Leah Bracknell

Alison Rosalind Bracknell

Early life Born in Westminster, London, Bracknell was the daughter of English television director David Ian Bracknell (1932–1987) and Chinese-Malaysian actress Li-Er Hwang. Her parents met while filming The World of Suzie Wong in Hong Kong in 1959. David was an assistant director and Li-Er played the part of "Wednesday Lu" in the film. The adopted name "Leah" is an anglicization of her mother's name "Li-Er". Bracknell grew up in London and Oxford and spent a year in New Zealand and Fiji.

Career Bracknell first appeared on the TV series The Chiffy Kids in 1976, which was directed by her father, David. Within two years of leaving the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art she was cast in the ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale playing the role of vet and land owner Zoe Tate. She appeared in the programme for 16 years (with breaks, including two spells of maternity leave) until leaving the series in 2005. She was initially due to leave the series for only nine months, but did not return. The character was the first lesbian in a British soap and at the time was one of the longest-featured gay characters on television.

In 2008, she joined the touring Theatreworks production of Turn of the Screw to play the lead role, that of the governess. She also appeared in the TV dramas Judge John Deed, Casualty 1907 and in the daytime soap Doctors. In 2002, she was nominated for 'Most Popular Actress' at the National Television Awards and "Best Dramatic Performance" at the British Soap Awards. She taught meditation and yoga in Baildon, Bradford, after leaving Emmerdale.

In October 2016, Bracknell announced she had been diagnosed with stage IV terminal lung cancer. A fundraising appeal to pay for experimental treatment in Germany reached its target of £50,000 within three days. She appeared on This Morning and Loose Women to talk about her cancer and determination to fight it. She married her longtime partner Jez Hughes in 2017.

In August 2019, Bracknell said she was in an immunotherapy clinical trial. She died on 15 September 2019 at the age of 55, although the announcement of her death was not made public until 16 October.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1976 The Chiffy Kids 1 episode 1989–2005 Emmerdale Zoe Tate Series regular 2007 Judge John Deed Dr. Mary Moon 2 episodes 2007 Doctors Jennifer Bryant 1 episode: "Brotherly Love" 2008 The Royal Today Jenny Carrington Main role 2009 Doctors Stella Davids 1 episode: "Great Expectations" 2010 A Touch of Frost Carolyn Viner 2 episodes 2011 DCI Banks Maria 1 episode: "Playing with Fire: Part 1" 2011 Doctors Amanda Lord 1 episode: "Awake" 2015 A Dark Reflection Isabelle Morris Film