Michelle Holmes
British actress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michelle Holmes (born Corinne Michelle Cunliffe; 1 January 1967)[1] is an English actress who has appeared on television most notably in Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987), Coronation Street (1989–1990), Goodnight Sweetheart (1993–1996), Above Suspicion (2009-2012), and Hollyoaks (2017–2018).
Early life
Holmes was born in Rochdale, Lancashire.[1] She changed her professional name to gain entry to the actors' union Equity.[citation needed] Holmes performed in a pop band called the Dunky Dobbers.[3]
Career
Holmes' first acting role was in the ITV soap The Practice as Susan Turner the receptionist.[2] Originally she was given a part as an extra, but after pestering the producers at Granada with multiple phone calls, she was given an audition for Susan which was successful.[2][1]
Holmes came to prominence as Sue, one of the babysitters in Rita, Sue and Bob Too who are seduced by an older man.[1] A year later she appeared as Goth Jenny in Damon and Debbie,[1] and as Tina Fowler in Coronation Street.[1] Holmes played Yvonne Sparrow in the first three series of Goodnight Sweetheart,[1] and Maggie Coles in Firm Friends.[1] She appeared as Marie in two series of Common as Muck.[1] Holmes has appeared in Emmerdale twice: first in 1992 as Lindsay Carmichael,[1] and in 1995 as bar manager Britt Woods.[1]
In 2001, she played Connie Harper in Merseybeat,[1] and guest starred in the BBC One school drama, Waterloo Road as Lindsey Woodham.[4] From July 2006 to August 2006, Holmes played Claudie Williams in The Chase, a BBC One drama. Holmes also stars as Genevieve in the ITV drama Life Begins.[1] She played Theresa in the 2008 series of Shameless[1] and DC Barbara Maddox in the 2009 production of Lynda La Plante's ITV crime drama Above Suspicion.[1] In January 2001, Holmes played Pamela Fairbrother and in August 2010 she played Eileen Needham in Heartbeat.[5]
In March 2017, Holmes played Jude, a neonatal nurse, in the BBC1 hospital drama series Casualty and, in April, she played Maggie Kinsella in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. More recently, she has played café owner Mary in seasons 8 and 9 of Cold Feet.[6] In October 2022, she portrayed Dora Booth in the BBC soap opera Doctors.[7]
Selected credits
- Rita, Sue and Bob Too as Sue (1987)
- Coronation Street as Tina Fowler (1989–1990)
- Goodnight Sweetheart as Yvonne Sparrow (1993–1996)
- Emmerdale as Britt Woods (1995)
- Merseybeat as Connie Harper (2001)
- The Chase as Claudie Williams (2006)
- Waterloo Road as Lyndsay Woodham (2007)
- Shameless as Theresa (2008)
- Above Suspicion as DC Barbara Maddox (2009-2012), TV Series, 8 episodes
- The Road to Coronation Street as Brenda (2010)
- Midsomer Murders as Trina Nevins (2016), S18E6: “Harvest of Souls”
- Hollyoaks as Maggie Kinsella/Greta (2017–2018), TV Series 28 episodes
- Cold Feet as Mary (2019)
- Doctors as Dora Booth (2022)