--- name: "Linda Henry" canonical: "https://film.one/person/linda-henry" fi1m_id: "linda-henry" imdb_id: "nm0377905" tmdb_id: 42582 wikidata_id: "Q2750868" roles: ["Actor"] born: "24 August 1959" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 81 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-17T22:13:17.659077+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Linda Henry ## Identity Linda Henry - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/linda-henry - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** linda-henry - **IMDb ID:** nm0377905 - **TMDB ID:** 42582 - **Wikidata ID:** Q2750868 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Henry, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2750868, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377905/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/42582 Actor. Born 24 August 1959 in Peckham, London, England, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 24 August 1959, Peckham, London, England, UK - **Active:** 1982–1996 - **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as actor, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 82 (1), 1990s 80 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Henry, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2750868, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377905/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/42582 ## Fi1m on Linda Henry > Linda Henry is good at making affection and exasperation believable in the same woman. *Beautiful Thing* gives her room to be funny, difficult and tender, and it is where we would start with her work. In *Beautiful Thing* (1996), Linda Henry lets Sandra Gangel be an exasperated mother without making her affection look doubtful. She has the force to take over the comedy, but she never seems to be performing in a broader film than the young couple around her. We were moved by that affection because Henry makes it credible in a woman who is not always easy company. The part allows her to be difficult without requiring an apology for it. Her film work includes Kim in *For Queen & Country* (1988), but the longer commitments have been in television. She played Yvonne Atkins in the prison drama *Bad Girls* (1999–2003), then began playing Shirley Carter in *EastEnders* in 2006. Between those roles came another Shirley, a supporting part alongside Danny Dyer in *The Business* (2005). The recurring casting is as resilient, outspoken working-class women; *Beautiful Thing* shows why that description need not mean a character whose only contribution is to be tough. Jonathan Harvey gives the supporting characters in *Beautiful Thing* their own awkwardness and contradictions, and Henry makes good use of that permission. Tameka Empson, as Leah, is another reason the people around the boys are worth watching. Together, these performances keep the film from becoming too solemn about its tenderness. They also expose its weakness: the boys need fuller lives on the page, and the supporting characters can seem more interesting. That is a reservation about the writing, not a reason to ask Henry to do less. We would like to see more film parts that leave her this much room for comedy. Her ability to dominate the comedy without making Sandra seem to belong in a different film is a substantial part of *Beautiful Thing*'s appeal. Start with *Beautiful Thing*, and pay as much attention to the mother as to the couple. ## Biography Linda Henry is an English actress. Born on 24 August 1959 in Peckham, London, she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art after spending time with the Old Vic Youth Theatre. She is known for her role as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV drama series *Bad Girls* (1999–2003) and as Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera *EastEnders* (2006–2022). She had previously appeared in *EastEnders* as Lorraine Salter (1991–1992). Henry played Sandra Gangel in the film *Beautiful Thing* (1996) and appeared in *The Business* (2005). Other credits include *Cracker* (1993), *Prime Suspect* (1991), *A Touch of Frost* (1992) and *For Queen & Country* (1988). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Beautiful Thing* (1996), Fi1m 80, as Sandra Gangel — [page](https://film.one/film/beautiful-thing.md) - *The Young Ones* (1982), Fi1m 82, as Girl at party — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-young-ones.md) ## Complete filmography (24) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Business* (2005), as Shirley - *Bad Girls* (1999), series, as Yvonne Atkins - *Trial & Retribution* (1997), series, as Marilyn Spark - *Born to Run* (1997), series, as Judith - *The Vanishing Man* (1997), series, as Olivia - *Beautiful Thing* (1996), as Sandra Gangel — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/beautiful-thing.md) - *Cracker* (1993), series, as Mrs Perry — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/tv/cracker.md) - *Don't Leave Me This Way* (1993), as Janet Weir - *A Touch of Frost* (1992), series, as Sue Venables — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/a-touch-of-frost.md) - *Prime Suspect* (1991), series, as Forensic Scientist — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/prime-suspect.md) - *Yellowbacks* (1990), as Carol Fairwater - *Birds of a Feather* (1989), series, as Viv McCarthy - *The Nineteenth Hole* (1989), series, as Council Tenant - *Eurocops* (1988), series, as Linda Jackson - *For Queen & Country* (1988), as Kim - *The Yob* (1988), as Jackie - *Love Birds* (1988), as Barbara - *The Play on One* (1988), series, as Carol Fairwater - *Rockliffe's Babies* (1987), series, as Sharon Hagerty - *Casualty* (1986), series, as Diane Daw — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/casualty.md) - *EastEnders* (1985), series, as Shirley Carter — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/eastenders.md) - *Screen Two* (1985), series, as Barbara - *The Young Ones* (1982), series, as Girl at party — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-young-ones.md) - *The Comic Strip Presents...* (1982), series, as Jackie --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/linda-henry