THE STORY SO FAR: Jaye Griffiths

Currently enjoying some dramatic storylines as Elle in Casualty (8.20pm, BBC1), Jaye, 54, has had a long and varied career. Here, we look at how she got where she is today…

Paying her dues: After training at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Jaye – born in 1963 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire – made her TV debut in 1987 in two now forgotten dramas: A Killing On The Exchange and Brookside spin-off Damon And Debbie.

More small roles followed, including guest spots in Between The Lines (1992-93) and Drop The Dead Donkey (1993).

Taking the lead: In 1993, Jaye landed a key role in The Bill; Sally Johnson started out as a DS, but by the following year, she was a no-nonsense DI. She left in 1995, but returned in 2003 – as a private investigator. After The Bill, Jaye starred in BBC hit Bugs

(1995-99) as Ros, leading a team of surveillance experts and crime-fighters who used what was then cutting-edge technology. Authority figure: In addition to police officers, Jaye has played numerous doctors – in the likes of Peak Practice (1993), Always

And Everyone (2002) and Doctors

(2006) – and barristers, notably in Coronation Street (2011), Sherlock

(2012) and EastEnders (2015).

Second time lucky: Minor roles have led to major ones: after a fleeting appearance in Casualty in 1993, she has played Elle since 2016; before that, she’d enjoyed a solid stint in Silent Witness (2008-12) as criminal profiler Janet, having made her debut in the show in 2003 as a detective.