Rachel Leskovac facts for kids

Rachel Leskovac, born on June 5, 1976, is an English actress and singer. She is well-known for playing important characters in popular TV shows. These include Kelly Yorke in the medical drama Holby City, Natasha Blakeman in the soap opera Coronation Street, and Joanne Cardsley in Hollyoaks. In 2022, she joined the TV series Waterloo Road as an English teacher named Coral Walker. She has even been nominated for a special acting award called the Laurence Olivier Award.

Early Life and Training

Rachel Leskovac grew up in Bradford, England. She has two sisters, Sophie and Kate. When she was younger, Rachel went to St Joseph's Catholic College in Bradford. She was also part of a local theatre group called Scala Kids. This helped her get an early start in acting.

After school, she went to the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. This is a famous school for performers. She finished her training there in 1998.

Acting Career Highlights

Rachel Leskovac has had many exciting roles in her acting career.

Early Roles and Awards

One of her first big roles was playing a young Viv in the musical Spend Spend Spend. Her performance was highly praised. Because of this, she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2000. This is a very important award in theatre.

In 2003, she played Ciara Pickering in the TV series At Home with the Braithwaites. She also starred in a TV movie called Losing Gemma in 2006.

Famous Soap Opera Roles

Rachel became very well-known for her roles in British soap operas.

Holby City

From 2003 to 2004, she played Kelly Yorke in the BBC One medical drama Holby City. Her character was a nurse.

Coronation Street

In April 2008, Rachel joined the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She played Natasha Blakeman, a hairdresser. She left the show in 2010. However, she returned to Coronation Street in July 2020. Her character, Natasha, was part of a dramatic storyline and left the show in 2021.

Hollyoaks

In September 2015, Rachel joined the cast of the teenage soap opera Hollyoaks. She played Joanne Cardsley. Her acting in Hollyoaks was highly praised. She left the show in December 2016 after an exciting storyline.

Other TV Appearances

Rachel has appeared in many other TV shows. In 2010, she played Margaret in the drama A Passionate Woman. In 2011, she was in an episode of the Sky 1 sitcom Trollied.

In 2012, she played a teacher named Lara Heaton in the Channel 4 comedy-drama Shameless. She also played Karen, a beauty therapist, in an episode of the drama series Accused.

She appeared in Last Tango in Halifax in 2013 and returned to that role in 2020. In 2014, she played Susie Nightingale in WPC 56. She also appeared in the crime drama Happy Valley as Julie. She returned to WPC 56 in 2015.

More recently, since 2023, Rachel has been a regular cast member in the BBC One school drama Waterloo Road. She plays Coral Walker, an English teacher.

Film and Television Roles

Rachel Leskovac has acted in various films and television series throughout her career.

Film Roles

Television Roles