Born in 1980, Leanne Wilson exudes a gentle, happy glow. Although Leanne may be best known for Staff Nurse Claire Guildford in BBC1 'Casualty', her first big 'break' was actually playing Jess in the long running Sci -Fi series 'Tracker'. Jess was a sexy English barmaid living in Chicago, a lively, energetic outgoing character that was worlds away from the part of 'Claire Guildford' that she played in Casualty for nearly three years. Tracker was a huge big-budget series, filmed in Canada and transmitted around the States and the world, and still being repeated on the Sci-Fi channel today. The series was also made into a film and can often be seen on Channel Five.

'It was an amazing experience,' enthuses Hertfordshire born Leanne. 'Chicago was filming on one side of us and Phonebooth on the other. We were sandwiched in the middle and it was so exciting. I met some amazing people including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rene Zellweger.' Tracker was Leanne's first stab at a long running series and, fortunately, it has taken off and is repeated on various channels in the States - keeping her image fresh in the minds of the Hollywood producers she intends to wow in due course. 'I really want to do film. Whilst it wasn't LA, I learnt so much about the North American film industry while in Toronto. I do visit some great friends I've made and I'd love to work there again.'

Her roles on the British small screen have been slightly more 'girl next door', save for a Muller Rice commercial in which she had to pad along a beach and whip her top off in 2001. She starred in BBC's daytime soap, Doctors, as Candy the receptionist, who took over from Sarah Manner's character. She then appeared in ITV's Night and Day before hot-footing it to the States. She is also friendly with Will Mellor, with whom she starred in the movie version of Is Harry on the Boat in 2000.

Leanne has never swayed from her childhood ambition to be an actress, having danced from the age of three. 'My Mum knew I was going to be an actress the day I came home from school crying because I hadn't got the lead in the school play,' recalls Leanne, who went on to study at Sylvia Young's Theatre School. 'When everyone was out partying, I was fitting in as many productions as I could and in half-term I'd even do the filing in Sylvia's office because I wanted to be there so much.' Such was her dedication that at the tender age of fifteen, she would catch the 97 Green Line to Saturday School in London on her own. 'From a very young age I was in an adult world; I was ahead of my years in that respect.'

She describes her previous Casualty character, Claire, as 'independent, honest, confident and good at her job. She's determined, outgoing and not only does she say what she thinks, but she also stands by what she believes in. What's more, she loves getting up in the morning for work.' Leanne was put straight in at the deep end with her first storyline involving Keith, Claire's boyfriend of six years, with whom she breaks up with.

During her three years on the show, Leanne enjoyed a number of other challenging storylines that included Claire discovering that her brother Pete had raped receptionist Bex. After Pete was wrongly charged not guilty of the crime, a later scuffle led Bex to push Pete down a flight of stairs leading to his death. Unable to cope with the grief, Claire's exit resulted in her driving off a harbour bridge with colleagues Charlie and Luke also inside. It was a memorable series finale which marked Leanne's departure from the show.

In her personal life, Leanne, is currently happy in love with husband Keith Whallett, a builder whom she met on holiday in Greece. Of him she says, 'I think we might be soulmates. We are really opposites which I think is good. He's so laid back he's practically horizontal, whereas I'm manic, I'm always on the go and I can be quite fiery too.' The couple married in May 2006.

It is hard to believe the pretty blonde has an ounce of aggression in her body but Leanne is a fan of kick boxing in her spare time. She enjoys releasing all the pent-up frustration of the week , but her big love is dancing. Street dancing is her bag and, when time allows, she trains at Pineapple Studios in London. Referring to her tight schedule, she laughs, 'I have to dance round my sitting room to keep in there!'

Leanne made her folks proud with her Casualty role. 'I used to go babysitting with my mum and she used to knit while we watched Casualty together. She and my gran are avid watchers.' Like Claire, Leanne is very close to her siblings. She has a younger brother, Matt, who's a cameraman and a tall brunette younger sister, Olivia, who is a model. 'I'm the eldest. They say bossy - I say protective,' says Leanne, the ultimate big sis.