Debbie Arnold is an English actress, producer and voice artist. She is known for her portrayal of April Branning in BBC soap opera EastEnders between 1995 and 1996. Arnold has portrayed regular characters in EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Doctors, meaning that she has appeared in every current British soap opera.
She began her career on television, in series such as the BBC comedy The Liver Birds. When she was 18 years old, she was given a job impersonating Marilyn Monroe on Now Who Do You Do?. She then pursued voice roles, specialising in British and American dialects. In 1978, Arnold was a regular on the ITV gameshow 3-2-1. She has had roles in many television series including: Shoestring, Terry and June, Minder, The Two Ronnies, C.A.T.S. Eyes, Rockliffe's Babies, The Bill, The Russ Abbot Show, The Jim Davidson Show as well as Jim Davidson's sitcomUp the Elephant and Round the Castle, Miss Marple, All Creatures Great and Small, Birds of a Feather, Jonathan Creek, ', ', Holby City, and Doctors, among many others. She has also appeared in features such as Oliver Twist, Minder on the Orient Express and, in 2009, she won an award for best actress starring opposite John Altman in the feature filmPhotoshoot. Arnold has also played regular characters in several major British soap operas. She played Sylvie Hicks and Carole Evans in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, Debbie Wilson in Emmerdale, April Branning in EastEnders, Janice Bolton in Hollyoaks; she also appeared in its spin off, .
Theatre
Her theatre credits include The Sleeping Prince at the Haymarket Theatre in London and the festival theatre in Chichester, playing opposite Omar Sharif, for which she won many awards and accolades. Other West End appearances include Hollywood Babylon, Women Behind Bars, Four in a Million, and Last of the Red Hot Lovers at the Strand. She has appeared in many fringe productions and numerous national and international tours. She occasionally appeared in the touring play Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners and she toured in the 2010 production of Keeping Up Appearances as Rose.
Other ventures
Arnold has formed her own production company, Debbie Arnold Productions which has produced numerous radio and TV productions. She has also been the face of the clothing company Etam UK and the hair company Goldwell. Arnold is also founder and face of the online beauty recommendation service Looking Gorgeous. She has also written numerous beauty articles for magazines. In 2012, she released a self-help book, called The Power of Reinvention. Arnold is an ambassador for the UK National Bullying Helpline.
Personal life
Arnold has been married twice. In 1981, she married the actor John Challis, known for playing Boycie in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses. They later divorced in 1985. In 1989, she married the actor David Janson, known for playing Ken Richardson in Get Some In!. They have two children together, one of whom is the actress Ciara Janson, who played Nicole Owen in Hollyoaks and is also a voice artist, and a younger daughter named Talia. They both acted in the BBC English language-teaching series A Weekend Away and A Week by the Sea. Arnold and Janson later divorced in 2002.
