# Hannah Waterman
**Hannah Waterman** is an English actress best known for playing Laura Beale in the BBC soap opera *EastEnders* from 2000 to 2004. Born in London in 1975, she is the daughter of the actors [Dennis Waterman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-waterman) and Patricia Maynard, and since 2013 she has lived and worked in Australia, where she received citizenship in 2016.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Hannah Elizabeth Waterman[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/) |
| Born | 1975, London, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/) |
| Signature role | Laura Beale in *EastEnders*, joined in 2000, four and a half years and over 400 episodes[2](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Almighty-Sometimes_Program_Web.pdf) |
| Other television | Emily Driscoll in *New Tricks* (2006–2010); Rosemary Miller in *Bali 2002*; Razzie in *NCIS: Sydney*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/37996/hannah-waterman) |
| Training | National Youth Theatre of Great Britain; University of Warwick, Bachelor of Arts (English & Theatre) 1996[4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf) |
| Marriages | Ricky Groves (married 2006, divorced); Huw Higginson (married 11 October 2022), one child[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/) |
| Australian citizenship | Received 13 July 2016, after moving to Australia in 2013[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/) |
## Early life and training
Waterman was born in London in 1975 to the actor Dennis Waterman, known for *The Sweeney* and *Minder*, and the actress Patricia Maynard[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/). Her professional training began with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, and she completed a [Bachelor of Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelor-of-arts) in English and Theatre at Warwick in 1996[4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf).
Her earliest screen credit listed by the British Comedy Guide is *The Missing Postman* in 1997, in which she played a girl in a cafe[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/hannah-waterman/). Through the late 1990s she appeared in British drama series including *Casualty*, *Dangerfield*, *Peak Practice*, and *Tess of the D'Urbervilles*[4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf).
## EastEnders and television career
In 2000 Waterman joined the cast of *EastEnders* as Laura Beale, and she remained with the soap for four and a half years, appearing in over 400 episodes[2](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Almighty-Sometimes_Program_Web.pdf). The role made her a familiar face to British television audiences; a BBC program listing from 2002 shows her billed among the show's principal cast as Laura Beale[6](https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=rank&q=%22Steve+McFadden%22). Her mother guest-starred in the show in 2001 as Edwina Dunn, the mother of Waterman's character[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/).
**Family casting.** Waterman has played the daughter of both her parents in separate projects. Besides her mother's *EastEnders* guest role, she had a recurring part in *New Tricks* from 2006 to 2010 as Emily Driscoll, a woman who mistakenly believed she was the daughter of Gerry Standing, the character played by her father[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/). TVmaze lists her three *New Tricks* episodes across 2006, 2007, and 2010[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/37996/hannah-waterman).
Dennis Waterman was publicly skeptical about soap work as a career move. In a *Radio Times* interview reported by the London Evening Standard, he said his daughter was "too good" to appear in *EastEnders* and that some of the soap's acting was "diabolical", while conceding that some of it was very good[7](https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/soap-star-too-good-for-enders-6972784.html).
After moving to Australia, Waterman appeared in Australian television: *Bali 2002* on Channel 9, in which she played Rosemary Miller across three episodes in 2022, *Home and Away*, in which she played a magistrate, and *NCIS: Sydney*, guest-starring as Razzie in a 2025 episode[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/37996/hannah-waterman) • [4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf). Her film credits include *Patient 17* (2011), *The Nightingale* (2018), and *Mercy Road*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/) • [4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf).
## Theatre
Theatre has been a substantial part of Waterman's working life in both countries. From 2004 she toured the United Kingdom and appeared in the West End, including *Calendar Girls* (tour and West End), *Tom, Dick and Harry* (West End), *Strangers on a Train* (tour), *The Vagina Monologues* (London and tour), and *Abigail's Party* (tour)[2](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Almighty-Sometimes_Program_Web.pdf). In 2010 she toured the UK in *Carrie's War*, playing Auntie Lou in the stage adaptation of Nina Bawden's novel; she described the production's family audiences and its question-and-answer sessions with adults who had themselves been evacuated as children[8](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/interview-hannah-waterman-on-carries-war-at-worthings-connaught-theatre-2409513).
In Australia her stage credits include *The Almighty Sometimes* and *Wicked Sisters* for Griffin Theatre Company, *The Spare Room* at Belvoir St Theatre, *Mr Stink* at the [Sydney Opera House](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-opera-house), *The Kitchen Sink* and *Summer of Harold* at the Ensemble Theatre, *The Whale* for Red Line Productions, and *Talk* for the [Sydney Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-theatre-company)[4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf). She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for *The Almighty Sometimes* at the GLUGS awards in 2018[4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf). Musical theater work includes *Mary Poppins* and *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child* with the Michael Cassell Group[4](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf).
## Personal life
Waterman married the actor Ricky Groves, her *EastEnders* co-star, on 2 September 2006; the marriage ended in divorce[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/). She moved to Australia in 2013 with her partner Huw Higginson and their son Jack, received Australian citizenship on 13 July 2016, and is based in Sydney[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/). She married Higginson on 11 October 2022[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/). During a pregnancy check-up while on holiday in Sydney she was diagnosed with [Type 1 diabetes](https://www.edgepedia.org/type-1-diabetes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/).
## References
1. [Hannah Waterman – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914002/bio/)
2. [The Almighty Sometimes program biographies, Griffin Theatre Company (2017)](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Almighty-Sometimes_Program_Web.pdf)
3. [Hannah Waterman, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/37996/hannah-waterman)
4. [Production biographies, Griffin Theatre Company (2025)](https://griffintheatre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GTC2950_FA_Production_Nucleus_ProgramBooklet_137x210mm_Inner.pdf)
5. [Hannah Waterman, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/hannah-waterman/)
6. [BBC Programme Index, EastEnders listings](https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=rank&q=%22Steve+McFadden%22)
7. [Soap star too good for Enders, London Evening Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/soap-star-too-good-for-enders-6972784.html)
8. [Interview: Hannah Waterman on Carrie's War at Worthing's Connaught Theatre, Sussex Express (29 October 2010)](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/interview-hannah-waterman-on-carries-war-at-worthings-connaught-theatre-2409513)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Soap operas and continuing serials › British and Australasian soaps and characters › EastEnders › EastEnders cast members*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license