Michelle Claire Ryan (born 22 April 1984) is an English actress of Irish ancestry.
She was previously best known for portraying the role of Zoe Slater on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She has also starred in the 2007 television series remake Bionic Woman, and more recently as wicked sorceress Nimueh in the 2008 BBC TV series Merlin.
Early life and careerMichelle Ryan was born in Enfield, Greater London, and was a student at Chace Community School. A member of a local theatre group since she was 10, she was picked for her role in EastEnders when she was 15 and first appeared on the show in September 2000; for the part, she affected an East End cockney accent, rather than speaking her usual Received Pronunciation. In 2005, she announced she was leaving EastEnders to concentrate on work in theatre and films. She has mused that her involvement with the show served as a dress rehearsal for working on Bionic Woman.
Primetime career and other worksRyan got her first big break playing Sheylla Grands in the Series TV Show "Chosen Ones" in the 1st season and Zoe Slater in the BBC soap EastEnders.
During summer 2005, Ryan appeared in a run of Who's the Daddy? at the King's Head Theatre. The play by Toby Young and Lloyd Evans is based on the David Blunkett paternity case.
Ryan auditioned to replace Billie Piper as the Doctor's companion in Doctor Who; however, Freema Agyeman was ultimately chosen for the role. She had a small role in an episode of Marple which screened in February 2006, and also appeared in a small independent film the same year, Cashback.
In early 2007, Ryan was seen as Maria in a new adaptation of Mansfield Park opposite Billie Piper for ITV and also as Lila in the film I Want Candy, co-starring Carmen Electra and Mackenzie Crook. In February 2007, it was announced that she had been cast as the lead in the new drama Bionic Woman. The series began airing in the United States on the broadcast network NBC in September 2007. Ryan affects an American accent for the role of Jaime Sommers, except in the episode "The Education of Jaime Sommers" in which her character goes under cover as an English transfer student at a university; for this episode, she uses an Oxfordshire accent instead of her natural London accent. She has had professional dance training and attributes to it helping her with the physically demanding stunts required for the show.
On Red Nose Day 2007, Ryan appeared in a brand new Mr. Bean sketch written and recorded for Comic Relief. She will shortly be seen in Flick, a new Welsh independent film co-starring Faye Dunaway and Leslie Phillips.
In May 2007, Ryan revealed she auditioned for the role of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, eventually given to Eva Green the previous year.
Prior to Bionic Woman, she appeared in Jekyll for the BBC, a modern day version of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde starring James Nesbitt. It began its six-episode run on 16 June 2007 and was released on DVD in the United States on 18 September 2007, one week prior to her debut in Bionic Woman.
She has also appeared as the sorceress Nimueh in the BBC drama series Merlin.
Ryan is signed to Independent Models in London, and is also a patron of children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent.
RecognitionRyan has been among FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in 2002, 2004, 2005 (fourth, her highest ranking), and 2007.
FilmographyThe Worst Witch (1 episode, "Fair Is Foul & Fouls Are Fair", 2000) .... Dolores
Burnside (2 episodes, "Exposed: Part 1" and "Exposed: Part 2", 2000) .... School Friend
EastEnders (454 episodes, 2000-2005) .... Zoe Slater
An Audience with Des O'Connor (2001) (TV) .... Herself as Audience Member (uncredited)
The Saturday Show (1 episode, "22 September 2001", 2001) .... Herself
EastEnders: Christmas Party (2003) (TV) .... Herself (uncredited)
EastEnders: Slaters in Detention (2003) (V) .... Zoe Slater
Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do (2003) (TV) .... Zoe Slater
Children in Need (1 episode, "21 November 2003", 2003) .... Herself
This Morning (2 episodes, "6 May 2004" and "17 February 2005", 2004-2005) .... Herself
GMTV (2 episodes, "15 December 2004" and "18 February 2005", 2004-2005) .... Herself
EastEnders Revealed (1 episode, "The Growing Pains of Zoe Slater", 2005) .... Herself
Sex, Lies & Soaps (1 episode, "Family Conflict", 2006) .... Zoe Slater archive footage (uncredited)
Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs (2006) (TV) .... Rose Waters
Cashback (2006) .... Suzy
I Want Candy (2007) .... Lila
Comic Relief 2007: The Big One (2007) (TV) .... Kate
Mansfield Park (2007) (TV) .... Maria Bertram
Would I Lie to You? (1 episode, "#1.2", 2007) .... Zoe Slater archive footage (uncredited)
Jekyll (6 episodes, "#1.1", "#1.2", "#1.3", "#1.4", "#1.5" and "#1.6", 2007) .... Katherine Reimer
Entertainment Tonight (2 episodes, "1 August 2007" and "2 August 2007", 2007) .... Herself
Bionic Woman (8 episodes, 2007) .... Jaime Sommers
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1 episode, "24 September 2007", 2007) .... Herself
The View (1 episode, "8 October 2007", 2007) .... Herself
HypaSpace (1 episode, "#7.11", 2008) .... Herself
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (1 episode, "#14.9", 2008) .... Herself
2008 BRIT Awards (2008) (TV) .... Herself
TV Burp (1 episode, "#7.10", 2008) .... Jaime Sommers archive footage (uncredited)
Mr Eleven (2008) TV mini-series .... Saz Paley
Flick (2008) .... Sandra Martin
Merlin (4 episodes, "The Mark of Nimueh", "The Poisoned Chalice", "Excalibur", and "Le Morte d'Arthur" 2008) .... Nimueh
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