Trudie Goodwin, best known for playing June Ackland in the long-running ITV drama The Bill, is the mother of Elly Jackson, the lead vocalist of the music group La Roux. Elly has recently announced her return to the spotlight with a new album set for release this month.
The Bill Career
Goodwin was one of the original cast members of The Bill, making her debut in the pilot episode in 1983 and remaining with the show for over three decades. She played June Ackland for 24 years, featuring in storylines including a romance with colleague Jim and being duped by Gabriel Kent, played by Todd Carty, who was in fact Gabriel's adopted brother David seeking revenge.
Her time at Sun Hill Police Station ended in 2007, a few years before the show was cancelled. She told the BBC at the time that she was "in a state of shock all day because I honestly thought it would go on forever, and I was very very sad that it isn't going to".
Later Roles and Family
After leaving The Bill, Goodwin appeared in the soap Emmerdale as Georgie Sharma from 2011 to 2015, and played Karen Bartley in Casualty. In November 2021, she played Meg Clarke in an episode of the BBC's Doctors.
Goodwin's daughter Elly Jackson was born in 1988. She formed La Roux in 2006 with producer Ben Langmaid, achieving success with songs including "For The Kill" and "Bulletproof" in 2009. Their self-titled debut album sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Ben left the group in 2012, but Elly has continued performing and releasing records under the name La Roux, with albums in 2014 and 2020.
Return to Music
Elly has announced her return to the limelight with a new album due this month. She posted a TikTok video with "Bulletproof" playing, captioned: "You think you can hurt me? I literally wrote and sung this song, lost my voice, had a nervous breakdown and disappeared for 10 years."
Speaking about her daughter's success in 2015, Goodwin said: "It's very strange. She's a lot more famous than I am because she is known worldwide. We had no expectations of them performing, but both of my daughters are musicians and songwriters. Music has always been a massive part of their life, not through me but through my husband. He is an actor, but also an extremely good musician."
She added: "In retrospect, acting is probably a kinder profession than the music industry, but the main thing is that they are doing something they are passionate about and are very lucky to be doing something they love. An awful lot of people never have that opportunity in their whole lives. Once I realised there was no putting either of them off, I tried to support them."
The Bill is streaming on U.
