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Tameka Empson

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Tameka Empson
Empson in 2022
Born
Tameka Lydia Empson

(1977-04-15) 15 April 1977 (age 47)
London, England[1]
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
Years active1986, 1996–present
Notable work3 Non Blondes
Beautiful Thing
Beautiful People
EastEnders
Children2[2]

Tameka Lydia Empson (born 15 April 1977)[3] is an English actress and comedian. She appeared as one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show 3 Non-Blondes. In 2009, she began portraying the role of Kim Fox in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Career

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Empson at the Inside Soap Awards in 2010

As well as her television work, Empson has appeared in a number of films. In 1996, she appeared in the film Beautiful Thing as Leah Russell, the next-door neighbour of the main characters. Empson worked alongside Linda Henry, both of whom would eventually join the cast of EastEnders; in 1998 she appeared as the love rival to the main character in the film Babymother. Empson is an experienced theatre actress having performed as Billie in the original cast of Our House, a musical featuring songs from the ska/pop band Madness, which premiered at The Cambridge Theatre in October 2002 and ran on until August 2003. She has since been a mainstay of the Hackney Empire annual pantomimes.

In 2008, Empson appeared in the BBC sitcom Beautiful People and in the ITV1 thriller Whitechapel. In 2009, she joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Kim Fox, the half-sister of Denise Fox (Diane Parish).[4] As a result, she has won several awards including an Inside Soap award in 2012 for "Funniest Female Performance".[5] She took maternity leave from EastEnders and returned to screens August 2014.[6] On 16 July 2019, it was announced that Empson would be temporarily leaving the series, with her return set to air in 2020.[7] Empson confirmed on Loose Women that the break was her maternity leave for her second child, and that she did not deliberately keep it a secret, but that she "just wanted to enjoy it".[8]

Empson at the EastEnders Meet and Greet event in 2016

Empson is a regular performer at the Hackney Empire starring in the theatre's annual pantomime since 2004; she has also starred in Anansi and the Magic Mirror and has a live sketch and comedy show (The Kat and Tameka Show) with Choice FM DJ Kat B. She has also voiced Tickbird in Tinga Tinga Tales. On 22 August 2016, Empson was revealed as a contestant participating on the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with professional dancer Gorka Márquez. They were the second couple to leave the competition. In 2019, she appeared on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice to raise money for Comic Relief.[9] Later that year, she appeared as a panellist on The Apprentice: You're Fired,[10] and voiced the role of Pearl the Police Horse on the Disney Channel series 101 Dalmatian Street.[11]

Filmography

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref.
2011 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance Nominated [12]
2011 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Performance Won [13]
2012 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance Nominated [14]
2012 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Won [5]
2013 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Won [15]
2014 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Shortlisted [16]
2015 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance Nominated [17]
2015 TV Choice Awards Best Soap Actress Nominated [18]
2015 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Won [19]
2016 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance Nominated [20]
2016 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Won [21]
2017 2017 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance Nominated [22]
2017 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Shortlisted [23]
2018 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Shortlisted [24]
2019 2019 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance Nominated [25]
2019 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female Nominated [26]
2021 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Performance Nominated [27]
2021 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (with Diane Parish) Nominated [28]
2022 2022 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance Won [29]
2022 Inside Soap Awards Best Comic Performance Shortlisted [30]
2022 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (with Delroy Atkinson) Nominated [31]
2023 TVTimes Awards Favourite Soap Actor Nominated [32]
2023 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (with Atkinson) Nominated [33]

References

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  1. ^ "Tameka Empson". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on 8 January 2007.
  2. ^ "EastEnders' Tameka Empson has welcomed her second child". Digital Spy. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. ^ "FreeBMD Entry Info".
  4. ^ Green, Kris (17 September 2009). "EXCLUSIVE: Robbie Gee to guest in 'EastEnders'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  5. ^ a b "2012 Winners". Inside Soap. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013.
  6. ^ Jefferies, Mark (21 February 2014). "Kim Fox EastEnders disappearance explained: Actress Tameka Empson is heavily pregnant". Daily Mirror.
  7. ^ "EastEnders return for Kim Fox confirmed as Tameka Empson reprises role". Digital Spy. 16 July 2020.
  8. ^ "EastEnders' Tameka Empson has welcomed her second child". Digital Spy. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  9. ^ Ling, Thomas (7 March 2019). "There are a few secret contestants on Celebrity Apprentice for Comic Relief". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  10. ^ "The Apprentice: You're Fired". BBC Programmes. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  11. ^ Cox, Chris (14 November 2018). "Review: 101 Dalmatian Street". OneOfUs.net. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  12. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (14 May 2011). "British Soap Awards 2011: The Winners". Digital Spy.
  13. ^ Millar, Paul (26 September 2011). "Inside Soap Awards 2011: The full winners list". Digital Spy.
  14. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (29 April 2012). "British Soap Awards 2012 – winners in full". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  15. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (21 October 2013). "Inside Soap Awards 2013 - winners list in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  16. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (1 October 2014). "Inside Soap Awards 2014: See the full winners list". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  17. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel; Dainty, Sophie (16 May 2015). "Who won at British Soap Awards 2015? See winners list in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  18. ^ Denham, Jess (19 May 2015). "TV Choice Awards 2015 nominations: Poldark and Broadchurch head up longlist". The Independent. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Emmerdale and Michael Parr storm the Inside Soap Awards". Digital Spy. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  20. ^ "British Soap Awards 2016 full winners list: Did your favourites take home prizes?". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Inside Soap Awards: Emmerdale beats EastEnders to top prize". BBC News. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  22. ^ "British Soap Awards 2017: Full list of winners". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  23. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (31 October 2017). "Inside Soap Awards 2017 shortlist revealed – which Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars are up for prizes?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  24. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (16 October 2018). "Coronation Street tops Inside Soap Awards 2018 shortlist with 18 nominations". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  25. ^ "Here are the British Soap Awards 2019 winners in full". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  26. ^ "Inside Soap Awards 2019 longlist has been revealed". Digital Spy. July 2019.
  27. ^ Alexander, Susannah (28 September 2021). "Inside Soap Awards announces 2021 longlist as voting opens – here's who's up for prizes". Digital Spy. (Hearst Magazines UK). Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  28. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (14 November 2021). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2021 Nominations". I Talk Telly. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  29. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel; Warner, Sam (11 June 2022). "British Soap Awards 2022 winners list - updated live". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  30. ^ Harp, Justin (10 October 2022). "Inside Soap Awards announce final shortlist for 2022 ceremony". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  31. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (12 November 2022). "Mo Gilligan leads the I Talk Telly Awards 2022 Nominations". I Talk Telly.
  32. ^ Selwood, Sarah. "TV Times Awards 2023 — voting is now open!". What to Watch. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  33. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (11 November 2023). "Nominations revealed for the I Talk Telly Awards 2023 as voting opens". I Talk Telly.
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