| Kéllé Bryan | |||||||||
| Birth Place: | Plaistow, London, England | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | 12 March 1975 | ||||||||
| Alma Mater: | Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts | ||||||||
| Children: | 2 | ||||||||
| Years Active: | 1991–present | ||||||||
| Module: |
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Kéllé Bryan (born 12 March 1975) is an English singer and actress, known as a member of girl group Eternal.[1] In 2018, she began portraying the role of Martine Deveraux in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, a role she played until 2022. She is also part of the Loose Women panel.
Bryan was born on 12 March 1975 in Plaistow, Greater London.[2] Aged 11, Bryan joined the Italia Conti Academy stage school, where she completed eight years of performing arts and qualified as a dance teacher. While at the school, she met Louise Nurding – the pair met executive record producer Denis Ingoldsby, who was forming a girl group.[3] According to Louise, Eternal was initially planned as a trio consisting of her and the Bennett sisters. But then it was proposed that it could be a quartet, so Louise suggested her best friend Kéllé.[4]
Bryan appeared in ITV's The Bill, and on 31 March 1992 she appeared as Debbie in BBC's EastEnders who was a college friend of Lloyd Tavernier (Garey Bridges).[5]
In 1993, Bryan and Nurding, together with sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett formed the 1990s British R&B girl group Eternal. Eternal sold millions of albums, including 16 consecutive top 15 UK chart singles such as "Stay", "Just a Step from Heaven", "Oh Baby I", "Power of a Woman", "I Am Blessed", "Someday", "Don't You Love Me", "I Wanna Be the Only One" and "Angel of Mine". According to Bryan, without Louise Nurding, who left before the start of the recording sessions for the second album, she was "frozen out" by the Bennett sisters and was eventually fired by their solicitor.[6]
Following her departure from Eternal, Bryan signed a record deal with Mercury Records and began work on her debut solo album, Breakfast in Bed, which would never be released.[7] Her debut single, "Higher than Heaven", was dropped in the UK on 20 September 1999[8] and debuted at number 14 on the national chart.[9] The second one, "I Wanna Know", was set for release on 4 September 2000, but was cancelled[10] shortly before.[11]
In 2006, Bryan was a contestant on Love Island 2, finishing as the female runner-up.
In 2008, she contributed backing vocals to "I Found Love", the debut single by Lankai. Bryan also had starring roles in the musical comedy, The X-Tra Factor and a film called The Naked Poet, playing the part of Michelle.[12] In 2012, she played the part of Fran in the BBC comedy Me and Mrs Jones.[13] Bryan joined the cast of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks in September 2018, portraying the role of Martine Deveraux.[14] From May 2019, she has been appearing regularly on ITV's show Loose Women.[15] After four years of appearing on Hollyoaks, Bryan announced her exit from the show on 3 June 2022 with her final scenes airing that same day.[16]
On 1 June 2023, Bryan made a surprise appearance on stage at former bandmate Louise's Shepherd's Bush Empire concert where they performed 1994 Eternal single "Crazy".[17]
In September 2023, Bryan pulled out of a purported Eternal reunion tour as a show of support of the LGBT community.[18] [19] Redknapp and Bryan reported that Easther and Vernie Bennett had refused to perform at a number of proposed LGBT Pride events over objections that the trans community had "hijacked" Pride.[20] Bennetts' manager Denis Ingoldsby commented that the sisters supported the LGBT community and played at many events, but Vernie has raised concerns about trans activists and trans ideology impacting women and children.[21] Bryan went on to post a statement on her Twitter stating she is “an advocate for inclusion and equality for all.”[22]
Bryan was diagnosed with lupus in 1998 and is a patron of St Thomas' Lupus Trust.[23]
In 2010, she married Jay Gudgeon.[24] The pair have two children together.[25]
In 2014, Bryan began to develop serious symptoms of her lupus. She lost a lot of hair, her sight, hearing, and movement deteriorated, and she was unable to speak. She then had a seizure, and the doctors confirmed that her lupus was affecting her brain.[26] After the seizure, Bryan had to relearn how to read and write, and continues to struggle with short-term memory loss.[27]
See also: Eternal discography.
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[28] | ||||
| "Higher than Heaven" | 1999 | 14 | ||
| "I Wanna Know" | 2000 | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | EastEnders | Debbie | 1 episode | |
| 2006 | Celebrity Love Island | Herself | Runner-up | |
| 2007 | The Virus | Nurse | Short film | |
| 2009 | The Brothers | Jen | Main role | |
| 2012 | Me and Mrs Jones | Fran | Main role | |
| 2012 | Rocket's Island | Wendy Sparks | 3 episodes | |
| 2016 | The Naked Poet | Michelle | Film | |
| 2018–2022 | Hollyoaks | Martine Deveraux | Series regular | |
| 2019–present | Loose Women | Herself | Panelist | |
| 2023 | Significant Other | Shelley | Main role |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–2006 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Jill | Buxton Opera House | |
| 2006–2007 | Cinderella | Cinderella | Catford Theatre | |
| 2007–2008 | Cinderella | Cinderella | Oakengates Theatre | |
| 2008–2009 | Aladdin | Princess Jasmine | Rickmansworth Watersmeet Theatre | |
| 2009–2010 | Cinderella | Cinderella | Derby Assembly Rooms | |
| 2010–2011 | Cinderella | Cinderella | The Playhouse, Weston Super Mare | |
| 2023-2024 | Snow White | Good Fairy Elementa | Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton |
| Year | Award | Category | Result | scope=col class=unsortable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Actress | [29] | ||
| 2020 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | [30] | ||
| 2020 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Performance | [31] | ||
| 2021 | 26th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | [32] | ||
| 2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | [33] | ||
| 2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (shared with Richard Blackwood) | |||
| 2021 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Performance | [34] | ||
| 2022 | The British Soap Awards | Best Leading Performer | [35] |