Jill Halfpenny is a well-known actress who has been a familiar face on British screens for over two decades, with roles in some of the longest-running shows including EastEnders, Coronation Street, and the beloved Waterloo Road.
She’s no stranger to a Channel 5 drama and now she's turning up the tension once again for their new domestic thriller, The Feud!
Read on to find out more about her top TV roles, the story behind The Feud, and why this might be one of her most intense performances yet.
TV shows with Jill Halfpenny
The Feud
Jill Halfpenny plays Emma in The Feud, a woman who, along with her husband (played by Rupert Penry-Jones), decides to add a kitchen extension to their home, but things quickly spiral out of control. As neighbours object to their plans, long-buried secrets and life-threatening revelations begin to surface, turning a simple renovation into a chilling nightmare.
She's joined by a fantastic cast of recognisable faces including, Amy Nutall, Alex Macqueen, Chris Gascoyne and Larry Lamb.
The Cuckoo
In The Cuckoo, Jill Halfpenny is a lodger called Sian, who rents a room from a family with money troubles after moving into a new home. Slowly, Sian becomes close to their 14-year-old daughter Alice (played by Freya Hannan-Mills), but why is she causing a rift between her and her parents (Claire Goose and Lee Ingleby)?
The Long Shadow
In ITV’s chilling true-crime drama The Long Shadow, Jill Halfpenny delivers a powerful and heart-breaking performance as Doreen Hill, the mother of Peter Sutcliffe’s first known victim, Wilma McCann. The series chronicles the harrowing investigation into the Yorkshire Ripper murders, focusing not just on the killer but on the victims and their families.
The Holiday
In Channel 5’s suspense-filled drama The Holiday, Jill Halfpenny takes the lead as Kate, a police officer whose family getaway to Malta spirals into a tense and unsettling mystery.
Adapted from T.M. Logan’s bestselling novel, the four-part series sees Kate uncover a shocking affair between her husband and one of her closest friends - just as a murder threatens to unravel everything.
The Drowning
In Channel 5’s psychological thriller The Drowning (2021), the actress delivered a standout performance as Jodie Walsh, a grieving mother who becomes convinced she has found her son who drowned eight years earlier when he was 4 years old, although his body was never recovered.
Dark Money
In the 2019 BBC One drama Dark Money, Jill Halfpenny took on a powerful and emotionally charged role as Sam Mensah, a mother grappling with the aftermath of a devastating secret.
The series follows a family who accepts a financial settlement from a film studio after their young son is abused by a famous actor and Sam must navigate the emotional toll of staying silent to protect her family.
Three Girls
Based on the true story of the Rochdale child grooming scandal, Three Girls followed the harrowing experiences of young victims and the professionals who fought to bring their abusers to justice. Jill played Julie, the mother of one of the girls caught in the abuse ring. The show was a landmark moment in British television.
In The Club
Written by Kay Mellor, BBC One's In the Club focused on six mums-to-be who attended a local Parent Craft class during their pregnancy. The show had an all-star cast consisting of Jill Halfpenny, Hermione Norris, Katherine Parkinson, Christin Bottomley, Will Mellor, Sacha Dhawan, Hannah Waddingham and Luke Thompson to name a few.
Jill Halfpenny was Diane Manning, a woman navigating the challenges of motherhood and financial hardship. Diane, who has struggled with natural conception alongside her husband Rick (Will Mellor), is overjoyed by the arrival of their twins, Hope and Zack. However, their happiness is tempered by Rick's impending imprisonment for bank robbery and the critical illness of one of their newborns. To support her family, Diane becomes a childminder, juggling the demands of her growing household with the complexities of her husband's secretive actions.
Waterloo Road
Jill Halfpenny played Izzie Redpath, a drama teacher in Waterloo Road. Appearing in the BBC school drama from 2006 to 2007, her character was passionate and free-spirited and wasn't afraid to challenge the system or fight for her students.
As a single mother to two teenage daughters, Chlo (Katie Griffiths) and Mika (Lauren Drummond), who were students at the school Izzie often found her personal and professional lives colliding, especially as she entered into a romantic relationship with fellow teacher Tom Clarkson (Jason Done).
However, her time on the show came to a dramatic and emotional end when Izzie was tragically killed while trying to protect a colleague, marking one of the most unforgettable moments in Waterloo Road history. In the reboot of the series, her character's granddaughter is named Izzy Charles (Scarlett Thomas) in memory of her.
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2004, Jill Halfpenny won Strictly Come Dancing (series 2) with professional dancer Darren Bennett.
