Former Hollyoaks actress Jodi Albert is worlds away from her days on the Channel 4 soap playing Debbie Dean
A soap favourite who appeared on Hollyoaks during the noughties looks unrecognisable nearly two decades after her final appearance on the Channel 4 drama.
Actress Jodi Albert rolled up in the fictional Chester-based village as Debbie Dean in 2002, and wasted no time in stirring up drama.
She arrived alongside the iconic Dean family, consisting of her parents, Frankie (Helen Pearson) and Johnno (Mark Powley), and her brothers, Jake (Kevin Sacre) and Craig (Guy Burnet), to join her already established sister, Steph Dean (Carley Stenson).
With moments of setting foot in Hollyoaks, Debbie caught the eye of the local lads, including Dan Hunter (Andrew McNair), whom she later dated before cheating with his best mate.
Away from working at Tony Hutchinson’s (Nick Pickard) restaurant, Debbie wanted to become famous and took part in a reality show. She also strived to launch a singing career.
But tragedy struck on Christmas Day 2024, when her on/off boyfriend Dan’s rally car exploded and killed him. This sparked the beginning of Debbie’s exit and left Hollyoaks in 2005.
Despite leaving the soap after three years, Jodi made several guest appearances as Debbie, with her last in December 2006. The actress also went on to appear in Casualty and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
Before finding fame on Hollyoaks, Jodi, now 42, was a member of the British group Girl Thing during her teenage years.
The pop group had a top 10 single with Last One Standing in 2000, and they came back together in 2014 for the second series of The Big Reunion.
In 2008, she also joined the Irish girl group Wonderland in partnership with Louis Walsh. Their album peaked at number eight in the UK charts before splitting in 2011.
Away from show business, Jodi is also a qualified yoga instructor. In 2020, the actress took to Instagram to reveal she’d completed a 14-week course to teach a variety of yoga poses.
Marriage to Westlife’s Kian Egan
In 2009, Jodi married Westlife singer Kian Egan, 45, in a romantic ceremony in Barbados, and they have three sons together, including Koa, Zekey, and Cobi.
Discussing why they chose Barbados as their wedding location, Kian said at the time, “In 2003, I took Jodi to Barbados. We had only been together for eight weeks.
“As soon as you arrive in Barbados, you know you’re on holiday as everyone’s friendly and laid-back. It’s a bit like Ireland
“We enjoyed the place so much we decided to have our wedding there”, reports OK!.
The couple already own a luxurious holiday home in Barbados, however they decided to raise their children in none other than Kian’s native Sligo.
The Westlife star built the stunning seaside home in Strandhill with family in mind in the early 2000s and lives there with his wife Jodi and their three boys.
Kian told RSVP Live: “I suppose as the years went on and we got married and started having children and talked about the idea of where they would grow up and what type of lifestyle we wanted them to have, it just felt like no matter where we went in the world, Strandhill was the place for us.”
During the winter months, the couple like to escape Ireland with their children for the warmer climates of Barbados, where they enjoy surfing.
Hollyoaks airs Monday to Wednesday on E4 at 7pm and first look episodes can be streamed Channel 4 from 7am
