Pregnancy, painful separation, fame in the soap

Jetty star Jenna Coleman is fast becoming one of the most popular and successful actresses on television, alongside the likes of Sarah Lancashire, Suranne Jones and Katherine Jelly – all of whom started out in soap operas.

This week, Jenna stars in BBC One crime thriller The Jetty, playing Detective Ember Manning in the four-part series set in a picturesque lakeside town in Lancashire.

When a fire rages through a building, Ember must discover how the fire is connected to a podcast journalist investigating an unsolved missing person case, as well as an illicit relationship between a man in his twenties and two underage girls…

It’s another unforgettable performance from Jenna, who has already proven herself in “The Serpent,” “Wilderness,” “Victoria” and “Doctor Who.”

Here’s everything you need to know about The Jetty star Jenna Coleman – who is currently pregnant with her first child – including the identity of her partner, her famous ex and how she left Emmerdale…

Who plays Detective Ember Manning in The Jetty?

Actress Jenna Coleman plays Detective Ember Manning in the new BBC One thriller “The Jetty.”

Ember is called to investigate a fire at a holiday home in Lancashire. Somehow, the fire is linked to both a true crime podcaster investigating an unsolved missing person case and a grown man’s relationship with two underage girls. Ember must find out how – and fast.

As Ember gets closer to answers, however, the case becomes entangled with her own personal life. What is the truth about Ember’s past, present, and hometown? And how does it all relate to a fire?

BBC One describes “The Jetty” as “as much a coming-of-age story as it is a crime thriller” and promises that the series will pick up where the Me Too movement left off.

Jenna says of the series: “Working with BBC and Firebird Pictures to bring the complex and enigmatic character of Ember Manning to life has been an incredible experience.

“I can’t wait for everyone to meet this new heroine and discover what lurks beneath the surface of The Jetty.”

What did Jenna experience? How did she become famous?

From Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale to Clara Oswald in Doctor Who, Jenna has enjoyed a steady rise to fame, starting her career on the ITV soap when she was just 19.

The young actress took a break from drama school to audition for the role and made her first appearance in 2005. At the time, she said: “I thank my lucky stars that I started out in this industry with such a fantastic breakthrough.”

Jenna left the soap to play “bad girl” Lindsay James in Waterloo Road, saying playing a schoolgirl at 23 was “surreal”. She then landed the dream role of Clara Oswald in Doctor Who in 2012.

After leaving Doctor Who, Jenna played Queen Victoria in the ITV drama Victoria. In 2018, she portrayed Joanna Lindsay in The Cry before playing Marie-Andrée Leclerc in The Serpent, Johanna Constantine in The Sandman and Liv Taylor in Wilderness.

Her other notable roles include Annie Desmond in the television series Titanic, Susan Brown in Room at the Top, Rosie in Dancing on the Edge and Lydia Wickham in Death Comes to Pemberley. Jenna has also appeared in several theatre productions, including opposite Aidan Turner in Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons.

Why did Jenna leave Doctor Who?

Jenna Coleman played Clara Oswald in Doctor Who, from season 7 in 2012 to season 9 in 2015. She also appeared in the season 11 episode “Twice Upon a Time.”

Clara was the henchman of Peter Capaldi’s twelfth Doctor. Peter played the Doctor with his new buddy Bill (Pearl Mackie) until 2017.

It was reported that Jenna left the popular sci-fi series to play Victoria in the ITV drama, but in an interview she said it was simply the end of her contract.

She told Entertainment Weekly: “My contract was going to expire at the end of last season, so conversations started like, ‘Okay, when and how?'”

In the series, Jenna’s character Clara left the Doctor on Earth to begin his adventures anew. She began travelling with Ashildr in a stolen TARDIS, intending to one day return to Gallifrey to meet her end, but vowed to “take the long road”.

Was Jenna Coleman in Emmerdale?

Jenna’s very first television role was as Jasmine Thomas in the ITV soap Emmerdale in 2005. She stayed until 2009, having appeared in 210 episodes.

Jasmine was the niece of Ashley Thomas and eventually came out as a lesbian. In a later storyline, Jasmine began a relationship with Debbie Dingle.

Her most significant story was when she killed shady cop Shane when he tried to rape her. His body was eventually found and in March 2009, Jasmine was charged with manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison. She and Debbie said their love would last forever. It didn’t.

Who is Jenna Coleman’s boyfriend?

Actress Jenna Coleman is in a relationship with director Jamie Childs. The two met while filming Netflix’s Sandman – an adaptation of the popular comic series by Neil Gaiman.

Jamie and Jenna reportedly fell in love on the set of the Netflix drama The Sandman in 2020. Jenna played the occult detective Johanna Constantine in the fantasy drama and appeared in three episodes of the eleven-part series. Jamie Childs directed four episodes of the series.

He is also known for directing episodes of His Dark Materials, Willow, Lucky Man, Vera and Doctor Who – although not episodes featuring Jenna.

In 2023, Jamie directed his girlfriend Jenna again, this time in the film Jackdaw, which he also wrote.

Is Jenna Coleman pregnant?

Actress Jenna Coleman is currently expecting her first child. The Emmerdale star was first spotted on the red carpet with her growing baby bump on June 19th.

The actress was attending a celebratory dinner for the launch of ‘Imaginary Conversations: An ERDEM Collection Inspired by Duchess Deborah’ at Chatsworth House. Jenna appeared to be glowing as she wore a green, black and white floral dress and smiled for the camera for a snap.

The actress had previously told Harper’s Bazaar that she was in no hurry to have children: “Half of my friends have babies, half don’t, so it doesn’t feel like pressure. I want to take my time. There’s a lot more of the world that I need to see first.”

She joked about her role as Queen Victoria, who had nine children, adding: “I would like to have children one day. But not nine. I can tell you that for sure.”

The actress previously joked that she experienced labour pains while playing the Queen in the series Victoria, and she admitted that she watched several episodes of the reality show One Born Every Minute to prepare for the role.

Jenna joked to Jonathan Ross on his talk show: “I’ve done a lot of birthing scenes now, I’m running out of birthing sounds. I just gave birth to my seventh child. And there’s no pain relief yet.”

She added: “To be honest, I find that when I get adrenaline building and then I don’t think about it and then I watch it again, I sounded like a sheep when I saw something I saw before. I just took in loads of caffeine and then I got really hyped up. I’m sure one day, maybe if I ever have a child, I’ll realise I was completely wrong.”

Was she dating Victoria’s co-star Tom Hughes?

Jenna previously dated her Victoria co-star Tom Hughes, who played her on-screen husband Albert. The couple were together for four years.

However, the Daily Mail reported that the two split in 2020. A source told the newspaper: “They are trying to save the friendship but it is obviously difficult times and it is not easy.”

“Both Tom and Jenna are terribly sad, but the relationship has run its course. There was no third party involved.”

Before Tom, Jenna dated Game of Thrones and Bodyguard star Richard Madden for four years. The two are still friends today.

She also had to publicly deny rumors that she had been with Prince Harry before he met Meghan Markle.

How old is Jenna? Where is she from?

Jenna-Louise Coleman was born on April 27, 1986 in Blackpool, Lancashire.

She is currently 38 years old.

The actress attended Arnold School in Blackpool and was then offered a chance to study English at the University of York. However, she turned down the offer to take up the role of Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale.

Read more: First look at Jenna Coleman in BBC One thriller ‘The Jetty’, where she hints at ‘complex character’

The Jetty premieres on Monday 15 July 2024 at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Episode 2 will air on Tuesday 16 July 2024 at the same time.

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