Michelle Ryan

Michelle Claire Ryan (born 22 April 1984) is an English actress. She was previously best known for portraying the role of Zoe Slater on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She has also starred in the 2007 television series remake Bionic Woman. More recently she has appeared as the wicked sorceress Nimueh in the 2008 BBC TV series Merlin, and as Lady Christina de Souza in the Easter 2009 episode of Doctor Who. Michelle Ryan was born in Enfield, Greater... more

Michelle Claire Ryan (born 22 April 1984) is an English actress. She was previously best known for portraying the role of Zoe Slater on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She has also starred in the 2007 television series remake Bionic Woman. More recently she has appeared as the wicked sorceress Nimueh in the 2008 BBC TV series Merlin, and as Lady Christina de Souza in the Easter 2009 episode of Doctor Who. Michelle Ryan was born in Enfield, Greater London, and was a student at Chace Community School. Her father is a Fire Safety Officer, while her mother works for Clinique. A member of a local theatre group since she was 10, she was picked for her role in EastEnders when she was 15 and first appeared on the show in September 2000; for the part, she affected an East End cockney accent, rather than speaking her usual Received Pronunciation. In 2005, she announced she was leaving EastEnders to concentrate on work in theatre and films. She has mused that her involvement with the show served... less