Helen Grace (born 20 August 1971, in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

) is an English actress. She played the incestuous Georgia Simpson on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

soap ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

''.

Biography and Career

Born Helen Victoria Scragg, she grew up as an

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, Birth, by birth or adoption. Children who have half-siblings, step-siblings, or have never met their siblings, either living at the same house or at a different house—especially those who were born con ...

in Northwood and attended St. Helen's School. She later trained to be an actress at the

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint Martins, a constitu ...

, now part of the

University of the Arts, London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Col ...

. Her career began in 1996 with her role on ''Brookside'' as Georgia Simpson, who was in an incestuous relationship with her younger brother. The storyline attracted considerable press attention at the time. She said that she undertook this role "for the experience" and as a springboard for her career more than for celebrity and was less than pleased with some of the early attention she received. However, she won praise for her handling of the role, and at the beginning of 1997, appeared alongside fellow soap stars of the day

Patsy Palmer Julie Anne Merkell (''née'' Harris; born 26 May 1972), known professionally as Patsy Palmer, is an English actress and DJ, known for her roles as Natasha in the children's drama series ''Grange Hill'' (1985–1987), and Bianca Jackson in the ...

and

Tracy Shaw Tracy Shaw (born 27 July 1973) is a British actress and singer. Early life Shaw was born into the hotel and pub trade, at the time when her parents ran the Talbot Hotel in Belper, Derbyshire. She attended Saint Ralph Sherwin Comprehensive Schoo ...

in a ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' magazine issue celebrating the British woman. Upon leaving ''Brookside'', she appeared in two series (1998 and 1999) of ''

Roger Roger ''Roger Roger'' is a BBC television comedy drama written by John Sullivan. The series was about a mini-cab firm called Cresta Cabs. The pilot aired in 1996 and there were three subsequent series on BBC1 in 1998–2003. Cast and characters Mai ...

'', a

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

penned by John Sullivan, set in a London minicab firm. She has also made numerous TV guest appearances, including the Jane Wilkinson in "

Lord Edgware Dies ''Lord Edgware Dies'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of ''Thirt ...

", Bad Girls, Cold Feet,

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 ...

, Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story and

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

. On stage, she appeared as the wife of Gregor Antonescu (played by

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenh ...

) in a revival of

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

's '' Man and Boy'' at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 se ...

, London. She has also appeared in

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

' ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'' at the Theatre Royal

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(November 1999) alongside

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

, and in Don Taylor's ''The Road To The Sea'' at the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. Th ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

(2003). During 2007–2008, she played the role of Marjorie Houseman (Baby's mother) in the stage version of ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman ...

'' at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

in London's West End. Her film work includes

Hello Friend ''Hello Friend'', sometimes written as ''Hello, Friend'', is a short comedy horror film directed by Graham Linehan and written by Linehan and Robert Popper. The film was Linehan's directorial debut. The film stars Martin Savage as a man, John ...

, in which she plays the wife of a man whose life is blighted by a piece of demonic computer software. The film, written by

IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in the offices of the fict ...

creator

Graham Linehan Graham Linehan () (born 22 May 1968) is an Irish television writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), ''Black Books'' (2000–2004) and '' The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013). He has also ...

, is included in the extras on the

Series 1 DVD, and features cameo appearances by

Richard Ayoade Richard Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he ...

and

Julia Davis Julia Charlotte L. Davis (born 25 August 1966) is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy ''Nighty Night'' (2004–2005) and the comedies ''Hunderby'' (2012–2015) and ' ...

. She joined British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' in 2012, making her first appearance on 13 July as Elizabeth Morrison, mother of already established character

Maddie Morrison Maddison "Maddie" Morrison is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Scarlett Bowman. Maddie is an old friend of Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke). Bowman's casting was announced in June 2011. Maddie was in ...

(Scarlett Bowman) and wife of Ed Morrison (Dominic Rickhards).

Personal life

Grace is married, with two children. Her husband is actor

Timothy Watson Timothy Watson is a British actor best known for his role as Rob Titchener in BBC Radio 4's long-running soap opera ''The Archers'' and voice roles as Mumkhar in ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' and Urianger Augurelt in ''Final Fantasy XIV''. Early ...

References

External links

* * https://www.facebook.com/Helen-Grace-1172926566050776/ * https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUg_4nZyugeOds9MXQqFMvQ
CV at Gavin Barker Associates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Helen English stage actresses English television actresses English soap opera actresses Alumni of Durham University 1971 births Living people People educated at St Helen's School Alumni of the Drama Centre London Actresses from Hertfordshire