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

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), ...

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

, 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 in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

'', 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 Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

series Tinsel Girl.

Early life

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

photography Photography is the visual art, 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 i ...

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 in

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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

. 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'', 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 on ...

'', '' 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 Laffa ...

'' and the cult comedy series '' Little Britain'', where she played the girlfriend of wheelchair-user Andy Pipkin, played by Matt Lucas. 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 Izzy Armstrong in ''

''. 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 ...

(MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to drama and to people with disabilities.

References

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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