Hannah Spearritt

When she was 12, Spearritt landed a part in the Lowestoft Players amateur dramatics society's production of Annie. Thereafter, she successfully auditioned for the National Youth Music Theatre, and became part of the company.[1] She appeared in the NYMT's productions Pendragon (1994–1995), Tin Pan Ali (1996), and the West End musical Bugsy Malone (1997).[1] In 1998, she was cast in the television film The Cater Street Hangman,[1] playing the role of a maid who gets murdered. Spearritt also made appearances on the National Lottery and Blue Peter.

In 1998, Spearritt auditioned for and became a member of S Club 7. In the five years they were together, the group had four UK number one singles and a UK number one album. They recorded a total of four studio albums, released eleven singles and went on to sell over fourteen million albums worldwide.[3] Their first album, S Club, had a strong 1990s pop sound, similar to many artists of their time. However, through the course of their career, their musical approach changed to a more dance and R&B sound which is heard mostly in their final album, Seeing Double. S Club 7 won two BRIT Awards—in 2000 for British breakthrough act and in 2002, for Best British Single. In 2001, the group earned the Record of the Year award. On 21 April 2003, during a live onstage performance, S Club announced that they were to disband.[4]

In 2003, she was in Los Angeles to audition for a role in the film Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, a fact that she revealed at the UK premiere of the film on 24 March 2004 in London. In 2004, Spearritt appeared in horror film Seed of Chucky.[5] In 2005, she appeared in the BBC series Blessed as Sarah. In December 2005, Spearritt appeared in the West End musical Snow! The Musical, at London's Sound Theatre.[6]

In 2006, it was revealed that Spearritt had landed a lead role in the ITV series Primeval. She portrayed the role of Abby Maitland, a reptile enthusiast who gets mixed up with time travelling Professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) after discovering a species of reptile she had never encountered. Later that year, she made an appearance in Agatha Christie's Marple.[7] In March 2012, Spearritt took over the role of Pauline in One Man, Two Guvnors at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.[8] She participated with S Club 7 in a reunion tour, titled Bring It All Back 2015, which toured the UK in May 2015. In December 2015, it was confirmed that Spearritt would star as Mercedes Christie in the BBC medical drama Casualty. Spearritt made her debut on 23 January 2016.[9] In 2017, Spearritt joined the cast of EastEnders as Kandice Taylor, the sister of established character Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley).[10]