Vanessa Clare Judith Hehir (born 28 October 1981) is an English actress, known for portraying the roles of Rosie Cartwright in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

police procedural drama ''

Heartbeat Heartbeat, heart beat or heartbeats may refer to: Science and technology * Heartbeat (biology), one cardiac cycle of the heart * Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system ** Heartbea ...

'' (2004–2007), Kirsten Lind on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

medical soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' (2008–2009), Sue Spark in the BBC drama '' Waterloo Road'' (2013–2014) and Esther Hargrave on the ITV soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' (2022–2023).

Life and career

Vanessa Clare Judith Hehir was born on 28 October 1981 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. She made her acting debut in 2001, appearing in an episode of the

police procedural drama ''

''. After having minor roles in series including ''

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 (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' and '' Down to Earth'', she returned to ''Heartbeat'' three years later when she was cast in the regular role of Rosie Cartwright. She departed the series in 2007, with her character being presumed dead after being kidnapped. In 2010, she married co-star

Leon Ockenden Leon Ockenden (born 16 August 1978) is an English actor, director and writer who works in TV, film, theatre and radio. He grew up in the resort town of Looe, Cornwall. He is best known for his role as Norman Jayden in '' Heavy Rain''. Career O ...

. The pair share a daughter together. Between 2008 and 2009, Hehir portrayed the role of Kirsten Lind on the

medical soap opera ''

''. She subsequently went on to appear in the show on two further occasions as different characters in 2019 and 2023, respectively. Then between 2010 and 2011, she had a recurring role as Nurse Summers in the ITV soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

''. In 2013, Hehir joined the cast of the

school drama '' Waterloo Road'' for its ninth series as science teacher Sue Spark. She departed the series during the tenth series, after her character decided to give up teaching following the end of a relationship with Hector Reid, who was portrayed by Hehir's husband, Ockenden. Upon leaving, Hehir portrayed roles in episodes of ''

Unforgotten ''Unforgotten'' is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Ca ...

'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'', ''

Liar A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies ...

'', ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' and ''

The Dumping Ground ''The Dumping Ground'' (also informally referred to as ''The DG'') is a Television in the United Kingdom, British children's television series, children's television drama series that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people who ...

''. She has also appeared in a number of short films, including ''Eliana'' (2015), ''Slaved'' (2016), ''Secret Santa'' (2019), ''The Beast'' (2020) and ''The Willows'' (2021). Hehir has also directed a number of short films, some of which she starred in. In October 2022, she joined the ITV soap opera ''

'' as Esther Hargrave, a woman whom along with her husband, planned to adopt

Summer Spellman ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Kate Oates. The first nota ...

's ( Harriet Bibby) baby, prior to her suffering a miscarriage. She made her final appearance in January 2023 following the conclusion of the storyline. In 2024, Hehir appeared in an episode of ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hehir, Vanessa 1981 births 21st-century English actresses English film actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people Actresses from Manchester English actresses