Michelle Hardwick

On 7 June 2019 Michelle won Actor of the Year at the Diva (magazine) awards - her first individual accolade for the role of Vanessa Woodfield.

In October 2018, Hardwick revealed in an Instagram post that she was in a relationship with Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks. She announced the couple's engagement on Twitter in December 2018. They married on 10 September 2019 at Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee.

Hardwick is openly lesbian. In July 2013, she spoke publicly about her sexuality for the first time, confirming that she was in a long-term relationship with music teacher Rosie Nicholl. The couple became engaged on 31 December 2013, and married on 4 April 2015. In 2017, Hardwick announced they were divorcing.

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. 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. While Vanessa is always up for a laugh, she is also plain-speaking and instantly clashes with Rhona's husband Paddy.

In 2000, she played the role of Hero in the Northern Broadsides' production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing".

She has taken notable roles in Heartbeat and Coronation Street. Michelle has 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.

Michelle Hardwick (also known as Michelle Brooks, born 26 February 1976) is an award winning English actress. She is best known for her role as hospital receptionist Lizzie Hopkirk in the ITV drama series The Royal. In 2012, she accepted the role as a regular in ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Vanessa Woodfield.

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". She was known for getting well-known phrases mixed up, malapropisms and general comedic lines. However, Hardwick also demonstrated Lizzie's more serious side when she had to deal with her husband leaving her in the episode "For better for worse".