Acting
She first acted as a cast member on the BBC Saturday morning children's show On the Waterfront. Critics were pleasantly surprised at her gift for comedy and sending herself up. The Nolan sisters and their music were a running gag on the show, and she was joined by her sisters for a musical performance during at least one episode.
She left the group in 1994 to concentrate on her own acting career, which had begun with her 1993 performance in the stage play The Devil Rides Out.
In 2000 she joined the cast of Channel 4's soap opera Brookside as Diane Murray after being noticed by Paul Marquess whilst starring in the play Blood Brothers. She left in 2002 to play Sheelagh Murphy in ITV's police drama series The Bill. Her character Sheelagh had an affair with Des Taviner; their baby daughter then died and Des, who had killed six fellow officers, was beaten to death in custody. Other traumas included finding out that her son was gay and behind several 'homophobic' attacks. Although Nolan left The Bill in 2005 the door was left open for a return, due to her character's enduring popularity.
In 2006 she took part in Channel 4's series The Games, arriving last in the females category. However, rumours abound that she may have actually come fourth and was only ranked last due to a scoring error. Her stint on the game was to raise money for charity, including Alzheimer's and children's charities. Her latest theatre role will be in the 2009 Manchester Opera House pantomime Cinderella, in which she will play the Fairy Godmother.
In 2007, Nolan starred in the play Mum's the Word, and was lined up to star in the Iceland adverts for the summer with her younger sister Coleen. During summer season she appeared at the Blackpool North Pier Theatre in her own production, Soap Queens (And Kings!).
Nolan is currently starring in Flashdance The Musical opening in Plymouth's Theatre Royal this July, as Hannah Owens alongside Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Noel Sullivan and Bruno Langley.
In January and February 2010, Nolan participated in the British ITV1 celebrity reality television programme Popstar to Operastar. She lost against Darius Danesh in the final show, having been the favourite to win.
Read more about this topic: Bernadette Nolan
Famous quotes containing the word acting:
“She does not realize that the only difference between us is that she is on one stage and I on another. I feel that I am acting just as much as she is.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“We don’t want bores in the theatre. We don’t want standardised acting, standard actors with standard-shaped legs. Acting needs everybody, cripples, dwarfs and people with noses so long. Give us something that is different.”
—Dame Sybil Thorndike (1882–1976)
“Acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse. It’s a bum’s life.... The principal benefit acting has afforded me is the money to pay for my psychoanalysis.”
—Marlon Brando (b. 1924)