Janine Birkett is an actor, occasionally turning her hand to directing, producing and writing. TV credits include: Byker Grove, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, and Vera; and she played Jenny, Billy’s Mam, in the film Billy Elliot. She is also an award-winning audio-narrator as the voice of Ann Cleeves’s ‘Vera’ novels.
Janine studied Sociology, then Race Relations and worked in community settings before switching to Public Relations after a spell travelling abroad. Her passionate theatre hobby became her career in the 1990’s. She recently returned to her home city of Newcastle after living and working London, Cheshire and North Yorkshire.