Irene Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. She is best known for portraying the roles of Heather Black in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series Peak Practice (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness, Clare Blake in the ITV crime drama series The Commander (2003–2008), and Karen Fisher in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road (2010–2011).