Lisa Maxwell

Lisa Maxwell, born on 24 November 1963, is an English actress and television presenter, best known for her role in The Bill as Samantha Nixon. Between 2009 and 2014 she was a regular panellist on the ITV chat show Loose Women.

She was educated at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and first acted on television aged 11, in a schools programme. In 1981 she took part in BBC TV's A Song for Europe as a member of the group Unity, who finished last. Her first senior role was in Remembrance (1982), and in the same year she voiced Kira in Jim Henson's film The Dark Crystal. In 1993 she auditioned for the part of Daphne Moon in Frasier, which eventually went to Jane Leeves.

She played Detective Inspector Samantha Nixon in the ITV1 drama The Bill between 2002 and 2009, appeared in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders in 2013, played Judy Garland in the UK tour of End of the Rainbow in 2016, and joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Tracey Donovan. In 2018 it was announced that she would appear in Celebrity MasterChef.

In comedy and presenting, she appeared on The Russ Abbot Show in 1990, which led to her own short-lived BBC show, The Lisa Maxwell Show, in 1991. In 1985 she won a television vote to become a presenter on the BBC Two pop music show No Limits, and went on to present a number of children's programmes, including Splash!. She was also the subject of This Is Your Life in 2003.