Nicola Duffett
Nicola Duffett (born 22 January 1963) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Debbie Bates on "EastEnders" and Cat MacKenzie on "Family Affairs". Career. Duffett had a supporting role in the Oscar-winning film "Howards End" (1992) by James Ivory. She is known for two long-running soap opera roles. After appearing as Debbie Bates in "EastEnders" from 1993 to 1995, she went into the role of boozy floozie Cat Matthews in "Family Affairs". Cat first appeared in "Family Affairs" in late 1998, and was a key character in the show's story lines  until the series ended in December 2005. She has appeared on stage in Simon Gray's "Simply Disconnected" at Chichester Festival Theatre; as Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Helen of Troy in "Troilus and Cressida" at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park; and in "Coming Up" by James Martin Charlton at the Warehouse Theatre. Duffett also took part in the reality series "Celebrity Fit Club", and appeared as Bronwen Jones in an episode of "Torchwood" titled "Random Shoes". In 2016, she appeared in the BBC series "The Coroner" episode 2.4 "The Beast of Lighthaven" as Amy  Penketh. In 2018, she starred in the BBC Two drama "Collateral". She then appeared in the ITV drama series "Deep Water" in 2019. In July 2020, it was announced that Duffett would appear in the ITV soap opera "Coronation Street" as Lucie Fernsby.