Patricia Penrose was born on the 9th of April 1970 in Kirkby, Liverpool, where she attended Ruffwood Comprehensive, Northwood and was raised in a family where money was very tight. Her mother Sue was 16 and her father Bernie 19, and home was a tiny house on a Kirkby council estate. Bernie provided as best he could for his young family, eventually running a minibus firm for handicapped children.When Tricia was five, her parents scraped the money together to marry in church, with her as bridesmaid. Their house was crowded, as her grandmother and aunt had come to live with them, and she shared her bedroom and her bed for a while with her auntie. Tricia says, "We were more like sisters - we still are." Beneath the surface however, her parents' marriage was buckling, and by the time Tricia was 17 it was obvious that they could no longer live together and when they divorced Tricia found security with her grandmother and aunt and lived with them until she was 25.
Tricia always loved singing, and when she was 15 she and her mother toured pubs and clubs, performing as a duo, 'Second Image'. After that she joined a band and then a trio with some other girls." Tricia had already had a taste of TV when she appeared as Ruth in 'Brookside' (1985-89) when she was 14. She says, "My dad knew Tony Scoggins, who played Matty in Brookside. He knew I'd been going to drama school twice a week and he told my dad when they were auditioning. So I went along and landed the job. I played Damon Grant's girlfriend and enjoyed every minute." Coincidentally Brookside creator Phil Redmond had attended St. Kevin's Comprehensive which shared its playing fields with Ruffwood Comprehensive. Ricky Tomlinson, who had his own agency, took her on his books and she ended up playing WPC Emma Reid later in the soap opera in 1987. Also in 1987, having appeared in the TV series 'Help!', she appeared in the 'A Ride on the Wild Side' episode of 'Boon' as Lindy Yates. School had taken a back seat to her ambitions by then and she left at 16 without qualifications.
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| In the Aidensfield Arms |
More roles followed as she appeared in 'How To Be Cool' (1988), 'Split Ends' (1989) and 'Vroom' (1990), appeared in a 1990 episode of 'Medics', as the character Jean, and in the same year had a part in 'Dancin' Thru the Dark'. Then back to the 'soaps' as she appeared in 'Emmerdale' (1991) as Louise, and then in two episodes of 'Coronation Street' (1991-92) as a Receptionist at the hotel in the Cotswolds where Ken Barlow and Alma Sedgewick booked in for New Year's Eve in 1991. Her appearance as Carol the Barmaid in the episode 'Terraces' in the TV series 'Scene' (1993) was followed by her longest running role as Gina Ward in 'Heartbeat' (1993-2009) where she appeared in 338 episodes and in the series final episode in 2010, it made her the longest serving female cast member. Gina was an extremely popular character, a tearaway part of the Aidensfield residents cast who however, quickly settled into village life and eventually became landlady of the Aidensfield Arms. Her character Gina was originally sent to live in Aidensfield with her uncle, George Ward, as a condition of her probation after having been convicted of receiving stolen goods. Her on/off relationship with Phil Bellamy kept viewers hooked up until they got married in Series 16. Having arrived in the village in Episode 4 of Series 2 in a bright red Isetta Bubble Car, in Series 9 she changed the Isetta for a white VW Beetle, which she had up until the last Episode in Series 18. The Isetta is currently on display in Beaulieu Motor Museum and Tricia is also a supporter of the annual 'Heartbeat' car rally which is held in Goathland every year and she often attends to meet and greet fans of the show, usually with co-star David Lonsdale who played David Stockwell. Tricia also appeared (as Gina Ward) in two episodes of the 'Heartbeat' spin-off 'The Royal' (2003). In 2011 she appeared as Hayley Gosling in the critically acclaimed British legal drama, 'Justice' as Hayley Gosling alongside fellow scousers, Gary Mavers, Gillian Kearney, Tom Georgeson, Jake Abraham Louis Emerick and Jodie Comer. Her last TV appearance was in the crime drama series, 'Crime Stories' (2012).
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| Singing 'DJ Romeo' - A Song for Europe |
Although primarily focused on her acting career, Tricia had tried to make a name for herself in the music industry and released two singles, 'Where Did Our Love Go?' (1996, UK No. 71) and 'Don't Wanna Be Alone' (2000, UK No. 44), produced by music mogul Simon Cowell. In 2002, she reached the final of 'A Song for Europe', the competition to select the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entry, but did not win. In 2004, however, she won a Christmas edition of the ITV show 'Stars in Their Eyes', performing as Brenda Lee singing 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree'. She had previously appeared in the show as Lisa Stansfield.
Tricia was married to television presenter and entrepreneur, Mark Simpkin from 2003 to 2021, when they divorced after 18 years of marriage. They told the Daily Mail at the time that they had 'decided to go their separate ways after realising they had grown apart and it would be better for everyone that they ended the marriage.'
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2025/02/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians.html
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