Josephine Melville

Stage, screen and radio actress Josephine Crawford Melville was born in Essex, England, of African and Jamaican ancestry to parents Edmund and Byrel Melville. She started out as a dancer, transitioning to acting in 1983. Three years later, she debuted in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, which marked the beginning of a lengthy association with that company. Her appearances in other stage productions have included Sleeping Beauty and Sinbad the Sailor. On screen from 1983, Melville had a small role in the motion picture Empire State (1987). She made guest appearances in Pie in the Sky (1994) and The Bill (1984) , prior to her best known role as Tessa Parker in nine episodes of the long-running soap EastEnders (1985). At the time of her untimely death, Melville had completed filming for the futuristic thriller Slammer in which she had a starring role as Detective Russell. Outside of the performing arts, Melville also wrote poetry and was active in promoting bo