STORY SO FAR: Lisa Faulkner

Currently playing businesswoman Fi Browning in EastEnders (8pm, BBC1), Lisa Faulkner, 45, is a familiar face on British television, both as an actor and as a chef…

Early days: Lisa was born in 1972 in Merton, London. Her father was a civil servant and her mother was a legal secretary; Lisa went to school in Kingston upon Thames.

Next top model: In 1988, aged 16, Lisa was spotted by a modelling scout, not long before her mother died of cancer. ‘Starting my modelling career at that time was quite helpful,’ she said later. ‘I was expected to be professional.’

Acting up: Having established herself as a lads’ mag favourite, Lisa appeared in a few films before, in 1995, she made her TV debut in Casualty. A regular part in the series Dangerfield that same year was soon followed by major roles in Holby City,

Murder In Suburbia and New Street Law. Dead ends: In 2001, her Holby character, Dr Victoria Merrick, met a dramatic end when (after Lisa begged the producers to ‘make it gruesome!’) she was stabbed. The following year, Lisa played MI5 agent Helen Flynn in Spooks, who died violently in what was only the second episode of the series. Extra helpings: Lisa is a keen cook (‘cooking calms me’), and winning Celebrity MasterChef in 2010 proved to be a turning point in her life – not only did it lead to a second career (writing four bestselling cookbooks), but she also met her partner, chef

John Torode. They live in London with the daughter she adopted with her ex-husband, actor Chris Coghill.