Channel 5 drama The Feud has arrived on Netflix after airing earlier this year, drawing viewers with its tale of a neighbourhood torn apart by a family's plans to build an extension. The six-part series stars former soap actress Jill Halfpenny alongside Rupert Penry-Jones, Larry Lamb, and others.
Halfpenny, 48, from Gateshead, first found fame on Byker Grove before appearing in Coronation Street and later EastEnders as Kate Mitchell from 2002 to 2005. She also competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2004.
The actress has spoken openly about grief after losing her partner Matt Janes to a heart attack in 2017, aged 43. She also lost her father Colin when she was four. In her memoir A Life Reimagined, Halfpenny discussed using alcohol to cope and her journey to sobriety, including attending AA meetings.
She told The Guardian this year: “Without knowing, I was learning a lesson: ballet is often painful, but if you stay with the pain it gets a lot easier. It took me decades to realise the same method applies to dealing with grief.”
Halfpenny is now in a relationship with marketing executive Ian McAllister, whom she met in 2023. She was previously married to actor Craig Conway from 2007 to 2010, with whom she shares a son.
