Eileen Derbyshire

Eileen Derbyshire
MBE
Born (1931-10-06) 6 October 1931
Urmston, Lancashire, England
Occupation Actress
Years active 1948–2016
Spouse(s) Thomas W. Holt (m. 1965)
Children Oliver Holt

Eileen Derbyshire, MBE (born 6 October 1931) is an English actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop in the soap opera Coronation Street. She played the character for 55 years from January 1961 to January 2016, making her the longest-serving female cast member in a British soap opera. She is the mother of sports journalist Oliver Holt. She was awarded an MBE in the 2010 Queens Birthday Honours list with her fellow co-star and friend, Barbara Knox.

Early life

Derbyshire was born in Urmston, Lancashire and from the age of 17, was appearing in plays broadcast on the radio. After several small parts on television, she joined the cast of Coronation Street, first appearing as Miss Nugent in episode 15 in January 1961 (the character appeared as an extra in episode 4 in December 1960 played by an uncredited walk-on actress).[1] The character was then given the forename Emily in 1962.[2]

Derbyshire has a degree in teaching, trained at the Northern School of Music, and also passed her examination at the Royal Academy of Music. She began teaching speech and drama, but had always wanted to act. While on the bus one day, she passed Chorlton Repertory Theatre, and asked for an audition. She was enrolled as a student, and later became assistant stage manager. From there she joined Century Theatre's mobile touring company, and appeared in theatre all over the country, subsequently appearing in repertory theatre throughout Britain.

Personal life

She married retired engineer Thomas W. Holt on 1 April 1965, and the following year they had a son, Oliver. The couple have a cottage in Cheshire, and Derbyshire's interests include opera, reading, going to concerts and holidaying in Vienna and Venice.

Derbyshire has a reputation for reclusiveness.[3] She never joins fellow cast members at awards ceremonies or other events, and has never yet appeared in any of the publicity videos on the Coronation Street website. She has only twice appeared onscreen out of character, when in 1988 she gave a rare interview in a documentary tribute to cast member and good friend Margot Bryant.[4] In 2005 she also gave an interview for an ITV programme aimed at deaf viewers, speaking about working with the deaf actress Alison Briggs, who was playing Emily's niece, Freda Burgess, for which she was interviewed on the set and dressed in character.

Her son Oliver Holt has denied that she is reclusive, pointing out that she is simply private, and "one of the last of a dying breed of old-fashioned actresses who do it for the love of acting, not for all the attendant publicity".[5]

She is a grandmother to Oliver's children, Alice, Edie and Joe. Derbyshire is also a godmother to William Roache's three children[6] and Barbara Knox's daughter Maxine.

Derbyshire has been on a break from Coronation Street for personal reasons since December 2015. Her departure aired on 1 January 2016. Although originally only billed as a six-month sabbatical, Derbyshire has not returned as of October 2018, although a spokesperson for Coronation Street has confirmed that the door remains firmly open if and when she wants to return.

Honours

Derbyshire was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours, for services to drama.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Emily Bishop". ITV Official Coronation Street site. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Cope: 'Emily' should receive damehood - Coronation Street News - Soaps". Digital Spy. 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  3. ↑ Husband, Stuart (28 January 2007). "No comment". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  4. ↑ "Minnie Caldwell Remembered - A Tribute to Margot Bryant (Part 2 of 3)". YouTube. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  5. ↑ Booth, Jenny. "The Times". London.
  6. ↑ "Coronation Street". TVNZ Ondemand.
  7. ↑ "No. 59446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2010. p. 15.
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