Nicola Stephenson
Nicola Stephenson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nicola Stephenson in War Horse as Rose Narracott | |
| Born | 5 July 1971 Oldham, Greater Manchester, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse | Paul Stephenson |
| Children | 2 |
Nicola Stephenson (born 5 July 1971)[1] is an English actress. She played the roles of Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn in Holby City, Sarah Williams in The Chase, Allie Westbrook in Waterloo Road, and Tess Harris in Emmerdale.
Life and career
She was born in Oldham, Lancashire[2] and attended North Chadderton School for her secondary education.[3]
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.[4][5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
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 killed off in a hit-and-run incident. Stephenson's role in the soap also reunited her with her co-star from The Chase, Gaynor Faye, who had played the character of Megan Macey since 2012.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Coronation Street | Priscilla Millbanks | 3 episodes |
| 1989 | The Rainbow | Ethel | |
| 1990 | Children's Ward | Amanda | Recurring Role |
| 1990 | Medics | Suzie | Guest Role |
| 1990–1994 | Brookside | Margaret Clemence | Series Regular |
| 1994 | Nice Day at the Office | Lizzie Kershaw | Lead Role |
| 1994-1997, 2023-present | EastEnders | Hazel Foster | Series Regular |
| 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 | Recurring Role |
| 1998–2001 | Casualty | Julie Fitzjohn | Guest Appearances |
| 1999–2001 | Holby City | Series Regular | |
| 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 | Helen Enright/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 |
| 2017–2020 | The Worst Witch | Julie Hubble | Series regular |
| 2018 | The Alienist | Maebh Connor | Guest Role |
| 2019 | Agatha Raisin | Liz Jellop | Guest Lead |
| 2019 | Tales From The Lodge | Amanda | |
| 2020 | Silent Witness | Grace Beaty | Guest Lead |
| 2021 | Midsomer Murders | Izzy Silvermane | Guest Lead |
| 2021 | Whitstable Pearl | Connie Rowe | Guest Lead |
| 2022 | The Dumping Ground | Delilah Fortune | Guest Role |
| 2022 | The Walk-In | Jack Renshaw's Mother | |
| TBA | Line of Duty | DCI Joanna Arbank | TBA |
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, one named Esme Rose Stephenson born in 2008 daughter of Director Ian Curtis, and one named Iris Lilly Stephenson, born in 2010 daughter of Paul Stephenson. She is currently married to artist Paul Stephenson.
References
- ^ "Weekend birthdays". The Guardian. 5 July 2014. p. 47.
- ^ "Nicola Stephenson's profile at Another Tongue". anothertongue.com. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "North Chadderton School – list of notable alumni".
- ^ Roffey, Monique (2 October 1994). "When Anna and Beth kissed Margaret: Anna Friel plays Brookside's lesbian pin-up. Monique Roffey met her". theindependent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "Discover more about the stars of BBC Drama – Anna Friel". BBC.
- ^ "The London Olympics opening ceremony includes a lesbian kiss seen around the world – AfterEllen". 28 July 2012.
- ^ Crawford, Sue (19 April 2015). "Life as I know it: Nicola Stephenson, star of the new drama Safe Houses". Daily Express. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "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.