EastEnders
Jill Halfpenny joined EastEnders in 2002, playing the role of Kate Mitchell. Initially introduced as an undercover police officer sent to investigate Phil Mitchell, her character quickly became a central figure in some of the show’s most dramatic storylines.
Kate’s complex relationship with Phil evolved from deception to romance, eventually leading to a marriage that was as turbulent as it was compelling before she left the Square in 2005.
Coronation Street
Before her EastEnders fame, Jill Halfpenny appeared in Coronation Street, playing nurse Rebecca Hopkins from 1999 to 2000. Her character was involved in a controversial affair with Martin Platt (Sean Wilson), which created serious tension and drama within the long-running soap.
Rebecca was portrayed as kind-hearted and professional, but the storyline stirred plenty of emotions among fans as it challenged Martin’s relationship with his wife, Gail (played by Helen Worth). Though her time on the cobbles was relatively short, Jill’s performance left a lasting impression and helped pave the way for her future success on British television.
Byker Grove
Jill Halfpenny began her career in Byker Grove in 1989 when she was just 14 years old, playing Nicola Dobson in the iconic coming-of-age children’s drama series set in Newcastle.
How old is Jill Halfpenny?
As of 2025, Jill Halfpenny is 49 years old. She was born on the 15th July 1975 in Gateshead.
Jill Halfpenny's father
Her life was deeply shaped by the loss of her father, Colin, who died of a heart attack when she was just four years old. His sudden passing left a lasting impact on her childhood and emotional development, especially in a family that didn’t openly talk about grief.
Raised by her mother, Maureen, who later married Colin’s brother Derek (her children's uncle), Jill described their household as being in “survival mode,” where emotions were rarely discussed. It wasn’t until much later in life, following the tragic death of her partner Matt in 2017, that Jill began to fully confront the grief she had carried since childhood.
In interviews and in her memoir A Life Reimagined, she has spoken candidly about how these personal losses helped shape her resilience, her career path, and her journey toward emotional healing.
Who is Jill Halfpenny's partner?
Jill Halfpenny's ex-husband is actor and producer Craig Conway (best known for Doomsday, Dog Soldiers and Broken) and they were married from 2007 to 2010 before they split.
Jill was then in a relationship with Matt Janes, a private chef, for two years before he sadly passed away from a heart attack in 2017 after he left for an exercise class and 'never came home'.
The couple were trying for a baby and the last time they had seen each other was when they exchanged smiles as she headed to the bathroom to wee onto an ovulation stick.
After going back to sleep, Jill was woken up by people banging on her front door and saw that her phone had 17 missed calls. She ran to the gym he was at in Crouch End, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
During an appearance on Lorraine, the actress told the breakfast TV host that he had given her permission to date again while he was still alive, "We were on the sofa one night, and he said, "If something were to happen to me I would really like you to find someone else and be happy".
In November 2024, Jill went public with her relationship with 48-year-old marketing executive Ian McAllister.
"It sounds so cheesy, but I think Ian and I met at the perfect time.
"After Matt died, I didn't know if I'd ever meet anyone again, but Ian is my cheerleader - I know I've met somebody who I love and who loves me."
Does Jill Halfpenny have children?
Yes, Jill Halfpenny has a son called Harvey with her ex-husband. He was was born in 2008.
They appeared together on a programme called Your Home Made Perfect, in which two architects competed to remodel their flat in the northeast of England using AI.
Who is Jill Halfpenny's daughter?
The Byker Grove actress doesn't have a daughter, but she does have a famous niece called Chelsea Halfpenny, who fans often mistake for her child or her sister.
Chelsea is best known for playing Amy in Emmerdale before she was replaced by Natalie Ann Jamieson. She also starred as Alicia Munroe in Casualty. Her mother is Her mother is Jill's sister, Newcastle DJ Paula Halfpenny.
Jill Halfpenny's book
In her memoir, A Life Reimagined, Jill discusses the grief of losing two important people in her life, writing, "It was like dealing with a double loss - a loss I'd never actually dealt with."
This painful experience prompted her to seek therapy, embrace sobriety, and begin healing from the wounds of her past. She now advocates for open conversations about grief, emphasising the importance of addressing loss rather than allowing it to fester in silence.
AmazonJill Halfpenny's Instagram
You can follow the actress on Instagram under the username @jillhalfpenny. She posts about her work projects, as well as sharing clips from her interviews about dealing with loss and grief.
She also has a podcast called Dear Jill Podcast, where listeners send voice notes explaining their problems through DMs, and Jill tries to solve them.
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and going on walks with her three dogs.