Charlene Emma Brooks (born 3 May 1981) is an English actress. Known for the infamous role of Janine Butcher in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders which has achieved her numerous acclaim and success, Brooks has also appeared in British television shows The Bill, Wired and Bleak House, as well as portraying Anna Fallmont in the Network 10 drama Lie With Me. Brooks has also won the reality shows Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special in 2011 and the twelfth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Early life Brooks was born in 1981, in Ware, Hertfordshire, England, and moved to Barmouth, Gwynedd when she was a child. Brooks attended Tower House School, in Barmouth, and relocated to London to attend Ravenscourt Theatre School, Hammersmith. Career On television, Brooks has appeared in episodes of The Bill, London's Burning, Jonathan Creek and The Demon Headmaster. After her departure from EastEnders in 2004, Brooks's first role was in the BBC drama Bleak House as Jenny. Brooks has appeared in commercials and voiceovers in the United Kingdom, Europe and the US. In 2006, Brooks played Beverley Allitt in a BBC1 docu-drama entitled Beverley Allitt: Angel of Death, alongside Ian Kelsey. Producer Cathy Elliot said: "It's a very sensitive issue and of course it's terrible for the parents to have the whole thing brought up. Each time it's brought up it's painful, but a lot of parents realise it's important it's kept in the public domain and that people are aware that things have happened and that not a lot has been done since". She has guest starred in Robin Hood and Love Soup. In theatre, Brooks, whilst on a break from EastEnders in 2003, appeared in the play Office Games alongside Adam Rickitt. The play was Brooks' West End debut, and described as "a witty and intelligent political commentary". In 2007, she appeared in Our Country's Good at the Liverpool Playhouse. EastEnders When executive producer Matthew Robinson re-introduced the character of Janine Butcher in 1999, after Alexia Demetriou left, Brooks secured the role. Brooks remained in the role until May 2004. In April 2008, Brooks returned to EastEnders for a guest stint. She was later confirmed to be coming back as a regular character. She said, "I had doubts to begin with, mainly because of Kiki, as I know how full-on EastEnders can be, and then there's that stigma about going back