Gemma Bissix (born June 6, 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Clare Bates in the BBC One soap EastEnders (1993-1998; 2008— ), and as the second actress to play Clare Devine in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks (2006-2007).
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* 1 Career
o 1.1 Awards
* 2 Personal life
* 3 Notes
* 4 External links

[edit] Career

Bissix began her acting career at a young age. At the age of nine, in 1993, she was cast as Clare Tyler (later Bates), the daughter of Debbie Tyler (Nicola Duffett) and stepdaughter of Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), in the long-running BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Her first acting role, Bissix had received no formal training, and has since commented, "that was my training [...] quite a lot of people [attend] drama school, I was trained by EastEnders."[1] She played the role for 6 years, but was eventually written out of the serial in 1998, after Paul Bradley (the actor who played her character's stepfather), decided to leave the show.[2]

Following her departure from EastEnders, Bissix took a break from acting for a few years. After leaving school she ran a pub for two years, worked for her dad's electrical wholesalers, selling electrical products for her family business, and also worked in Marks & Spencer as a bra measurer.[1][3] However, she still desired to act, and continued to audition for roles. In 2000 she guest starred in the Doctor Who radio drama, The Fires of Vulcan, and in 2002 she returned to television, guest starring in an episode of the medical drama series Doctors. She then played Sadie in an episode of the CBBC show The Crust and also appeared in three pantomimes and various adverts.

In 2006, she joined the cast of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, playing Clare Devine (later Cunningham). She took over the role from actress Samantha Rowley, who had played the character since 2005, but was subsequently axed. Bissix played villainous Clare for a year, but opted to leave the soap in 2007.[4] Hollyoaks producer Bryan Kirkwood commented, "Gemma was a fantastic asset to the Hollyoaks cast. Recasting Gemma in the role of Clare was the first thing I did when I joined Hollyoaks and it was a decision which paid off handsomely. She was excellent in the role of Clare Cunningham and I wish her all the best of luck..."[5]

On 19 September 2007, it was announced that Bissix would be reprising her role as Clare Bates in EastEnders, ten years after she had last appeared in the soap.[6] She was reintroduced by the executive producer of EastEnders, Diederick Santer, and returned on-screen on 1 February 2008. Of her decision to return to EastEnders, Bissix has said "I'm ecstatic. It really is fantastic. Clare's a deeper character [than Clare was in Hollyoaks] - I've got more scope with her and it's more of a challenge. I'm back home...".[7]

On 14 March 2008, Bissix appeared on a Sport Relief special of Strictly Come Dancing, with cricketer Darren Gough, to raise money for the charity appeal. The pair scored 22 out of 30 points with their dance, the American Smooth.

[edit] Awards

Bissix has received multiple awards and award nominations for her role as Clare Devine in Hollyoaks. At the 2007 British Soap Awards, Bissix was nominated for 'Villain of the Year', 'Best Actress', and was also nominated in the categories 'Most Spectactular Scene of the Year' and 'Best Storyline' (for Clare trying to kill Max Cunningham). She was awarded the 'Villain of the Year'.[8] After her success at the British Soap Awards, Bissix also received award nominations from the Inside Soap Awards for 'Best Actress', 'Best Bitch' and 'Best Storyline", and the National Television Awards, where she was nominated for 'Best Actress