Rachel Leskovac
Rachel Leskovac (born 5 June 1976) is an English actress and singer. She is known for portraying the roles of Kelly Yorke in the BBC One medical drama series "Holby City" (2003–2004), Natasha Blakeman in the ITV soap opera "Coronation Street" (2008–2010, 2020–2021), and Joanne Cardsley in the Channel 4 soap opera "Hollyoaks" (2015–2016). In 2022, she joined the revival of the BBC One school-based drama series "Waterloo Road" as English teacher Coral Walker. She has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. Early life. Leskovac was born in Bradford, England. Her mother is English and her  father is of Croatian descent. Leskovac has a younger sister, Sophie, and an older sister, Kate. Leskovac attended St Joseph's Catholic College in Bradford and during her youth was a member of local theatre group "Scala Kids". She later trained at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, graduating in 1998. Acting career. Leskovac received critical acclaim for her performance as the young Viv in the musical "Spend Spend Spend" and was nominated for the Best Actress in a Musical Olivier. She played serial killer nurse Kelly Yorke on "Holby City". In 2003, she played Ciara Pickering in the fourth  series of "At Home with the Braithwaites". In 2006, she also starred in a TV movie called "Losing Gemma" for Granada TV. In April 2008, Leskovac was signed up to play Natasha Blakeman, a hairdresser on the ITV soap "Coronation Street". She left the soap in 2010. In July 2020, it was announced that Leskovac would be reprising her role as Natasha, In 2021, Leskovac left "Coronation Street" as Natasha died from accidentally getting shot. Leskovac played Margaret, sister of Betty in the 1950s drama "A Passionate Woman" alongside Billie Piper in 2010. In 2011, Leskovac starred in an episode  of the Sky 1 sitcom "Trollied" as Leanne the deputy manager who was on maternity leave. In 2012, Leskovac played teacher Lara Heaton in the Channel 4 TV comedy drama series "Shameless", and she played Karen, a beauty therapist, in an episode of the Jimmy McGovern drama series "Accused". In 2013, she appeared in "Last Tango in Halifax" before returning to the role in 2020. In 2014, she played Susie Nightingale in the second series of "WPC 56". She also appeared in the 2014 crime drama "Happy Valley" as Julie, the wife of drug dealer-turned-kidnapper Ashley Cowgill. In  2015, she returned to the role of Susie in the third series of "WPC 56". In September 2015, she joined the cast of teenage soap opera "Hollyoaks" as regular Joanne Cardsley. Leskovac received critical acclaim for her role in "Hollyoaks". She left the role in December 2016 concluding a dramatic storyline with her.