Nicola Stephenson
| Nicola Stephenson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 July 1971 |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Children | 2 |
Nicola Stephenson (born 5 July 1971)[1] is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn in Holby City, Sarah Williams in The Chase and Tess Harris in Emmerdale.
Life and career
Career
She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Channel 4's Brookside; Stephenson's on-air kiss with Anna Friel (Beth Jordache) was the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss to be broadcast on British television.[2][3] In 2012 the kiss was broadcast to over 5 billion people when it was included as part of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony directed by Danny Boyle. The opening ceremony was broadcast uncensored in 76 countries where homosexuality is illegal and therefore became the first homosexual kiss to be broadcast in these countries.[4] Other roles have included Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie Armstrong in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, Sarah Williams in BBC's The Chase and All at Sea. In 2012, Nicola played Louise, a series lead in the ITV drama Homefront. In 2014 she joined the regular cast of Waterloo Road as art teacher Allie Westbrook for 11 episodes.
Her theatre roles include A Patriot for Me at the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Peter Gill, His Girl Friday and Edmund at the National Theatre, directed by Ed Hall, and War Horse at the New London Theatre in London's West End, directed by Marianne Elliot.
In 2007, she had a lead role in the BBC TV 3 part series Superstorm directed by Julian Simpson. In 2014 she worked with Simpson again when he directed her as a guest lead in the BBC TV series New Tricks.
She appeared in the ITV drama Safe House in early 2015.[5]
From 2015 to 2016, she played the part of Tess Harris in the soap-opera Emmerdale. Her five month stint on the serial came to a sudden end when her character was unexpectedly killed off in a hit-and-run incident. Stephenson's role in the soap also reunited her with her The Chase co-star Gaynor Faye, who played the character of Megan Sharma since 2012.
She was born in Oldham, Lancashire[6] and attended North Chadderton School for her secondary education.[7]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Rainbow | Ethel | |
| 1990 | Children's Ward | Amanda | Recurring Role |
| 1990 | Medics | Suzie | Guest Role |
| 1990–1993 | Brookside | Margaret Clemence | Series Regular |
| 1994 | Nice Day At The Office | Lizzie Kershaw | Lead Role |
| 1996 | My Wonderful Life | Gail | |
| 1996 | Out of The Blue | Lucy Shaw | Main Cast |
| 1997 | Wokenwell | Fran Rainford | Main Cast |
| 1997 | The Bill | Julie Hicks | Reccrring Role |
| 1998–1999 | Casualty | Julie Fitzjohn | Series Regular |
| 1999–2001 | Holby City | ||
| 2002–2003 | Clocking Off | Suzie Davidson | Lead Role |
| 2004 | Christmas Lights | Jackie | Lead Role |
| 2005 | The Afternoon Play | Nicola Passmore | |
| 2005 | Dead Man Weds | Donna Havercroft | Main Cast |
| 2005 | The Walk | Christine | |
| 2005 | Waking The Dead | Julia Henderson | Guest Role |
| 2006 | Northern Lights | Jackie | Lead Role |
| 2006–2007 | The Chase | Sarah Williams | Series Regular |
| 2007 | Superstorm | Sara Hughes | Main Cast |
| 2007 | City Lights | Jackie | Lead Role |
| 2008 | Hotel Babylon | Justine | Guest Role |
| 2008 | Lark Rise to Candleford | Susan Braby | Guest Role |
| 2008 | Clash of The Santas | Jackie | Lead Role |
| 2009 | Law & Order: UK | Mandy Jackson | |
| 2010 | Strike Back | Diane Porter | Guest Role |
| 2010 | Moving On | Lindsay | |
| 2012 | Life Stories | Megan's Mum | |
| 2012 | Homefront | Louise Mancetta | Lead Role |
| 2013–2015 | All At Sea | Mum | Series Regular |
| 2014 | New Tricks | Emily Fraser | |
| 2014 | Waterloo Road | Allie Westbrook | Series Regular |
| 2015 | Safe House | Ali | Main Cast |
| 2015–2016 | Emmerdale | Tess Harris | Series Regular |
| 2017 | The Worst Witch | Ms Hubble |
Personal life
Stephenson was in a relationship with actor Kieran O'Brien for eight years. The relationship ended in 1999.[8] Nicola has two daughters named Esme, born in 2008 and Iris, born in 2010. She is married to the artist Paul Stephenson.
References
- ↑ "Weekend birthdays". The Guardian. Guardian Media. 5 July 2014. p. 47.
- ↑ Roffey, Monique (2 October 1994). "When Anna and Beth kissed Margaret: Anna Friel plays Brookside's lesbian pin-up. Monique Roffey met her". www.theindependent.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ↑ "Discover more about the stars of BBC Drama - Anna Friel". BBC.
- ↑ http://www.afterellen.com/tv/102520-the-london-olympics-opening-ceremony-includes-a-lesbian-kiss-seen-around-the-world
- ↑ Crawford, Sue (19 April 2015). "Life as I know it: Nicola Stephenson, star of the new drama Safe Houses". The Daily Express. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ "Nicola Stephenson's profile at Another Tongue". www.anothertongue.com. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ North Chadderton School - list of notable alumni
- ↑ "Me, cool and calm?; Nicola Stephenson says she's so clumsy she nearly killed someone while filming Clocking Off. She talks to Janie Lawrence about that, her ideal men (yes men) and life after that Brookside lesbian snog". The Free Library. 13 January 2002. Retrieved 15 April 2014.