Amy-Leigh Hickman

Amy-Leigh Hickman (born 16 September 1997) is an English actress. Hickman made her television debut as Carmen Howle in the CBBC series Tracy Beaker Returns, a role she reprised in the sequel series The Dumping Ground. She then went onto appear as Linzi Bragg in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, before being cast as Nasreen Paracha in the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge, a role for which she received a Royal Television Society Award. Her other roles include Ester Kamali in Strike Back, Sia Marshall in Safe (2018), Mimi Saunders in Our Girl (2020), Bethany in Innocent (2021) and Nadia Fareedi in You (2023–2025).

Early life Hickman was born on 16 September 1997, to parents of Anglo-Indian heritage and was brought up in Hastings, East Sussex, where she attended The St Leonards Academy. When she was five, she began studying acting at The Theatre Workshop in Bexhill. She also took classes at the Mark Jermin Stage School in Cobham.

Career Hickman's casting in Tracy Beaker Returns, a spin off from The Story of Tracy Beaker was announced in December 2008. Hickman reprised her role of Carmen Howle in The Dumping Ground, a sequel to Tracy Beaker Returns from 2013 to 2016. In 2015, Hickman appeared in BBC daytime soap opera, Doctors as Sara Boswell and in Casualty as Aisha Karim. She played the role of Carmen Howle in another The Dumping Ground spin-off, The Dumping Ground: I'm..., a webisode series. In 2014, Hickman played Princess Jasmine in her management's version of Aladdin, which took place in Swansea, Wales. Hickman starred in another of her management's pantomimes in late 2015, this time in Sleeping Beauty, playing the role of Jill, alongside her Tracy Beaker Returns co-star Joe Maw who played the corresponding Jack. In 2016, she appeared in Sleeping Beauty at the Sunderland Empire Theatre, where she played the role of Princess Briar Rose. Later that year, Hickman worked with Nationwide Education on the web series Get Real With Money, aimed at young people with the objective of educating them about money management and finances.

Hickman then appeared as a recurring character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Linzi Bragg, a love interest for Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), from February until April 2016 and returned for a short stint in March 2017. From 2017 to 2019, Hickman portrayed Nasreen Paracha in Channel 4 school drama Ackley Bridge. In 2018, Hickman appeared in the Netflix original series Safe as Sia Marshall. Also in 2018, Hickman played Leah in a stage production titled Beautiful Thing by the Tobacco Factory Theatre. In July 2019, she starred in the BBC Three special The Left Behind, as Yasmin. In 2020, she starred in the fourth series of the BBC drama Our Girl as Mimi Saunders. Later that year, it was announced that Hickman would be starring in the second series of the ITV crime drama series Innocent, which aired in May 2021. Later in 2021, she co-starred in the short film True Colours alongside Tilly Keeper. She then starred in a revival of the play East is East alongside Ackley Bridge co-stars Tony Jayawardena and Gurjeet Singh at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

In April 2022, it was announced that Hickman had been cast in the fourth series of the Netflix series You. 2023 saw her return to the stage in a production of Passing. She subsequently starred in the ITVX series Ruby Speaking, and later returned for the fifth and final series of You. Following the series, Hickman appeared in Jack the Ripper: Written in Blood, a miniseries broadcast on Sky History in 2025. Later that year, she was announced as a main cast member for Netflix's Grown Ups, an adaptation of the 2020 novel by Marian Keyes. She will portray Nell.

Filmography Television and film Year Title Role Notes 2010–2012 Tracy Beaker Returns Carmen Howle Main role 2011 Tracy Beaker Survival Files Carmen Howle 11 episodes 2013 Strike Back Ester Kamali 6 episodes 2013–2016 The Dumping Ground Carmen Howle Regular role 2014 The Dumping Ground Survival Files Carmen Howle 4 episodes 2015 Doctors Sara Boswell Episode: "The Dark Net" 2015 Casualty Aisha Karim Episode: "The Next Step" 2016 The Dumping Ground: I'm... Carmen Howle Regular role 2016–2017 EastEnders Linzi Bragg Recurring role 2017 Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up Herself 1 episode 2017 Top Class Herself 1 episode 2017–2019 Ackley Bridge Nasreen Paracha Main role 2018 Safe Sia Marshall Main role 2019 Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star Herself Guest star 2019 The Left Behind Yasmin Television film 2020 Our Girl Mimi Saunders Main role 2020 Tin Star Saima Saleem Episode: "Loves Young Dream" 2021 Innocent Bethany Supporting role 2021 True Colours Ayesha Short film 2023–2025 You Nadia Fareedi Main role (series 4); recurring role (series 5) 2023 Ruby Speaking Ellie Main role 2025 Jack the Ripper: Written in Blood Henrietta Best Main role 2025 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Leah Grace Episode: "The Endeavour of This Present Breath" 2026 Industry Elaine Jordan Episode: "1000 Yoots, 1 Marilyn" Grown Ups Nell Main role

Voice roles Year Title Role Note 2011 Tracy Beaker Returns: You Choose Carmen Howle Video game 2013–2014 The Dumping Ground Game Carmen Howle Video game 2015 The Dumping Ground: You're the Boss Carmen Howle Video game 2020 The Saddle Club Narrator Voiceover 2022 The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti Rita TV series

Stage Year Title Role 2014 Aladdin Princess Jasmine 2015 Sleeping Beauty Jill 2016 Sleeping Beauty Princess Briar Rose 2018 Beautiful Thing Leah 2021 East is East Meenah 2023 Passing Rachel Singh

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2017 RTS North East and Border Television Awards Performance of the Year The Dumping Ground 2020 RTS Yorkshire Awards Actor Ackley Bridge