Cherylee Martina Houston (born 20 August 1974) is a British actress. She grew up in Morecambe,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She is currently playing

Izzy Armstrong Izzy Armstrong is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', portrayed by Cherylee Houston. The character first appears on-screen on 16 April 2010; she is introduced as a new love interest for Kirk Sutherland ...

in '' Coronation Street'', a role she has portrayed since April 2010. She also plays Maz in the ongoing

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

series Tinsel Girl.

Early life

Houston's parents, Bill and Coral, ran their own

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

business. She has two older brothers Lee and Vincent. As a teenager she began appearing in school plays and later trained at the

Arden School of Theatre The Arden School of Theatre, also known as The Arden, is a drama school which is part of the Performing Arts faculty at UCEN Manchester in England, United Kingdom. History The school was founded jointly by the Royal Exchange Theatre and South ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. It was only after she graduated at 23 that she was diagnosed with the rare connective tissue disorder, Hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS).

Career

In 2001 she landed a part in the daytime TV soap ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'', playing a girl with multiple sclerosis. More TV work followed, including appearances in ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'', '' Holby City'', ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

'' and the cult comedy series '' Little Britain'', where she played the girlfriend of wheelchair-user

Andy Pipkin Lou Todd and Andy Pipkin are fictional characters from the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain'', played by David Walliams and Matt Lucas respectively. Andy's catchphrases include, "Yeah I know", "Want that one" and "(I) Don't like it", ...

, played by

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain'' (2003–2006, 2020) and '' Come Fl ...

. In 2006 she was one of the main characters in the BBC3 comedy '' I'm with Stupid'' playing Dorothy. In 2010 she landed the part of

in '' Coronation Street''. From 2015 she has played Maz in the

drama series Tinsel Girl. There have been three week-long series: TG and the Tropical Island, where she has to fundraise to get to a friend's wedding in the Seychelles; TG and the Reunion, where she falls out with a long-time friend after discovering that she was asked to be-friend her at uni because she was disabled; TG and the Support Worker where Maz comes to terms with needing and hiring a support worker/ carer whilst keeping her part-time job at a theatre box office. There has also been a one-off 45 minute drama featuring Maz at a chronic pain clinic, first broadcast 30 August 2019. All of these were written by Lou Ramsden and produced by Charlotte Riches. They are partially based on incidents in Cherylee's life. Maz shares her diagnosis of EDS, dislocations and chronic pain. Houston was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to drama and to people with disabilities.

References

* *

External links

* 1974 births Living people Actresses from Lancashire English people with disabilities English soap opera actresses English television actresses People from Morecambe People with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome Wheelchair users Members of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-screen-actor-stub