Simone Lahbib

Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK

Biography

Simone Nicole Jean Lahbib Ould Cheikl (born February 6, 1965) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles as Helen Stewart in the ITV drama series Bad Girls, DCI Alex Fielding in the ITV crime series Wire in the Blood and Katy Lewis in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Lahbib trained in drama at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University. She then commenced her on-screen career in 1985 when she was cast in The Girl in the Picture, a film set in Glasgow directed by Cary Parker. She also sang on the soundtrack. Lahbib has worked extensively in television and film, after starting her career predominantly in theatre. Following guest appearances on well-known television dramas such as Taggart and Dangerfield. Lahbib is the mother of British actress Skye Lucia Degruttola.

Movies

Judge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real justice in the cases before him. It also stars Jenny Seagrove as the barrister Jo Mills, frequently the object of Deed's desire. A pilot episode was broadcast on 9 January 2001, followed by the first full series on 26 November 2001. The sixth and last series concluded on 18 January 2007. The programme then went on an indefinite break after Shaw became involved in another television programme, and he and Seagrove expressed a wish for the format of the series to change before they filmed new episodes. By 2009, the series had officially been cancelled. The six series produced make it the longest-running BBC legal drama. The factual accuracy of the series is often criticised by legal professionals and journalists; many of the decisions taken by Deed are unlikely to happen in a real court. The romanticised vision of the court system created by Newman caused a judge to issue a warning to a jury not to let the series influence their view of trials—referring to an episode where Deed flouts rules when called up for jury duty. Another episode led to complaints about biased and incorrect information about the MMR vaccine, leading the BBC to ban repeats of it in its original form. All six series have been released on DVD in the UK.

More info
Judge John Deed
2001