Verity Charlotte Rushworth (born 15 August 1985) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Donna Windsor 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 ...

'' from 1998 to 2009, with a guest appearance in 2014. She has played many theatre roles throughout the UK, including two leading roles in

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

productions. From 2020 to 2021, she appeared in 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 Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

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 ...

'' as Lily Walker.

Life and career

Rushworth attended St. Mary's Catholic High School, Menston. In 1997, Rushworth had small roles in ITV television programmes such as '' Heartbeat'', and in 1998, at the age of 12, she took on her most notable role, Donna Windsor in the ITV soap opera ''

''. She took the role over from Sophie Jeffery, who played the part from 1993 to 1997. After appearing on ''

'' for over 10 years, Rushworth filmed her final scenes at the end of 2008 which were later aired in January 2009. From 2 February 2009, she made her West End debut in the role of Penny Pingleton in a production of ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'', taking over the role from Elinor Collett. Rushworth then played the leading role of Maria von Trapp in the 2011 UK tour of

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

, before taking on the role of Velma in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

at Curve Theatre, Leicester from November 2013 to January 2014. On 6 January 2014, it was announced that Rushworth would be returning to ''

'' to reprise the role of Donna, after a five-year-absence. Rushworth began filming in February, and returned on screen on 19 March 2014. It was announced that she would be back as Donna for 5 months and departed on 15 August 2014. She shared the role of Holly Golightly with

Pixie Lott Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott (born 12 January 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her debut studio album, ''Turn It Up (Pixie Lott album), Turn It Up'' (2009), reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.5 millio ...

during the 2016 tour of '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''. She then appeared in the West End production of '' Kinky Boots'' until from 2017 to 2018. In June 2020, she began appearing in the

soap opera ''

'' as receptionist Lily Walker, making her final appearance in February 2021.

Filmography

Stage

* ''

'' - Penny Pingleton (2009–2010, London West End) * ''Departure Lounge'' - Sophie (2010) * ''

The Sound Of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' - Maria (2011 UK Tour) * '' Annie'' - Grace Farrel (2011, West Yorkshire Playhouse) * '' Seven Year Itch'' - (2012, Salisbury Playhouse) * '' Merrily We Roll Along'' (2012,

Theatr Clwyd Theatr Clwyd () is a regional arts centre and producing theatre from Mold, Flintshire, in North East Wales. It opened as Theatr Clwyd in 1976, but was known between 1998 and 2015 as Clwyd Theatr Cymru, before reverting to its original name. His ...

) * ''

'' - Velma (2013–2014, Curve Theatre Leicester) * ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

'' - Vera Claythorne (2015 UK Tour) * '' Kinky Boots'' - Lauren (2017–2018, London West End)

Awards and nominations

2015 The British Soap Awards Best scene ((Won))

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rushworth, Verity 1985 births 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses English child actresses English musical theatre actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people People educated at St. Mary's Catholic High School, Menston Actresses from Bradford