Samantha Giles

Samantha Elizabeth Giles (born 2nd July 1971 in Maidstone, Kent) is a English actress who portrayed Bernice Blackstock in Emmerdale for multiple stints between November 1998 and November 2023.
==Career==
From November 1998 to April 2002, with a short stint in January 2004, Giles portrayed the role of Bernice. She then returned to the role regularly in November 2012, before departing again in November 2019. Her role as Bernice has earned her a TV Quick Award for Best Actress and a nomination for a National Television Awards for Most Popular Actress (both in 2000). Giles stated that she left Emmerdale as it was too much of a commute to her home in Liverpool, Merseyside. After Emmerdale producers offered a return to Giles in 2021, she accepted; her return scenes aired in May 2021. 
Giles is also known for her portrayal of Sally Boothe in Where the Heart Is (2003-2005). Her other television credits include Coronation Street, Doctors, Dangerfield and Midnight Man. Her stage credits include A Taste of Honey (as Helen), Dead Funny (Lisa), and Season's Greetings (Belinda). 
In 2008, Giles joined the cast of the Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks as Valerie Holden, a role that she took over from actress Jacqueline Leonard. She since left Hollyoaks on maternity leave, written out as moving to Spain. However she returned in July 2010, and left again the following month.
In December 2010, Giles appeared on Celebrity Mastermind where her specialist subject focused on the works of Alfred Hitchcock. Giles returned to Emmerdale in the Autumn of 2012.
Category:Emmerdale actors