Donnaleigh Bailey
Bailey at the Inside Soap Awards in 2010
Born (1983-01-17) 17 January 1983
Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England
OccupationActress
Years active1996–present
TelevisionDoctors

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[1] 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".[1] 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!"[3]

In 2011, Bailey set up a kids drama workshops in Kings Heath.[2] 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.[1] 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

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Dangerfield Sarah Episode: "Treasure"
2002 Doctors Jessica Collins Episode: "Carry That Weight"
2002 Crossroads Jenny 1 episode
2004 Holby City Debbie Allen Episode: "One Is the Loneliest Number"
2005 One Way Love Sara Gayle Film
2006–2010 Doctors Michelle Corrigan Regular role
2015–present Coronation Street Nurse (2015)
P.C. Woodruff (2016)
Jess Heywood (2017–present)		 Recurring roles
2019 Casualty Trina Frazier 1 episode
2019 The Reluctant Landlord Sandra Episode: "Couples Amnesty"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2007 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors Nominated [8]
2007 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Doctors Nominated [8]
2008 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Doctors Nominated [9]
2009 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Doctors Nominated [10]
2010 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors Nominated [11][12]
2010 Inside Soap Awards Best Daytime Star Doctors Nominated [13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Donnaleigh Bailey (Michelle)". BBC. BBC Online. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 Laws, Roz (22 July 2011). "Doctors star Donnaleigh Bailey sets up drama workshops for kids". Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 Laws, Roz (8 August 2010). "Donnaleigh Bailey on her tears at leaving Doctors". Birmingham Mail. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "Casualty fans delighted as they spot two familiar faces – including THIS former Coronation Street star!". What's on TV. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Casualty viewers spot TWO familiar faces including former Coronation Street star". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "The Reluctant Landlord Series 2, Episode 4 - Couples Amnesty". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Open Door: East Midland Tutors". Open Door. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  8. 1 2 Green, Kris (27 May 2007). "The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  9. ↑ Hilton, Beth; Green, Kris (4 May 2008). "The British Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  10. ↑ McLennan, Patrick. "British Soap Awards 2009: Nominations revealed!". What's on TV. Future plc. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "The British Soap Awards 2010 Winners Release". ITV. 10 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "British Soap Awards 2010: The Winners". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Wightman, Catriona (13 July 2010). "In Full: Inside Soap Awards 2010 Nominees". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
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