Janet Dibley (born 13 December 1958) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Elaine Walker in the 1980s sitcom The Two of Us, Lorna Cartwright in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, and Elaine Cassidy in the BBC soap opera Doctors.

Janet Dibley
Dibley in May 2009
Born (1958-12-13) 13 December 1958 (age 66)
Alma materRose Bruford College
OccupationActress
Notable workEastEnders
Spouse
(m. 1998)
Children2

Life and career

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Dibley was born on 13 December 1958 in Doncaster.[1] In April 1976, before training at the Rose Bruford College, she appeared in GAS with the National Student Drama Festival, which won the Royal Shakespeare Company's inaugural Buzz Goodbody Award and The Festival Judges' Awards.[2]

Dibley came to public attention playing Elaine in ITV's The Two of Us, a sitcom about a co-habiting couple, which also featured Nicholas Lyndhurst.[3] In 1993, Dibley played the part of Linda in The Gingerbread Girl, a series about a single mother trying to raise her daughter. She then played Lorna Cartwright in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. However, it was reported that she decided to leave the show because she was uncomfortable with the plans for her character; the script writers proposed Lorna became a prostitute and then be gang raped.[4] Dibley agreed an exit strategy, and the plan was abandoned. The producers of Eastenders had planned to make her a central character.

Dibley starred in the BBC drama The Chase, and joined the regular cast of BBC One's daytime soap opera Doctors in August 2010 playing Dr. Elaine Cassidy until September 2012. She appeared in Broadchurch in 2015, and also writes.

Dibley reprised her role of Lorna Cartwright in EastEnders on 17 March 2016. Dibley has also done theatre work with the National Theatre and had roles in Mr Cinders, Carousel, Twelfth Night, Figaro, Guys and Dolls and Cinderella.[5]

Dibley married the actor Tyler Butterworth in 1998;[6] the couple have two sons.[7]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Janet Dibley". British Film Institute. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. ^ "holby.tv | Casualty | Janet Dibley". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  3. ^ The Two Of Us (Summary/Cast) Archived 2007-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Eastender Quits Over Gang Rape[permanent dead link]", "Sunday Mirror" . URL last accessed on 10 November 2007.
  5. ^ Janet Dibley Archived 2002-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Janet Dibley, at home in Eastbourne" Sussex Life (online), accessed 5 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Janet Dibley reflects on her role in the play Kindertransport", Jewish News (online), accessed 5 August 2014.
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