Tricia Penrose

Patricia "Tricia" Penrose (born 9 April 1970) is an English actress and singer. Her role as Gina Ward in ITV's long-running 1960s drama Heartbeat, she played continuously for 17 years from 1993 to 2010. She has also appeared on The Royal, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Boon, Justice, Fort Boyard, The Bill and Dancin' Thru the Dark. As well as her acting roles, she has had her own show on Radio Wirral and since 2021 has been working on some shows for BBC Radio 4. Singing career Although primarily focused on her acting career, Penrose has also had an interest in the music industry, releasing two singles – "Where Did Our Love Go?" (1996, UK No. 71) and "Don't Wanna Be Alone" (2000, UK No. 44). 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 and singing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". She previously appeared in the show as Lisa Stansfield. She has also sung a number of times on Heartbeat, her character Gina even won a talent contest in an episode in series 2, with her version of the Lulu hit "Shout". Acting career Penrose's first television role was as WPC Emma Reid in Brookside. In 1987 she appeared in the ‘A Ride on the Wild Side’ episode of Boon as Lindy Yates (1 episode, 1987), before a cast role in 1988's “Vroom.” Penrose appeared in a 1990 episode of "Medics" as the character Jean and in the same year had a part in “Dancin' Thru the Dark” Penrose appeared in Emmerdale in 1991 as Louise and then in two episodes of Coronation Street in 1991/92.