Claire "Cerrie" Burnell was born on 30 August 1979 and is an English actress, singer, playwright, children's author, and former television presenter for the BBC children's channel CBeebies.
14 Facts About Cerrie Burnell
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Cerrie Burnell's mother is a dance teacher, and her father is a telecoms manager.
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Cerrie Burnell was originally named Claire but started asking people to call her "Cerrie" at the age of 10.
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Cerrie Burnell grew up in the Orpington suburb of Petts Wood in South-East London.
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Cerrie Burnell was born with her right arm ending slightly below the elbow.
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Cerrie Burnell's parents encouraged her to wear a prosthetic arm, but she resisted from the start and stopped wearing one entirely when she was nine.
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Cerrie Burnell had dyslexia, which left her unable to read until the age of 10.
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Cerrie Burnell learned with extra tuition and the Letterland system.
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Cerrie Burnell graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University, where she studied acting.
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Cerrie Burnell has performed in theatre in the UK, where she received favourable reviews, and in Brazil with the CTORio Political Theatre Company.
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Cerrie Burnell has appeared in UK television parts in Holby City, EastEnders, Grange Hill, The Bill, and Comedy Lab.
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Cerrie Burnell starred in The First to Go by Nabil Shaban, about the "Disabled Holocaust" in Nazi Germany, playing the part of Brunhilde, at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in 2008.
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Cerrie Burnell joined CBeebies' presentation department on 26 January 2009, as a continuity presenter for Discover and Do and The Bedtime Hour, alongside Alex Winters.
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In 2018, Cerrie Burnell played the role of Penny Stevenson for a short stint in the Birmingham-based soap opera Doctors.