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Beth Cordingly

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Beth Cordingly
Cordingly in 2009
Born
Rebecca Cordingly

(1977-10-25) 25 October 1977 (age 47)
Brighton, Sussex, England
Years active1998–present
Spouse
Adam Speers
(m. 2011; div. 2023)
PartnerIan Kelsey
Children1
FatherDavid Cordingly
WebsiteOfficial website

Rebecca Cordingly (born 25 October 1977), known professionally as Beth Cordingly,[1] is an English actress, known for her appearances in series The Bill, Dead Set, The Burning Girls and Emmerdale.

Early and personal life

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Cordingly was born in Brighton and went to Brighton and Hove High School.[2] She is the daughter of writer and historian David Cordingly.[3]

Cordingly went to the University of Birmingham where she studied English and Drama.[2] She went on to train as an actress at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[4]

As of 2009, she was living on a houseboat in east London.[2]

Career

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She made her first major television appearance in the soap opera, Family Affairs as troubled teenager Sara Warrington;[5] a lapdancer who blew most of her wages on cocaine. She left the soap after a year to play the lead in Noël Coward's Semi-Monde at the Lyric Theatre, West End. The play was directed by Philip Prowse and produced by Thelma Holt.[6] She then played Rose, a cabinet secretary reporting to Derek Jacobi's Major Merton, in Two Men went to War, a film starring Kenneth Cranham and Leo Bill.

In 2002, she joined The Bill as PC Kerry Young.[7][5] After her departure from the show when her character was murdered in 2004, ITV made an hour-long spin off called Kerry's Story that aired on ITV3. In 2023, Cordingly shared her memories of her time on The Bill during a three-part interview for The Bill Podcast,[8] where she was interviewed by her friend and former co-star Natalie Roles.[9]

In 2005 she played Vienna Keen, an exotic dancer, in BBC's Funland and in 2007 played Naomi in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a call girl who has a threesome together with the show's main protagonist, Hannah, played by Billie Piper.[10]

In March and April 2017, Cordingly appeared as Debbie Morton, Shirley Carter's (Linda Henry) cellmate in British soap opera EastEnders.

She has played a variety of roles on television, notably filming two series for Charlie Brooker, playing Veronica in his zombie series Dead Set[11] and featuring in his sketch show, How TV Ruined Your Life with Kevin Eldon.

In theatre she has worked nationally and abroad. In 2006 she played the role of Nina in the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson. In 2013, it was made into an independent feature film and she reprised her role, this time opposite George MacKay, Nigel Lindsay and Norman Pace. When playing Amy in Salt at Manchester Royal Exchange she was nominated for the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Performance in a Studio Production (2010). She worked with Sharon Gless on A Round Heeled Woman in the West End (2012) and has twice played lead roles in Feydeau farces for Sam Walters at the Orange Tree Theatre. In 2012 she played Louisa in Children's Children at the Almeida Theatre, a play directed by Jeremy Herrin and written by Matthew Dunster. In 2015, Dunster directed her in Love's Sacrifice for the RSC, in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. In the same RSC season she played Bellamira in The Jew of Malta, starring Jasper Britton.

On 6 December 2023, Jessica Sansome of the Manchester Evening News announced that Cordingly had joined the cast of Emmerdale as Ruby Fox-Miligan, the wife of Caleb Miligan (William Ash) and mother of Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope). She will make her first appearance in January 2024.[12] For her role as Ruby, Cordingly was longlisted for "Best newcomer" and "Best Villain" at the 2024 Inside Soap Awards.[13][14]

Writing

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Cordingly has an MA in creative writing from Birkbeck, University of London.[15] In 2009, her short story "Marianne and Ellie" was selected by Sarah Waters to be published in an anthology of short stories, Dancing with Mr. Darcy. In 2012, she won the Litro magazine Double Dutch short story competition for her short story about Amsterdam, "The Bike Ride".[1]

Charity work

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Cordingly is an Ambassador for ChildLine and regularly speaks on their behalf. She ran the London Marathon in 2004 for them and spoke at the 2006 Anti-bullying week conference at Westminster Central Hall. In 2009 she was given an award at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for her outstanding contributions to the NSPCC.[16]

