Donnaleigh Bailey Explained

Birth Date:17 January 1983
Birth Place:Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England
Occupation:Actress
Yearsactive:1996–present
Television:Doctors

Donnaleigh Bailey (born 17 January 1983) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Michelle Corrigan in the BBC soap opera Doctors. For her role as Michelle, she received two nominations for the British Soap Award for Best Actress. Since 2015, she has played the part of Jess Heywood in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

Life and career

Bailey was born in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, on 17 January 1983. She attended Bishop Challoner School and the Central Junior Television Workshop. The minimum entry age for the latter was eleven, but wanting to join sooner, she lied about her age when she was nine.[1] Bailey's professional acting debut came in 1996 when she appeared in an episode of Dangerfield. She also made appearances in Crossroads and Holby City.[2] Shortly after leaving drama school, she was cast as Michelle Corrigan in the BBC soap opera Doctors. Bailey revealed on her BBC profile for Doctors that when she was shopping with co-star Martha Howe-Douglas who played Donna Parmar, the two were stopped by a man who showed them a cut on his arm. Bailey said that the man "wouldn't believe that they didn't work in a surgery". This happened in another instance, this time with co-star Diane Keen: "one day Diane and I were going for lunch and saw a cyclist knocked off his bike. We ran towards him to see if we could help, but when we got to him I said, 'What can we do?'. I thought, 'This is serious, we can't pretend'. So I just rang for an ambulance.[3] In 2010, Bailey announced her decision to leave Doctors. She felt that since she had been cast on the series straight after leaving drama school, she wanted to explore other career opportunities. On the decision to leave, she said: "It was so sad, and filming the last episode was awful. I sobbed from the first scene of the day to the very end!"

In 2011, Bailey set up a kids drama workshops in Kings Heath. In 2015, she became a semi-regular in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, playing the role of Jess Heywood.[4] Bailey's stage credits include the role of Leah in Beautiful Thing, Nikki in Redundant and Colleen in Martha Loves Michael. In 2019, Bailey appeared in Casualty,[5] as well as an episode of The Reluctant Landlord.[6]

Bailey is a mother of three boys and resides in Nottingham. She is also an Open Door tutor, supporting disadvantaged students with preparation for drama school.[7]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996DangerfieldSarahEpisode: "Treasure"
2002DoctorsJessica CollinsEpisode: "Carry That Weight"
2002CrossroadsJenny1 episode
2004Holby CityDebbie AllenEpisode: "One Is the Loneliest Number"
2005One Way LoveSara GayleFilm
2006–2010DoctorsMichelle CorriganRegular role
2015–presentCoronation StreetNurse (2015)
P.C. Woodruff (2016)
Jess Heywood (2017–present)
Recurring roles
2019CasualtyTrina Frazier1 episode
2019The Reluctant LandlordSandraEpisode: "Couples Amnesty"

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2007British Soap AwardsBest ActressDoctors[8]
2007British Soap AwardsSexiest FemaleDoctors
2008British Soap AwardsSexiest FemaleDoctors[9]
2009British Soap AwardsSexiest FemaleDoctors[10]
2010British Soap AwardsBest ActressDoctors[11] [12]
2010Inside Soap AwardsBest Daytime StarDoctors[13]

Notes and References

  1. News: Doctors star Donnaleigh Bailey sets up drama workshops for kids. 22 July 2011. 24 August 2022. Laws. Roz. 24 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220824082728/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/theatre-doctors-star-donnaleigh-bailey-158205.amp. live.
  2. News: Donnaleigh Bailey (Michelle). BBC. BBC Online. 11 October 2012. 24 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924213824/http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/doctors/actors/donnaleigh_bailey_person_page.shtml. live.
  3. News: Donnaleigh Bailey on her tears at leaving Doctors . . Laws . Roz . (Reach plc) . 22 August 2022 . 8 August 2010 . 24 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220824082728/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/tv/donnaleigh-bailey-on-her-tears-at-leaving-doctors-248810.amp . live .
  4. News: Casualty fans delighted as they spot two familiar faces – including THIS former Coronation Street star!. What's on TV. 6 January 2021. 24 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220824082729/https://www.whattowatch.com/news/casualty-former-coronation-street-star-572188. live.
  5. News: Casualty viewers spot TWO familiar faces including former Coronation Street star . . live . 6 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190324181110/https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/casualty-viewers-treated-two-familiar-14178285.amp . 24 March 2019.
  6. Web site: The Reluctant Landlord Series 2, Episode 4 - Couples Amnesty . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210923184354/https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_reluctant_landlord/episodes/2/4/ . 23 September 2021 . 24 August 2022 . British Comedy Guide.
  7. Web site: Open Door: East Midland Tutors . Open Door . 13 July 2020 . 30 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191030173614/https://www.opendoor.org.uk/our-tutors . live .
  8. News: The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners. Digital Spy. 27 May 2007. Green. Kris. 24 August 2022. 19 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131019175838/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/news/a58280/the-british-soap-awards-2007-the-winners.html. live.
  9. Web site: The British Soap Awards 2008: The Winners. Digital Spy. Hilton. Beth. Green. Kris. 4 May 2008. 20 May 2012. 19 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131019164040/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/news/a94815/the-british-soap-awards-2008-the-winners.html. live.
  10. News: McLennan . Patrick . British Soap Awards 2009: Nominations revealed! . 16 February 2021 . . . 9 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190409230830/https://www.whatsontv.co.uk/british-soap-awards/british-soap-awards-2009-nominations-revealed-189110/ . live .
  11. Web site: The British Soap Awards 2010 Winners Release. ITV. 10 May 2010. 20 May 2012. 13 May 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100513023046/http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/britishsoapawardswinnersrelease/default.html. live.
  12. News: British Soap Awards 2010: The Winners . 16 February 2021 . . . 3 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190103003956/https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a217728/british-soap-awards-2010-the-winners/ . live .
  13. Web site: In Full: Inside Soap Awards 2010 Nominees . Wightman . Catriona . . 13 July 2010 . 19 May 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101017105038/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/news/a242852/in-full-inside-soap-awards-2010-nominees.html . 17 October 2010 .