Charlie Brooks who played cunning Janine Butcher on Eastenders has been pretty busy since exiting the BBC one soap on Boxing Day. The actress has opened up about her new business venture and is launching a venture in the sex toy industry.
Having spent almost 25 years flitting in and out of the streets of Walford, Charlie is exploring the world of female pleasure and has designed a new vibrator after going on a “journey of the body and mind.”
Charlie was born in Hertfordshire but moved to Barmouth in North Wales with her family when she was young until the age of 13, when she persuaded her parents to let her go to drama school in London.
She first appeared on Eastenders back in 1999, after the character of Janine Butcher was re-introduced following Alexia Demetriou's departure. As the infamous Janine, she married five times; Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) whom she killed on New Year's Day 2004, David (Harry Towb), Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott), Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd) and Mick Carter (Danny Dyer).
In the early 2000s, Charlie met Ibiza nightclub owner Tony Truman, who she dated for a few years before having their daughter, Kiki, in 2004, when Charlie was 23. The couple parted ways in 2007, however they have continued to co-parent Kiki and are said to be on good terms with one another as she shared on Yahoo's White Wine Question Time podcast last year, the pair would always be family. "We are going to grow old together, just in a very different way," she said. “He is absolutely my family and nothing will ever change that.”
Charlie also dated an architect, Ben Hollington, for a few years after they were introduced by mutual friends, however have now split. She said on the podcast that Ben was an "amazing" person.
The actress was crowned Queen of the Jungle in 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here' back in 2012 triumphing over former Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts. The then 31-year-old said of her victory to Ant and Dec, “I never imagined this for a million years.”
Charlie has previously opened up about her mental health. In 2021, she told the Loose Women panel that she has stopped drinking alcohol as it was feeding her anxiety.
“It's hard to quit. I see booze differently now I've come out the other side," she said. "For example my sleeping pattern was awful, it made it clear. I really wanted to explore what else was out there for me to do and I love the clarity that has come from me giving up wine. I miss the odd glass, not going to lie, but fundamentally life is so much better.”
Recently, Brooks revealed on Instagram that “the secret is out” as she revealed her new toy which was four years in the making.
“I designed a vibrator. I know. Wild. Battled through a lot of everything to get this to you today. I started from where I was. Ordered some clay. Talked to friends, product designers, anyone who knew anyone who might help. I reached out.
“It’s Called The U. And it’s all about U. It’s won a f***** award! It has new tech, @jacquelinegoldcbe of Ann Summers has backed me and I couldn’t be more grateful and proud. @annsummers were in total alignment with my vision for this product, which is so much more than just a vibrator,” she wrote.
The entrepreneur admitted she was “fed up of not feeling comfortable” in her body and admitted she didn’t know enough about it.
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, she said discovered that the clitoris was the shape of a wishbone and woke up in the middle of the night wondering why there isn't a vibrator that surrounds the clitoris and doesn’t penetrate.
“I ordered some clay and I started making it around my kitchen table.
"I spoke to friends, I told them it’s going to be in the shape of a 'U' and it’s going to surround the vulva and it’s going be called The U and they said, ‘You should do it, you should do it!'
"It’s been a really interesting journey for me for exactly those reasons," she said. "The fear that I’ve felt doing [the business]. I’ve had so much self-doubt and uncertainty.
"But I just had this idea and I thought there must be something like this on the market, research, research, research, and there was nothing,” she said.
Fear not as the 41-year-old hasn’t turned her back on the acting industry altogether, as she teases a potential fourth return for Janine, despite her character being behind bars.
“I'm still getting messages of hate about breaking up Mick and Linda but I was so honoured to be part of that storyline and to work with those two. I love Danny and Kellie so much,” she said on This Morning.
“We really had a fantastic eighteen months and I loved my time there. I was so honoured to be there and be part of that massive storyline and see Danny Dyer out of the house.
“She's so high drama, I don't know how you'd keep a character like that in the show without diluting them slightly. I think she can be a useful tool and cause some explosions and go there again," she added.
The star is continuing to act on stage in a touring adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s book The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
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