Filmography

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TV and film

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Year Programme Role Notes
2000–01 Family Affairs Sara Warrington
2001 Casualty Liz 1 episode: Consequences
2002 Two Men Went to War Rose Film
2002–04 The Bill Kerry Young 133 episodes
2005 Doctors Mel Brindell 1 episode: Credit Limit
2005 Funland Vienna Keen [17]
2006 Heartbeat Connie Green 1 episode: Stumped
2007 Secret Diary of a Call Girl Naomi 1 episode
2008 New Tricks Anna Hodgkiss 1 episode: Couldn't Organise One
2008 Cartwheels Sylvia Short film
2008 Dead Set Veronica
2009 Trial & Retribution Wendy Bilkin 1 episode: Shooter
2009 Merlin Forridel Episode: "The Nightmare Begins"
2010 Material Girl Lynn Jones
2010 Casualty Sharon Holder Episode: "Making Other Plans"
2011 How TV Ruined Your Life Lucy
2013 Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson Nina Film
2016 Suspects Chrissy 2 episodes
2017 EastEnders Debbie Morton Recurring (Three episodes)
2022 Doctors Heidi Sitwell Episode: "A Difficult Conversation"[18]
2023 The Burning Girls Emma Harper
2024 –present Emmerdale Ruby Fox-Miligan Main cast

Theatre

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Year Programme Role Theatre
1998 York Mystery Cycles Mary Magdalen Toronto Festival
1999 Othello Desdemona Orange Tree Theatre
2001 Semi-Monde Norma Lyric Theatre, West End
2005 Monkey's Uncle Cecile/Christine Orange Tree Theatre
2006 Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson Nina Menier Chocolate Factory
2007 Bedroom Farce Susannah No.1 Tour
2009 Our Man in Havana Milly Wormold/Beatrice Severn Nottingham Playhouse
2010 Salt Amy Royal Exchange Theatre
2011 Once Bitten Cesarine Orange Tree Theatre
2012 A Round Heeled Woman Nathalie Riverside Studios/West End
2012 Sauce for the Goose Lucienne Orange Tree Theatre
2012 Children's Children Louisa Almeida Theatre
2015 The Jew of Malta Bellamira RSC, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
2015 Love's Sacrifice Fiormonda RSC, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
2018 Sideways Terra St James's Theatre, London
2019 The Merry Wives of Windsor Mistress Ford RSC, The Barbican
2019 Romeo and Juliet Prince Escalus Stratford-upon-Avon/The Barbican
2019 The Memory of Water Mary Nottingham Playhouse/Guildford
2019–20 The Canterville Ghost Mrs Otis Unicorn Theatre, London

References

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  1. ^ a b "Dutch short story competition Winner: Rebecca Cordingly – The Bike Ride". Litro. 24 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "My Favorite Things: Beth Cordingly". The Argus. 7 November 2009.
  3. ^ Leaver, Joel; Ward, Shauna Bannon (22 February 2024). "Emmerdale star Beth Cordingly's life off-screen including famous ex". The Mirror. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Beth Cordingly". Conway van Gelder Grant.
  5. ^ a b "Me and my health: Beth Cordingly". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Semi-Monde". 26 March 2001.
  7. ^ Beth Cordingly, Hello Magazine. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  8. ^ "The Bill Podcast 112: Beth Cordingly (PC Kerry Young) Part 1".
  9. ^ "The Bill Podcast 113: Beth Cordingly (PC Kerry Young) Part 2".
  10. ^ D'Arminio, Aubry (15 July 2008). "'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' recap: Three-way". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  11. ^ "EAT MY BRAINS! – Interview with Beth Cordingly from Charlie Brooker's Dead Set". 22 October 2008.
  12. ^ Sansome, Jessica (6 December 2023). "Emmerdale finally confirms identity of Caleb's wife and Nicky's mum – and it's not who viewers thought". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  13. ^ Harp, Justin (16 July 2024). "Emmerdale's Tom and Belle story and EastEnders' Six drama among Inside Soap Award nominees". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  14. ^ Timms, Chloe (20–26 July 2024). "Cast your vote now! Inside Soap Awards 2024". Inside Soap. No. 29. pp. 49–52.
  15. ^ "Beth Cordingly | the Official Site". Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Hall of Fame celebs 2009 – Beth Cordingly".
  17. ^ "BBC – Press Office – Funland Press Pack Beth Cordingly".
  18. ^ Timblick, Simon. "'Doctors' spoilers: Will Emma Reid accept some help?". What to Watch. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
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