Amanda Drew

Amanda Drew was a British actress best known for her role on the popular and long-running soap opera, "EastEnders" (BBC One, 1985-). Born on December 21, 1969 in Lincolnshire, England, Drew became interested in acting from a young age, joining a youth theatre when her family moved to Leicestershire, and playing Charity in a youth production of "Sweet Charity." Drew graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1992, and that same year made her television debut on the crime procedural "Between the Lines" (BBC One, 1992-1994). Before long, Drew was making a name for herself in theater, appearing on stage at the Royal Court Theatre and in various West End productions, both comedies and dramas, including "The Man of Mode" (1994), "The Way of the World" (1995), "John Gabriel Borkman" (1996), and "Taking Sides" (1997). In 1997, Drew made her feature film debut, appearing in the dark comedy "Remember Me?" (1997), and the critically acclaimed Virginia Woolf adaptation "Mrs. Dalloway" (1997). In 2001, Drew became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in such stage productions as "Jubilee" (2001), "Eastward Ho!" (2002), "The Island Princess" (2002), and "Blithe Spirit" (2004). Despite all of this success, Drew became a household name when she took on the role of May Wright, a sadistic doctor caught in a love triangle, in the popular and long-running soap opera, "EastEnders" (BBC One, 1985-). Drew portrayed Dr. Wright from September 2006 until June 2007, quickly becoming the character that audiences loved to hate. The finale of her character's arc, in which she holds her husband's pregnant lover hostage and attempts to steal her baby via c-section before being arrested, was a bona fide sensation. Dr. Wright proved to be so popular that producers decided to bring Drew and the character back; she appeared in two more episodes in June of 2008, under an assumed name, before being killed off in a house explosion. Following this phenomenon, Drew went back to working in theater, appearing in "Parlour Song" (2009), "ENRON" (2009-2010), David Mamet's "House of Games" (2010), "Twelfth Night" (2011), and "A Streetcar Named Desire" (2012). On television, Drew co-starred in the likes of "Switch" (ITV2, 2012), "Broadchurch" (ITV, 2013-17), "Silent Witness" (BBC, 1996-), and "The Last Post" (BBC, 2017-).