Inside Emmerdale star Lesley Dunlop's life away from Brenda - including famous husband
16 March 2023, 08:10
Who plays Brenda in Emmerdale, what is her age and who is she married to? Here's what we know about the star...
Brenda Walker has become one of Emmerdale's most loved characters after first appearing more than 15 years ago.
Having first been introduced as the adoptive mother of Gennie Walker (Sian Reese-Williams), she has been a part of some huge storylines over the years.
These include the murder of Gennie and the devastating moment she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2013.
But who plays Brenda in Emmerdale and who is she married to in real life? Here’s what we know…
Who plays Brenda in Emmerdale?
Brenda Walker is played by actress Lesley Dunlop who has been on our screens since all the way back in the 1970s.
The star kicked off her career in a BBC adaptation of A Little Princess and has since starred in films and television shows such as Where the Heart Is and May to December.
Her other credits include Murder Most English, Red Shift, Deadly Game, Doctor Who and Thirteen at Dinner.
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How old is Brenda in Emmerdale?
According to Emmerdale, Brenda is 65-years-old but actress Lesley is actually 67-years-old as celebrates her birthday on 10th March 1956.
She first joined Emmerdale in 2008 and first appears when she visits Gennie in hospital after she was in an accident.
Brenda has also been the owner of Café Main Street as well as the ex-wife of Bernard Walker and Bob Hope and a mother-figure to Bob's youngest children, Cathy and Heath Hope.
Who is Lesley Dunlop married to?
Lesley Dunlop is married to her Emmerdale co-star Chris Chittell who plays Eric Pollard in the soap.
They first became a couple back in 2008 and later got married in June 2016 at St Peter’s Church in Coverack in Cornwall, surrounded by family and friends.
The pair don’t have any children together, but Chris, 74, has two children with his ex-wife Caroline Hunt and Lesley also has two children with her former partner, Christopher Guard.
Their characters did have a brief fling on the show in 2012 but Chris and Lesley asked the writers to make sure they weren’t long-term partners on the soap.
Opening up about his marriage, Chris told the Daily Record: “It was weird. Somehow we’d never met before and we just kept bumping into each other at work.
“I can’t even remember if I asked her on a date or she asked me, but she is wonderful and we’re very happy.”
