Rebecca Ryan (born 27 April 1991)[1] is a British actress from Manchester, England, best known for her roles as Carly Hope in Emmerdale and Debbie Gallagher in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Shameless (2004–2009). Ryan also appeared as Vicki MacDonald in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road (2009–2011), Gemma Dean in the BBC One medical drama Casualty (2017–2019) and from 2021 to 2022, she appeared in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Lydia Chambers.
Rebecca Ryan | |
|---|---|
 Ryan at the British Soap Awards in 2022 | |
| Born | 27 April 1991 |
| Education | St Monica's High School |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Known for | |
| Height | 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)[1] |
| Spouse |
Dan Acraman (m. 2022) |
| Children | 1[2] |
Career
editRyan's Northern Irish mother Maranna was the first World Irish dancing champion. Inspired by her mother, Ryan took up Irish dancing lessons at age three, competed in numerous competitions and ranked third at age 12.[3] Ryan first followed her brother, Charlie Ryan, onto the stage at the age of six in a production of The Who's Tommy at Manchester Opera House.[4] Ryan then starred as Debbie Gallagher in Shameless, which she began playing at the age of 11. Though she never had any formal training as an actor, she credits the time spent on the set of Shameless as a useful learning experience.[5]
Ryan has appeared in various television series, including State of Play, Holby City and the CBBC series, Stupid!. In February 2006, she appeared in Emmerdale playing Bob Hope's (Tony Audenshaw) daughter, Carly Hope. She also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 6 as part of a task. Ryan made her stage debut in Scarborough by Fiona Evans at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2008,[4] and subsequently appeared in "Lost Monsters" at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool.[6] From 2009 to 2011, she appeared as pupil Vicki MacDonald in BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road. In January 2010, she played the part of Ellie McCall in a special five-part storyline in BBC daytime soap opera Doctors. In February 2011, Ryan appeared in Let's Dance for Comic Relief, with fellow Waterloo Road cast member, Philip Martin Brown. In May 2011, she played Maeve Summers in an episode of Casualty. She has also appeared as Grace in Monroe (2012), Erin Doyle in an episode of DCI Banks (2014) and Natalie Dixon in Doctors (2015).[7]
In May 2014, Ryan toured in the production of A Taste of Honey Derby Theatre.[4] In February 2015, Ryan starred in the Derby Theatre's Solace of the Road playing the characters Holly and Solace.[8] The Derby Telegraph reviewer, Susie Brighouse, said of her performance: "Rebecca Ryan perfects the complex art of acting by a subtle change of tone to clarify what Solace is thinking, as well as deftly changing between the personalities of Holly and Solace throughout the play."[9] Alfred Hickling of The Guardian wrote: "It's hard to think of an actor more capable of veering between the ages of 12 and 27 at any given moment [than Ryan.]"[10] Ryan featured in the second run of Beryl, written by fellow Shameless actress Maxine Peake, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in June and July 2015, followed by an autumn 2015 tour around England.[11][12] In 2017, Ryan began portraying hospital porter Gemma Dean in the BBC medical drama, Casualty.[1] Ryan confirmed she had departed Casualty on 10 August 2019.[13] In December 2021, she joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Lydia Chambers. She confirmed that her exit would air in 2022 following the conclusion of Lydia's storyline.[14]
Personal life
editRyan married her partner Dan Acraman on 24 September 2022.[15] Ryan gave birth to their first child, a daughter, in May 2023.[16]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Kannibal | Victim 3 | Film; credited as Becky Ryan |
| 2002–2003 | Harry and Cosh | Mary Loo | Recurring role; 14 episodes |
| 2003 | State of Play | Karen Collins | TV mini-series; 3 episodes |
| 2004–2009 | Shameless | Debbie Gallagher | Series regular; 65 episodes |
| 2005 | Holby City | Amy Carter | Episode: "Ostrich Mode" |
| 2006 | Emmerdale | Carly Hope | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Casualty | Leah Crawford | Episode: "Sons and Lovers" |
| 2007 | Stupid! | Judith Bibble | Episode: "Judith" |
| 2009 | Casualty | Kat Ashton | Episode: "Hostile Takeover" |
| 2009–2011 | Waterloo Road | Vicki MacDonald | Series regular; 40 episodes |
| 2010 | Doctors | Ellie McCall | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 2011 | Let's Dance for Sport Relief | Vicki MacDonald | Series 3: Episode 1 |
| 2011 | Casualty | Maeve Summers | Episode: "When the Bough Breaks" |
| 2012 | Monroe | Grace Bushnall | Series 2: Episode 5 |
| 2014 | DCI Banks | Erin Doyle | Episode: "Bad Boy: Part 1" |
| 2015 | Doctors | Natalie Dixon | Episode: "The Kick Inside" |
| 2017–2019 | Casualty | Gemma Dean | Series regular; 53 episodes |
| 2019 | Holby City | Gemma Dean | Episode: "Powerless" |
| 2020 | Doctors | Leah Harrison | Episode: "Castles in the Air"[17] |
| 2021–2022 | Coronation Street | Lydia Chambers | Series regular, 38 episodes |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Villain | Nominated | [18] |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Rebecca Ryan". holby.tv. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Rebecca Ryan gives birth to a baby girl". 2 May 2023.
- ^ "Taste of a classic for Rebecca Ryan". The Lancashire Telegraph. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- ^ a b c Hickling, Alfred (9 April 2014). "Rebecca Ryan". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- ^ "From Shameless to the stage for actress Rebecca Ryan". The Bolton News. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Rebecca Ryan". The Scotsman. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- ^ "Who plays Lydia in Coronation Street? What else has Rebecca Ryan been in?". Entertainment Daily. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Rebecca Ryan to star in Derby Theatre's Spring 2015 production | Derby Theatre". derbytheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014.
- ^ "Solace of the Road". derbytelegraph.co.uk. The Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ Hickling, Alfred (4 March 2015). "Solace of the Road Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "Meet Rebecca Ryan playing Beryl Burton". backseatmafia.com. Backseat Mafia. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Tour de Beryl". West Yorkshire Playhouse. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Dainty, Sophie (10 August 2019). "Casualty airs Gem Dean's final scenes as Rebecca Ryan bows out of role". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ Seddon, Dan (11 March 2022). "Coronation Street star Rebecca Ryan addresses fan "hate" for schemer Lydia". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ Warner, Sam (28 September 2022). "Former Coronation star Rebecca Ryan marries her partner Dan Acraman". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Townsend, Michelle (3 May 2023). "Coronation Street's Rebecca Ryan welcomes first child with husband shows gorgeous name". RSVPLive.ie. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Writer: Henrietta Hardy; Director: John Maidens; Producer: Dawn Coulson-Beckett (21 February 2020). "Castles in the Air". Doctors. BBC. BBC One.
- ^ Harp, Justin (18 July 2022). "Inside Soap Awards announces nominations and new category for 2022 event". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 19 July 2022.
External links
edit- Rebecca Ryan at IMDb