Verity Charlotte Rushworth (born 15 August 1985) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Donna Windsor in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 1998 to 2009, with a guest appearance in 2014. She has played many theatre roles throughout the UK, including two leading roles in West End theatre productions. From 2020 to 2021, she appeared in the BBC medical soap opera Doctors as Lily Walker.
Verity Rushworth | |
|---|---|
 Rushworth in April 2009 | |
| Born | Verity Charlotte Rushworth 15 August 1985 Bradford, West Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Television | Emmerdale Doctors |
| Spouse |
Dominic Michael Shaw
(m. 2013; div. 2021) |
| Partner | Anthony Martin |
| Children | 2 |
Life and career
editRushworth attended St. Mary's Catholic High School, Menston.[1][2] In 1997, Rushworth had small roles in ITV television programmes such as Heartbeat, and in 1998, at the age of 12, she took on her most notable role, Donna Windsor in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She took the role over from Sophie Jeffery, who played the part from 1993 to 1997.[3] After appearing on Emmerdale for over 10 years, Rushworth filmed her final scenes at the end of 2008 which were later aired in January 2009.[4]
From 2 February 2009, she made her West End debut in the role of Penny Pingleton in a production of Hairspray, taking over the role from Elinor Collett.[5] Rushworth then played the leading role of Maria von Trapp in the 2011 UK tour of The Sound of Music, before taking on the role of Velma in Chicago at Curve Theatre, Leicester from November 2013 to January 2014. [6] On 6 January 2014, it was announced that Rushworth would be returning to Emmerdale to reprise the role of Donna, after a five-year-absence. Rushworth began filming in February, and returned on screen on 19 March 2014. It was announced that she would be back as Donna for 5 months and departed on 15 August 2014.[7] She shared the role of Holly Golightly with Pixie Lott during the 2016 tour of Breakfast at Tiffany's.[8] She then appeared in the West End production of Kinky Boots until from 2017 to 2018.[9] In June 2020, she began appearing in the BBC soap opera Doctors as receptionist Lily Walker, making her final appearance in February 2021.[10] [11]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Heartbeat | Lucy Keen | Episode: "Friendly Fire" |
| 1998–2009, 2014, 2024 | Emmerdale | Donna Windsor | Series regular; 1311 episodes |
| 2007 | Soapstar Superstar | Herself | Contestant |
| 2007 | Soapstar Superchef | Herself | Contestant |
| 2020–2021 | Doctors | Lily Walker | Recurring role |
Stage
edit- Hairspray - Penny Pingleton (2009–2010, London West End)
- Departure Lounge - Sophie (2010)
- The Sound Of Music - Maria (2011 UK Tour)
- Annie - Grace Farrel (2011, West Yorkshire Playhouse)
- Seven Year Itch - (2012, Salisbury Playhouse)
- Merrily We Roll Along (2012, Theatr Clwyd)[12]
- Chicago - Velma (2013–2014, Curve Theatre Leicester)
- And Then There Were None - Vera Claythorne (2015 UK Tour)
- Kinky Boots - Lauren (2017–2018, London West End)[13]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Couple (shared with Mark Charnock) | Nominated | [14] |
| 2008 | Digital Spy Soap Awards | Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Charnock) | Nominated | [15] |
| 2008 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [16] |
| 2014 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | Shortlisted | [17] |
| 2015 | 20th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | Shortlisted | [18] |
| 2015 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [19] |
| 2015 | The British Soap Awards | Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Michael Parr) | Nominated | [20] |
References
edit- ^ "The West End Girl: Meet Leeds' own Verity Rushworth INTERVIEW". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- ^ "Rawdon's Verity comes home in musical classic". Wharfedale Observer. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- ^ Derbyshire Council (Verity Rushworth interview) Archived 9 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Doctors spoilers: Ex-Emmerdale star Verity Rushworth guest stars". What's on TV. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ Playbill.com Archived 22 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Curve Theatre, Leicester | Chicago (29 Nov 2013 - 18 Jan 2014) - Curve Theatre, Leicester". Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ Brown, David (8 January 2014). "Emmerdale: Verity Rushworth to return as Marlon's ex-wife Donna". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Verity Rushworth To Star In Richard Greenberg's Adaption Of Breakfast At Tiffany's". 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Exclusive: First look at Simon-Anthony Rhoden and Verity Rushworth in Kinky Boots". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ Director: Merlyn Rice; Producer: Caroline Slater; Executive Producer: Mike Hobson (9 June 2020). "Wild Assumptions". Doctors. BBC. BBC One. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Al Haskey confronts ex-fiancee Lily Walker". What's on TV. Future plc. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ Shenton, Mark (10 May 2012). "The Stage / Reviews / Merrily We Roll Along". Thestage.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ^ "Simon-Anthony Rhoden and Verity Rushworth join Kinky Boots cast". 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ "British Television Soap Awards". thecustard.tv. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ Green, Kris (21 March 2008). "Digital Spy Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ "The British Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (1 October 2014). "Inside Soap Awards 2014: See the full winners list". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ Fletcher, Harry (21 January 2015). "National Television Awards 2015 winners in full - I'm a Celebrity, more". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (30 March 2015). "British Soap Awards 2015 voting opens, longlist announced". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel; Dainty, Sophie (16 May 2015). "Who won at British Soap Awards 2015? See winners list in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 May 2015.