Michelle Hardwick
Hardwick in 2019
Born (1976-02-26) 26 February 1976
Wakefield, Yorkshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1995–present
Spouses
Rosie Nicholl
​
​
(m. 2015; div. 2017)​
    ​
    (m. 2019)​
    Children2[1]

    Michelle Hardwick (also known as Michelle Brooks,[2] born 26 February 1976[3]) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as hospital receptionist Lizzie Hopkirk in the ITV drama series The Royal and Vanessa Woodfield in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.

    Career

    Born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire,[4] Hardwick studied Performing Arts at Park Lane College and at the Scala Performing Arts school (both in Leeds), following which she has acted in the theatre as well as appearing on television. In 2000, she played the role of Hero in the Northern Broadsides' production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing".[5] She has taken notable roles in Heartbeat and Coronation Street. She appeared in three different episodes of the ITV UK TV series Heartbeat (1995 as Sandra in "Toss up"; 2002 as Lesley Sutton in "Coming of Age", which featured the death of character PC Tom Nicholson, played by Ryan Early; and finally in 2003 as Lizzie Hopkirk in "Out of the Blue"). Hardwick appeared in Coronation Street in 1997 as Sheila Dixon and in 1998 as Naomi Russell.

    Her biggest role came through her casting as receptionist Lizzie Hopkirk (Kennoway) in ITV UK TV series The Royal. The 1960s-set hospital drama was a spin-off from Heartbeat and soon gathered popularity on its own account. Hardwick's portrayal of the ditzy Lizzie (often referred to as "Dizzy Lizzie") was a firm favourite amongst viewers. Lizzie delivered some very funny lines, including "A woman needs a fish like a man needs a bicycle". In 2012, she had a minor role in Hollyoaks as D.I. Parker, who arrested established character Mitzeee (Rachel Shenton).

    In October 2012, it was announced that Hardwick had landed a role in ITV soap Emmerdale.[6] She was to play Rhona's wild friend from college Vanessa Woodfield, who had been tipped to shake up life at the vets' surgery. Vanessa was billed as a "self-assured party girl" who would be "like a breath of fresh air" when she arrived at the vets' practice. Hardwick commented: "As a local girl and a fan of the show, Emmerdale is my dream job. After only two days, I am starting to feel at home already and Vanessa is such a fun character. I can't wait to see what's in store for her."

    Personal life

    Hardwick came out as lesbian in July 2013, confirming that she was in a long-term relationship with music teacher Rosie Nicholl. The couple became engaged on 31 December 2013,[7] and married on 4 April 2015.[8] In 2017, Hardwick announced they were divorcing.[9]

    In October 2018, Hardwick revealed in an Instagram post that she was in a relationship with Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks.[10] She announced the couple's engagement on Twitter in December 2018.[11] They married on 10 September 2019 at Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee, with Hardwick giving birth to their first son Edward Peter Brooks on 9 October 2020.[1] In November 2022, she gave birth to her daughter.

    Hardwick has taken part in Race for Life events near her home to raise money for Cancer Research UK. She has spoken about her brother's diagnosis and recovery from skin cancer.[12]

    Awards and nominations

    Year Award Category Result Ref.
    2013 Inside Soap Awards Best Newcomer Nominated [13]
    2014 19th National Television Awards Newcomer Nominated [14]
    2018 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (shared with Emma Atkins) Nominated [15]
    2019 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (shared with Atkins) Shortlisted [16]
    2020 RadioTimes.com Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [17]
    2020 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (shared with Atkins) Nominated [18]

    References

    1. 1 2 "Emmerdale's Michelle Hardwick and Kate Brooks baby joy". RTÉ TEN. 12 October 2020. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020.
    2. ↑ @ChelleHardwick (12 September 2019). "In over 100 degrees heat, on Tuesday 10th September, I became Mrs Brooks" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    3. ↑ @ChelleHardwick (5 October 2013). "I'm pretty sure my mum gave birth to me in 1976" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    4. ↑ Macdonald, Chris (7 September 2015). "I'm a running convert". Women's Running. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
    5. ↑ @katebrooks (27 April 2019). "Just been to see the wonderful "Much Ado About Nothing" with my wife-to-be" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    6. ↑ "'Emmerdale' unveils four new characters". Digital Spy. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
    7. ↑ "Emmerdale star announces engagement". Digital Spy. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
    8. ↑ "'Emmerdale' Michelle Hardwick: 'People don't guess I'm gay'". Digital Spy. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
    9. ↑ Sandwell, Ian (13 February 2017). "Emmerdale's Michelle Hardwick reveals she's split from her wife Rosie". Digital Spy.
    10. ↑ Harp, Justin (12 October 2018). "Emmerdale star reveals she's dating show's producer". Digital Spy.
    11. ↑ Hardwick, Michelle. "No Ordinary Proposal". Twitter. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
    12. ↑ Nicki Embleton (5 June 2016). "Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick talks about doing Race for Life in Leeds". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
    13. ↑ Dainty, Sophie (22 July 2013). "Inside Soap Awards 2013 - longlist nominees in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
    14. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (17 September 2013). "Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks stars up for NTAs - full list". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
    15. ↑ Davies, Megan (24 July 2018). "Inside Soap Awards 2018 full longlist revealed: Which Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars are up?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
    16. ↑ Harp, Justin (30 September 2019). "Inside Soap Awards 2019 full shortlist revealed – which stars are up for prizes?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
    17. ↑ "RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2020 – Full list of winners". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
    18. ↑ Gonzalez, Elliot (8 November 2020). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2020 Nominees". I Talk Telly.
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