Elisabeth Dermot Walsh (born 15 September 1974)
is an English actress, known for her role as
Zara Carmichael
Dr. Zara Carmichael is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'', portrayed by Elisabeth Dermot Walsh. Zara was introduced as the new general practitioner at the fictional Mill Health Centre on 4 June 2009 and remained a re ...
in the BBC soap opera ''
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
** ...
''. In 2015, she won Best Female Acting Performance at the
RTS Midlands Awards
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
for her portrayal of Zara.
Early life
Born in
Merton, Walsh is the daughter of Irish actor
Dermot Walsh
Dermot Walsh (10 September 1924 – 26 June 2002) was an Irish stage, film and television actor, known for portraying King Richard the Lionheart in the 1962 television series '' ''Richard the Lionheart'.
Early life
Born in Dublin, Walsh was t ...
and English actress Elisabeth Madeleine Annear.
She has a sister, Olivia, and, from her father's previous marriages, a half-sister, Sally, and a half-brother, Michael.
Walsh was educated at West Heath School in
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
.
She then studied at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...
in London. Before pursuing a career in acting, Walsh worked as an intern for an American
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in Washington DC when she was 17.
Career
Walsh made her television debut in the 1998 television film ''
Falling for a Dancer
''Falling for a Dancer'' is an Irish 1998 romantic drama television movie set in rural Ireland in the 1930s. It first aired on BBC One in four 50-minute episodes on 13 September 1998.
Plot
Set in 1930s Cork, nineteen-year-old Elizabeth has a b ...
''. She has also made appearances in television series such as ''
Love in a Cold Climate
''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1949. The title is a phrase from George Orwell's novel '' Keep the Aspidistra Flying'' (1936).
''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a companion volume to '' The Pursuit of L ...
'', ''
Unfinished Business'', ''
Midsomer Murders
''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...
'', ''
Love Soup
''Love Soup'' is a British television comedy drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery (a role written especially for her) and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond (Series 1 on ...
'' and ''
Holby City
''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...
''.
She also played the lead role of Elinor Carlisle in the 2003
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
adaptation of Agatha Christie's ''
Sad Cypress
''Sad Cypress'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March 1940 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at ei ...
''.
In June 2009, she joined the regular cast of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In an interview with ''
'', Walsh talked about her character, saying: "I think it would be fair to call Zara a bit of a handful! She's quite the volatile personality, and I grabbed the character with both hands. She’s been a bit of a home-wrecker in the past, but I like her; even when you’re playing a baddie, you have to play a baddie like you’re playing a heroine. She behaves appallingly. I don’t think I’d particularly want her as a friend, but she’d be a great fun ride if you’re with Zara!". For her portrayal of Zara, Walsh won the award for Best Female Acting Performance at the 2015
.
and since 2014, she has directed nine episodes.