Melanie Kilburn is an English actress, well known for playing PC Laura Bryant in ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's, The Bill

The Bill

The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...

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She was brought up in Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 and attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...

 in the Barbican.

Her career began in 1983 when she starred as Maureen in The Company Car
However after other smaller roles, Melanie rose to prominence in 1991 playing the role of Carol Anderson in Soldier Soldier

Soldier Soldier

Soldier Soldier is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name.Produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 1991 to 1997...

 

Melanie had other regular television and theater roles. She starred as Sandra in Where the Heart Is

Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)

Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...

throughout 1999, and also played the regular role of Liz in Peak Practice

Peak Practice

Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time...

 during the series which aired in 2000.

In 2000 Melanie became well known playing Fred Elliott

Fred Elliott

Frederick Handel "Fred" Elliott is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by John Savident from 1994 until 2006.-Development:...

's wife Eve in Coronation Street

Coronation Street

Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

, However when it emerged Eve was still married she left the show at the end of 2001.

After other smaller roles, Melanie joined the cast of Down to Earth

Down to Earth (UK TV series)

Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...

 in 2005, before winning a role in The Bill between 2005 and 2006.

In March 2008 Melanie appeared in award winning Channel 4 drama Shameless

Shameless

Shameless is a British television drama series set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate. Produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4, the first seven-episode series aired weekly on Tuesday nights at 10pm from 13 January 2004...

, playing a police officer.

She has also starred in Casualty, Heartbeat and Midsomer Murders

Midsomer Murders

Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...

.

Her most recent role is in the BBC drama All The Small Things

All the Small Things (TV series)

All the Small Things is a British television programme, produced by the BBC and created and developed by Debbie Horsfield. Following the lives and ambitions of a church choir and its members, the programme began airing on 31 March 2009 and ran for six episodes. The programme frequently features...

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Melanie also starred as Marie Foggarty in the BBC Birmingham drama Doctors (2000 TV series) on Tuesday, 22 September 2009.