2005 as Katie Williams, a prison inmate. Fergison is also known for playing Joanna Harding, the "Big Fat Lezza" in the Linda Flint sketches of Little Britain, opposite David Walliams. She also played Judy in The IT Crowd. Other British television series in which she has appeared include 'Allo 'Allo!, Little Miss Jocelyn, Bad Girls and Casualty, as well as playing Mrs. Lloyd in two episodes of Doctor Who, "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances". Fergison also starred in a Keane promotional video for Atlantic, which is on the Under The Iron Sea DVD.
Fergison made her first appearance in EastEnders on 26 June 2007. She had previously appeared in the soap as a cellmate of Mo Harris.
In November 2007, Fergison participated in the Children in Need charity appeal alongside her EastEnders co-stars which was broadcast on BBC One. On 26 June 2008, she appeared on an EastEnders special of the quiz show The Weakest Link and emerged victorious. She won £22,700 for Great Ormond Street charity.
Since appearing on EastEnders, she has made a variety of television appearances on shows such as GMTV, The Paul O'Grady Show, This Morning and Loose Women. She won 'Best Comedy Performance' Award in the 2008 Inside Soap Awards. She was also nominated in the same category and for the Best Onscreen Partnership Award (alongside Linda Henry) at the 2008 British Soap Awards. She starred in Lets Dance For Sport Relief, and danced to Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. She also appeared in the fourth episode of series 7 of Shooting Stars on BBC Two, broadcast in August 2010.
On 17th September 2011, it was revealed that Fergison had been axed from Eastenders and would leave at the end of her current contract, departing the show in early 2012.
Fergison divorced her husband, Jamshed Saddiqi, in 2008.[3] She currently lives in Sidcup with her son.[3] She said giving birth on EastEnders was more difficult than giving birth in real life, due to the many takes needed to complete the scene on EastEnders compared to having a caesarean whilst having her real son. In May 2011 she married toyboy Gianni Palmiero.[4] In 2009, Fergison revealed that she is diabetic and clinically obese.[3] She is a vegetarian.[5]