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Name: Maiden name Bernice Blackstock, formerly Binns, Thomas, Willis, White
First appeared: 25 November 1998
Birthday: 29 December 1968
Parents: Rodney Blackstock, Diane Sygden
Spouse: Lawrence White (divorced), Charlie Willis (divorced), Ashley Thomas (divorced/deceased), Anthony Binns (divorced)
Siblings: Paul Lambert (half brother), Nicola King (half sister)
Children: Gabby Thomas, Diane ‘Dee Dee’ Willis
Occupation: Beauty Salon Owner
Lives: Brook Cottage
Milestones:
Nov 1998: Arrives in the village and finds work as a barmaid at The Woolpack, after leaving her husband Anthony when she found him in bed with another man
Becomes landlady of The Woolpack and begins a relationship with local vicar Ashley Thomas, marrying him on Christmas Day
Falls pregnant but miscarries. Ashley takes a temporary job away from the village. Feeling abandoned, begins an affair with Carlos, reuniting with Ashley on his return and becoming pregnant
Bernice’s half-sister, Nicola, arrives in the village and begins dating Carlos, and tried to trap him
Carlos says he could be the father of Bernice’s baby, devastating Ashley
2002: Ashley is confirmed as the father of Bernice’s child, leading them to reconcile. She leaves to take a job on a cruise liner but Gabby stays with Ashley
2004: Gets engaged to her partner, Charlie, and gives birth to another daughter who she names Diane, after her mother
2012: Returns to the village to see Diane when her marriage ends following an affair with Steve
Becomes Acting landlady of The Woolpack working alongside Chas Dingle
Mar 2014: Opens a salon in the area and starts a secret fling with Andy Sugden but is devastated when he reunites with his ex-wife Katie
Becomes engaged to Lawrence White but has a one-night stand with Andy on her hen night
Nov 2015: On her wedding day, Bernice comes clean to Lawrence, who offers her an open marriage. She declines but marries him anyway
Jun 2016: Splits from Lawrence after finding out he is gay and in love with Ronnie Hale
Jul 2016: Sleeps with Andy again, behind his girlfriend Chrissie White’s back
Aug 2016: Decides to go on the run with Andy but changes her mind
Sep 2016: Teams up with Andy’s adoptive brother Robert Sugden to get revenge on Chrissie
Samantha Giles
Samantha played Bernice Blackstock in Emmerdale from 1998–2002, making a brief return in 2004 before returning properly in 2012.
She won a TV Quick Award for Best Actress and a nomination for a National Television Awards for Most Popular Actress (both in 2000)
Played Sally Boothe in Where the Heart Is (2003–2005) and other TV credits are Doctors, Dangerfield, Coronation Street and Midnight Man. Her stage credits include A Taste of Honey (as Helen), Dead Funny (Lisa), and Season’s Greetings (Belinda).
She joined the cast of the Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks in 2008 as Valerie Holden, a role that was taken over from actress Jacqueline Leonard. She left Hollyoaks on maternity leave, written out as moving to Spain. However, she returned in July 2010, and left again in August 2010.
In December 2010, Giles appeared on Celebrity Mastermind where her specialist subject was the works of Alfred Hitchcock.
In March 2016, she appeared on Big Star’s Little Star with her daughter Eve.
