Michelle Holmes (born Corinne Michelle Cunliffe; 1 January 1967,

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

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 Lancashi ...

), is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actress who has appeared in several television serials.

Career

Holmes performed in a pop band called the Dunky Dobbers. She changed her professional name to gain entry to the actors' union

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

. Holmes' first acting role was in the

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 ...

soap ''The Practice'' as Susan Turner the receptionist. Originally she was given a part as an extra, but after pestering the producers at

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

with multiple phone calls, she was given an audition for Susan which was successful. Holmes came to prominence as Sue, one of the babysitters in ''

Rita, Sue and Bob Too ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'' is a 1987 British comedy-drama film directed by Alan Clarke, set in Bradford, West Yorkshire about two teenaged schoolgirls who have a sexual fling with a married man. It was adapted by Andrea Dunbar, based on two of ...

'' who are seduced by an older man. A year later she appeared as

Goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

Jenny in ''

Damon and Debbie ''Damon and Debbie'' is a three-part spin-off from the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' first broadcast in November 1987. A Mersey Television production, it was written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, directed by Bob Carlton, and produced by Colin Mc ...

'', and as Tina Fowler in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

''. Holmes played Yvonne Sparrow in the first three series of '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', and Maggie Coles in ''Firm Friends''. She appeared as Marie in two series of '' Common as Muck''. Holmes has appeared in ''

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, '' ...

'' twice: first in 1992 as Lindsay Carmichael, and in 1995 as bar manager Britt Woods. In 2001, she played Connie Harper in ''

Merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...

,'' and guest starred in the

BBC One 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, p ...

school drama, '' Waterloo Road'' as Lindsey Woodham. From July 2006 to August 2006, Holmes played Claudie Williams in '' The Chase'', a

drama. Holmes also stars as Genevieve in the ITV drama '' Life Begins''. She played Theresa in the 2008 series of '' Shameless'' and DC Barbara Maddox in the 2009 production of

Lynda La Plante Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh; 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the ''Prime Suspect'' television crime series. Early life Lynda La Plante was born Lynda Titchmarsh on ...

's ITV crime drama '' Above Suspicion''. In January 2001, Holmes played Pamela Fairbrother and in August 2010 she played Eileen Needham in '' Heartbeat''. In March 2017, Holmes played Jude, a neonatal nurse, in the BBC1 hospital drama series ''Casualty'' and, in April, she played

Maggie Kinsella ''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared or will appear in the serial in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced b ...

in 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 opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

''. More recently, she has played café owner Mary in seasons 8 and 9 of '' Cold Feet''. In October 2022, she portrayed Dora Booth 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 ** ...

''.

Selected credits

*''

'' as Sue (1987) *''

'' as Tina Fowler (1989–1990) *'' Goodnight Sweetheart'' as Yvonne Sparrow (1993–1996) *''

'' as

Britt Woods ''Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared during 1995, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the series producer Mervyn Watson. # ...

(1995) * ''Merseybeat'' as Connie Harper (2001) * ''The Chase'' as Claudie Williams (2006) *'' Shameless'' as Theresa (2008) * ''Above Suspicion'' as DC Barbara Maddox (2009-2012), TV Series, 8 episodes *''

The Road to Coronation Street ''The Road to Coronation Street'' is a 2010 British drama first broadcast on BBC Four. It is a dramatisation of the creation of '' Coronation Street'', the UK's longest-running television soap opera, from conception to its first transmission in ...

'' as Brenda (2010) *''Midsomer Murders'' as Trina Nevins (2016), S18E6: “Harvest of Souls” *''

'' as

/Greta (2017–2018), TV Series 28 episodes *'' Cold Feet'' as Mary (2019) *''

'' as Dora Booth (2022)

References

External links

* *
Corrie.net profile

BBC.co.uk Interview
- about her role in ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Michelle 1967 births Living people English film actresses English television actresses English soap opera actresses Actors from Rochdale Actors from Lancashire