One of the nation's favourite actresses, Jenna Coleman, kick-started her career in the Dales, with the star appearing in lots of major films and TV shows since leaving Emmerdale.
Jenna Coleman has become a household name for various reasons. The 36-year-old actress is already a fan favourite through generations thanks to her varied TV and film roles, but many might not know her career first started in the Yorkshire-based soap.
Jenna played Jasmine Thomas between 2005 and 2009 in the ITV soap appearing in 180 episodes. During her time on the soap she was nominated for a National Television Award and in the TV Choice Awards.
Read more: Emmerdale stars who have appeared in major Hollywood films
Jenna left Emmerdale when her character journalist Jasmine Thomas clubbed boyfriend Shane Doyle to death. After being questioned by the police, she was charged with manslaughter. Jasmine pleads guilty and is sentenced to four years in prison.
After Emmerdale, Jenna went on to appear in Waterloo Road, Doctor Who and Victoria. She’s also one of many Emmerdale stars who have had roles in big Hollywood films.
In her early life, Jenna, attended Arnold School in Blackpool, where she was head girl. While at school, she was a member of the theatre company In Yer Space, with whom she performed in the play Crystal Clear at the Edinburgh Festival.
She won an award for her performance, and the play was also received favourably. She was offered a place to study English at the University of York, but turned it down in order to accept her Emmerdale role.
However, this was only the beginning of her career as in the spring of 2009, the soap star joined Waterloo Road, as Lindsay James and subsequently left Emmerdale. After several roles in BBC dramas, Jenna made her feature film debut in 2011 after she appeared briefly in the Marvel hit Captain America: The First Avenger as a woman called Connie.
Jenna's big break came in 2012 when she bagged a role in Doctor Who. Then producer Steven Moffat confirmed during a press conference that the former Emmerdale actor would play the companion of the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, having previously appeared in a one-off role in the show.
She has gone on to land major roles in several other major TV shows, she starred as Queen Victoria in the period drama Victoria, Joanna Lindsay in the crime miniseries The Cry, and Marie-Andrée Leclerc in the crime miniseries The Serpent.
Other film roles include Me Before You in 2016 and most recently, Jenna portrayed Johanna Constantine in Netflix fantasy drama series The Sandman earlier this year.
You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.
Read next:
