Rebecca Ryan (born 27 April 1991)
is an English actress, best known for her role as
Debbie Gallagher
The following is a list of fictional characters from the English comedy-drama '' Shameless'', created by Paul Abbott, which was on Channel 4 between 2004 and 2013. The programme is set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in suburban Manchester a ...
in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
comedy-drama series ''
Shameless'' (2004–2009). Ryan also appeared as
Vicki MacDonald in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...
school-based drama series ''
Waterloo Road'' (2009–2011),
Gemma Dean in the BBC One
medical drama
A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...
''
Casualty'' (2017–2019) and from 2021 to 2022, she appeared in the
ITV soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...
'' as
Lydia Chambers.
Career
Ryan's
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
mother Maranna was the first World Irish dancing champion. Inspired by her mother, Ryan took up
Irish dancing
Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vari ...
lessons at age 3, competed in numerous competitions and ranked third at age 12.
Ryan first followed her brother, Charlie Ryan, onto the stage at the age of six in a production of ''
The Who's Tommy
''The Who's Tommy'' is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Pete Townshend and a book by Townshend and Des McAnuff. It is based on the 1969 rock opera ''Tommy'' by The Who.
Productions
The musical opened at La Jolla Playhouse in San Dieg ...
'' at
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of the m ...
.
Ryan then starred as
Debbie Gallagher
The following is a list of fictional characters from the English comedy-drama '' Shameless'', created by Paul Abbott, which was on Channel 4 between 2004 and 2013. The programme is set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in suburban Manchester a ...
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.
Ryan has appeared in various television series, including ''
State of Play,'' ''
Holby City
''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...
'' and the
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
series, ''
Stupid!''. In February 2006, she appeared in ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffa ...
'' playing
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
'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
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...
in 2008,
and subsequently appeared in "Lost Monsters" at the
Everyman Theatre in Liverpool.
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
''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programm ...
'', 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
''DCI Banks'' is a British television crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. Originally broadcast over five series in 2010–2016, the series was based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and st ...
'' (2014) and Natalie Dixon in ''Doctors'' (2015).
In May 2014, Ryan toured in the production of ''A Taste of Honey''
Derby Theatre
Derby Theatre is a theatre situated in Derby, England, located within the Derbion shopping centre. Formerly known as the Derby Playhouse, it was owned and run by Derby Playhouse Ltd from its opening in 1975 until 2008, when the company ceased ...
.
In February 2015, Ryan starred in the Derby Theatre's ''Solace of the Road'' playing the characters Holly and Solace. 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." 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
han Ryan. Ryan featured in the second run of ''
Beryl
Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several ...
'', written by fellow ''Shameless'' actress
Maxine Peake
Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Ma ...
, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in June and July 2015, followed by an autumn 2015 tour around England. In 2017, Ryan began portraying hospital porter
Gemma Dean in the
BBC medical drama, ''
Casualty''.
Ryan confirmed she had departed ''Casualty'' on 10 August 2019.
In December 2021, she joined the cast of the ITV soap opera ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...
'' as
Lydia Chambers. She confirmed that her exit would air in 2022 following the conclusion of Lydia's storyline.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Rebeccca
1991 births
Living people
English child actresses
English people of Irish descent
English television actresses
English stage actresses
English radio actresses
English soap opera actresses
Actresses from Manchester
Performers of Irish dance
21st-century English actresses
English Roman Catholics