Samia Longchambon

Samia Longchambon
Ghadie in 2011
Born
Samia Maxine Ghadie

(1982-07-13) 13 July 1982 (age 42)
NationalityEnglish
OccupationActress
Years active1992–present
EmployerITV
Television
Spouses
Matt Smith
(m. 2005; div. 2011)
(m. 2016)
Children2

Samia Maxine Longchambon (née Ghadie, previously Smith; born 13 July 1982) is an English actress. She has played the role of Maria Connor in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street since 2000. She also appeared as a contestant on the eighth series of Dancing on Ice in 2013, and won the third series of Cooking with the Stars in 2023.

Early life

Samia Ghadie was born in Eccles, Greater Manchester to Joseph, a French-Lebanese shop owner and Patsy, an English actress whom he met whilst working in Abu Dhabi. Samia lived there for a period as a child.[1] She has a brother named Tariq.

Career

Longchambon first appeared as an extra in Coronation Street at the age of eight and 10 years later she became a regular on the show. She made her first credited TV appearance when she was 11 years old, appearing in an episode of Cracker ("The Big Crunch"). She also made appearances in Children's Ward, Heartbeat, Doctors, There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (feature film) and the children's series Life Force.

In 2000, she beat both Suzanne Shaw and Kimberley Walsh to get the role of Maria Sutherland in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.[2] In Autumn 2009, she took a short break from her role as Maria in Coronation Street on maternity leave and resumed her role in the show in May 2010. She won an episode of Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes impersonating Holly Valance.[3] She also made an appearance in Bo' Selecta! in 2004 as part of a Coronation Street sketch along with co-star Suranne Jones.

In January 2013, Longchambon was a competitor in the eighth series of Dancing on Ice, partnered with French professional ice skater Sylvain Longchambon.[4] However, she was concussed a few days into the pre-series training and[4] eliminated in week eight of the competition, losing out in a skate-off to Luke Campbell.

In 2023, Longchambon won third series of Cooking with the Stars.[5]

Personal life

She married Matt Smith, a property developer, at St Philip's Church in Alderley Edge, Cheshire on 10 September 2005 after a seven-month engagement. On 19 October 2009, she gave birth to a baby girl, Freya,[6] following which she left Coronation Street temporarily on maternity leave. On 4 January 2011, she and her husband announced that they had separated by mutual agreement.[7] On 4 November 2011, she revealed that she had reverted to her maiden surname of Ghadie following a decree absolute which had been granted the same day.[8] In May 2015, she announced her engagement to French professional ice skater Sylvain Longchambon.[9] They married in August 2016.[10] Their son, Yves Joseph Longchambon, was born on 24 September 2015.[11]

Longchambon's father Joseph died of cancer on 14 April 2009.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
1996 Bob's Weekend Kimberley's friend
2000 There's Only One Jimmy Grimble Sara

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Coronation Street Extra Episode: 3482
1994 Cracker Rosie Episode: "The Big Crunch: Part 1"
1995 Children's Ward Charlotte 2 episodes
1997–1998 Adam's Family Tree Jane Main role; 13 episodes
1997, 2000 Heartbeat Maddy; Sian Horrocks 2 episodes
1999 The Cops Emma Hayes Series 2: Episode 9
2000 Life Force Marianne Episode: "Age Before Beauty"
Doctors Kelly Morris Episode: "Game Over"
2000–present Coronation Street Maria Connor Series regular
2003 TV Burp Series 2: Episode 1
Children in Need 1 episode
2010 Bookaboo Unnamed Episode: "A Visitor for Bear"
2013 Dancing on Ice Herself Contestant (5th place)
2018 Big Star's Little Star Herself Participant
2023 Cooking with the Stars Herself Contestant; winner

Guest appearances

Samia has appeared twice on the ITV game show, All Star Family Fortunes. Her first appearance was in a Christmas special in December 2006, when she appeared as part of the Battersby-Brown family.[13] Her second appearance was in May 2012, when she appeared with her own family. In 2008, by then known as Samia Smith, she appeared as a guest on Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour when the show visited Egypt. On 20 September 2014, Samia appeared as a contestant on the primetime game show, The Chase: Celebrity Special.[14]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2002 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [15]
2003 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [16]
2004 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [17]
2005 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [17]
2005 Inside Soap Awards Sexiest Female Won [17]
2006 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [17]
2006 Inside Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [17]
2006 Inside Soap Awards Best Dressed Soap Star Won [17]
2007 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [18]
2007 Inside Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [19]
2008 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [20]
2008 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [21]
2009 British Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [22]
2013 All About Soap Awards Forbidden Lovers (shared with Charlie Condou) Nominated [23]
2014 Inside Soap Awards Best Bitch Nominated [24]
2014 Inside Soap Awards Sexiest Female Nominated [24]
2017 Inside Soap Awards Best Bad Girl Nominated [25]

References

  1. ^ "Corrie's Samia Smith AND HER BIG NIGHT BEAUTY SECRETS". Findarticles.com. 22 May 2005. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  2. ^ "Smith, Samia – Who's who on UK TV from hellomagazine.com, HELLO!". Hello!. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  3. ^ Sexy Female Soap Stars – AOL Photo Gallery
  4. ^ a b Jury, Anna (7 January 2013). "Samia Ghadie on her Dancing on Ice preparations". Daily Mirror.
  5. ^ "Cooking with the Stars crowns 2023 winner". Digital Spy. 8 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Corrie's Samia Smith gives birth – Coronation Street News – Showbiz". Digital Spy. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Coronation Street star Samia Smith splits from husband Matthew". Daily Mirror. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  8. ^ "'Coronation Street' Samia Smith granted divorce, uses maiden name - Coronation Street News - Showbiz". Digital Spy. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  9. ^ Briggs, Zoe (25 May 2015). "Pregnant Samia Ghadie confirms she's engaged to Sylvain Longchambon". OK! Magazine.
  10. ^ "Samia Ghadie exclusively reveals first pictures of glamorous wedding to Sylvain Longchambon". OK!. 29 August 2016.
  11. ^ Briggs, Zoe (28 September 2015). "Samia Ghadie gives birth to beautiful and healthy baby boy". OK! Magazine.
  12. ^ Beth Hardie (14 April 2009). "',mirror.co.uk', – "Coronation Street star Samia Smith devastated after losing father" – retrieved 16 April 2009". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  13. ^ Family Fortunes Corrie Christmas Special (1 December 2006). "Corrieblog: Family Fortunes Corrie Christmas Special". Corrieblog.tv. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  14. ^ "The Chase: Celebrity Special". ITV. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018.
  15. ^ Welsh, James (16 May 2002). "British Soap Awards 2002: Nominations". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  16. ^ "The British Soap Awards 2003". Celebrities Worldwide. 10 May 2003. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "British Television Soap Awards". thecustard.tv. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  18. ^ "The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  19. ^ Green, Kris (3 July 2007). "Inside Soap Awards 2007: The Nominations". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd. Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  20. ^ "The British Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Inside Soap Awards 2008 – Nominations". MSN. Microsoft. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  22. ^ Green, Kris; KilKelly, Daniel (10 May 2009). "British Soap Awards 2009: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  23. ^ "'Hollyoaks' leads 2013 All About Soap Award winners". Digital Spy. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  24. ^ a b Dainty, Sophie (29 July 2014). "Inside Soap Awards 2014 longlist revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  25. ^ Harp, Justin (22 August 2017). "Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks all make the Inside Soap Awards longlist". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 August 2017.