Victoria Entwistle (born 15 September 1968) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Janice Battersby in 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 ...

''.

Early life

Entwistle grew up in

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

; her father owned a newsagent's in Clayton-le-Moors.Vicky Entwistle biography
Corrie.net (6 January 1997). Retrieved on 26 August 2011. She attended Rhyddings High School in Oswaldtwistle, and at the age of sixteen, she commuted to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

to study drama, whilst working nights at a local supermarket. For some time, she worked as a Bluecoat entertainer at Pontin's in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

before she won a scholarship to attend

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in Kings Cross, London, King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint ...

, from which she graduated in 1991.

Career

Entwistle returned to the stage as Hanna in ''Merlin'' before gaining the role of Amy in

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 ...

's '' Our Tune''. Entwistle then played Maxine Graham in ''Like A Virgin'', and was spotted by Granada Television casting director Judy Hayfield. She was offered the role of machinist Janice Lee in ''

'' and made her on-screen debut on 6 January 1997. She also starred in an episode of ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' in 1997. The following month, Entwistle was told that she would be playing the mother of the Battersbys. On 2 August 2010, Entwistle's departure after fourteen years on the show was confirmed. Soap bosses said the actress "agonised" over her decision, but decided the show's fiftieth anniversary year was the right time to say goodbye. Since leaving ''Coronation Street'', Entwistle has worked on the stage. She starred as the Wicked Queen in Blackpool's 2011 production of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'' and in 2012 toured in ''Funny Peculiar'', an award-winning play by Mike Stott, with Suzanne Shaw, Craig Gazey, Dominic Cazenove and Gemma Bissix. From January to August 2013, she played the role of Madame Thénardier in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' on the West End. On 22 August 2013, Vicky entered the ''Celebrity Big Brother'' house along with former on-screen husband, Bruce Jones to compete in the twelfth series. She was paid £150,000. From 13 December 2017 until 7 January 2018, Entwistle appeared in the Christmas

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' at the Pavilion Theatre in Rhyl,

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. She played the character Carrabosse which she has also played in Llandudno Pantomime in 2013.

Personal life

In January 2001, Entwistle was arrested after allegedly head-butting a fan of ''Coronation Street''.Street star arrested
BBC News (22 January 2001). Retrieved on 26 August 2011. The charges against her were dropped.

Filmography

Stage

* ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' as Miss Prism (2019, Octagon Theatre, Bolton)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Entwistle, Vicky 1968 births Living people English television actresses English soap opera actresses People from Accrington Actresses from Lancashire