Tracy Brabin

Tracy Brabin MP
Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 October 2016
Preceded by	Jo Cox
Majority	16,537 (81%)[1]
Personal details
Born	9 May 1961 Batley, England
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Loughborough University University of the Arts London

Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician, actress, and television writer. She was elected as the Labour Party MP for Batley and Spen at a by-election in October 2016 following the murder of Jo Cox.

Education

Brabin was born in Batley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School. She studied drama at Loughborough University and gained a Master of Arts degree in screenwriting from the London College of Communication of the University of the Arts London in 2001.^[2]

Career

Television

Brabin is known for her roles as clumsy waitress Sandra playing opposite David Jason in A Bit of a Do, Tricia Armstrong in Coronation Street from 1994 to 1997, and as Ginny in three series of Richard Harris's Outside Edge. She appeared in EastEnders as Roxy Drake, The Ghost Hunter as Mrs Oliver, Love + Hate as Gaynor, and in an episode of Midsomer Murders ("Dead Letters", 2006). In 2008, she appeared in a series of commercials for supermarket chain Sainsbury's playing "Sarah", a mother-of-two and Sainsbury's employee who does her weekly shopping at the store.^[3] In 2014, she appeared as Lyndsey Bernstein in Law and Order UK, Pam in Undeniable, and as Carole in Emmerdale.^[4][5]

Film

In 2012, she played Maggie, a mother who comes to realise she is one of a race of aliens, in artist Shezad Dawood's first feature, the sci-fi art-house film Piercing Brightness.

Theatre

Brabin played Linda, Sharon and Annie in Simon Beaufoy's play The Full Monty,^[6] an adaptation of his screenplay for the film, directed by Sheffield Theatre's Daniel Evans. The play opened at the Sheffield Lyceum to excellent reviews, followed by a national tour and a West End run at the Noël Coward Theatre. The production was nominated for the Best New Comedy at the Laurence Olivier Awards in 2014. Brabin's previous theatre performances include the lead role in Shelagh Stevenson's The Long Road at Curve in Leicester directed by Adel Al Salloum and Joy in Meat written by Jimmy Osbourne for London's 503 Theatre.

Writing

Brabin has written for Heartbeat, Family Affairs, Crossroads, The Story of Tracy Beaker, and Hollyoaks, on which she worked for two years. She has written material for Shameless for Company Pictures and for three series of Seacht – nominated for Best Youth Programme Irish Film and Television Awards in 2011. With her mentor Elizabeth Karlsen, the producer of Made in Dagenham, she was involved on the romantic comedy feature Father August for the prestigious She Writes programme, with Minkie Spiro attached to direct. Brabin wrote an episode of Doctors which was screened in December 2012.

Political activity

Brabin, a Labour Party member, said in August 2016 that she was considering standing in the Batley and Spen by-election, caused by the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.^[7] On 19 September, she was shortlisted along with Labour activist Jane Thomas.^[8] Brabin was selected at a meeting on 23 September.^[9] The Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and UKIP did not field candidates as a mark of respect to Cox.^[10] On 20 October 2016, Brabin was elected with an increased majority of around 10,000.^[11] She was then sworn in on 24 October.^[12] Brabin made her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 2 November, paying tribute to her predecessor, who she described as "inspirational". The speech won applause from fellow MPs.^[13]

Filmography

Television credits

Year	Title	Role
1989	A Bit of a Do	Sandra Pickersgill
1989	Hale and Pace	Various characters
1991	Riff-Raff	Singer
1992	El C.I.D.	Fran
1992	Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After	Sarah, Duchess of York
1994	Peak Practice	Lou Clarke
1994–1997	Coronation Street	Tricia Armstrong
1994–1995	Outside Edge	Ginnie Willis
1995	Mayday Mayday	Sylvia Redpath
1999	Sunburn	Sheila Adams
2000	The Ghost Hunter	Mrs. Oliver
2000	Where the Heart Is	Stella Taylor
2000	The Bill	Stella Taylor
2000	Doctors	Lucy Carlton
2001	Eastenders	Roxy Drake
2001	Holby City	Lucy Gartside
2002	Nice Guy Eddie	Stephanie
2002	Silent Witness	Nina Palmer
2002	The Bill	Pam
2003	Is Harry on the Boat?	Isobel
2004	Bodies	Karen Taylor
2004	Heartbeat	Sandra Tetley
2005	Coronation Street: The Duckworth Family Album	Herself
2005	Love + Hate	Gaynor
2005	Holby City	Stella Howard
2006	An Audience with Coronation Street	Herself
2006	Rosemary & Thyme	Herself
2006	Midsomer Murders	Ruth Chalk
2006	Strictly Confidential	Tina Roebottom
2006	Doctors	Tina Machin
2007	Casualty	Veek Kitching
2007	The Real Extras	Herself
2007	The Good Samaritan	Gloria
2008	Doctors	Amanda Webster
2008	The Bill	Isabel Edgar
2009	Casualty	April
2014	Emmerdale	Carole
2014	Law & Order: UK	Lindsey Bernstein
2014	Casualty	Roz Conlon

Writing credits

• Crossroads (2001)
• The Story of Tracy Beaker (2003–2005)
• Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey (2004)
• Heartbeat (2005)
• Family Affairs (2005)
• Hollyoaks (2008–2010)
• Shameless (2009)
• Seacht (2011)
• Doctors (2012)

References

1. "Jo Cox obituary: Proud Yorkshire lass who became local MP". BBC News. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
2. Perraudin, Frances (30 September 2016). "Tracy Brabin: 'I hope I can build on Jo Cox's legacy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
3. "Sainsbury's ad for former Coronation Street star Tracy Brabin". Daily Mirror. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
4. "Emmerdale spoilers: ex-Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin to play Ashley's new love interest". Retrieved 6 September 2016.
5. "Casting news: Tracy Brabin joins Emmerdale". Retrieved 6 September 2016.
6. "Tracy's West End dream will be fulfilled at last". Spenborough Guardian. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
7. "Jo Cox MP death: Actress Tracy Brabin may stand in Batley & Spen by-election". BBC News. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
8. Halliday, Josh (19 September 2016). "Former actor Tracy Brabin is frontrunner to win Jo Cox's seat". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
9. "Soap star Tracy Brabin to stand in Jo Cox by-election". BBC News. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
10. Halliday, Josh (19 September 2016). "Former actor Tracy Brabin is frontrunner to win Jo Cox's seat". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
11. "Batley and Spen by-election: Tracy Brabin victory for 'hope and unity'". BBC News. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
12. "Tracy Brabin and Robert Courts sworn in as MPs". BBC News. 24 October 2016.
13. "Tracy Brabin pays tribute to Jo Cox in maiden speech". BBC News. BBC. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.

External links

• Tracy Brabin at the Internet Movie Database