Career
Riley trained at the Oldham Theatre Workshop from the age of nine, and was signed by an agent three years later. After some early roles including extra work on Coronation Street and an appearance in Butterfly kiss which was directed by Michael Winterbottom, her first breakthrough role in UK television was playing Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale over a period of six and a half years.
In 1996, Riley won the National Television Awards for Most popular newcomer for her work in Emmerdale.
Riley was noted for playing the role of Princess Jean in the CITV Awards 1997. Riley went on then to present You've Been Framed from 1998 to 2002, taking over from the former presenter, Jeremy Beadle and raising viewers figures to more than 13 million at its peak in the process. In 1999, Riley appeared opposite a young Jack P Shepherd in Put Out More Fags and had a cameo role in the music video for "When the Going Gets Tough" by Boyzone. In 2000, Riley appeared in ITV's Christmas Pantomime Aladdin opposite stars such as Ed Byrne, Patsy Kensit, Julian Clary and Paul Merton and in 2001, Riley appeared in a commercial for Heineken.
In 2011 she played a small role in the UK produced children's show 'Young Dracula'. In episode 2 "The Enemy" she played the role of Goody McEldrich.
In 2012 she appeared in Scott and Bailey alongside Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp as Nadia Hicks in Series 2, episodes 1 and 2. She then became one of the celebrities on series 10 of Strictly Come Dancing.; partnering Robin Windsor
Riley's other TV credits include roles in Fat Friends, The Bill, Waterloo Road, Holby City, Doctors, the BBC's Afternoon Play series, Having It off. She also played the role of Beth Trailor the little-seen film Secret Society.
On stage, she has appeared in fourteen pantomimes (she starred in Aladdin at the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth in the 2009/2010 pantomime season) and in UK tours of The Play What I Wrote, The Vagina Monologues (opposite Sharon Osbourne), The Naked Truth, Waiting for Gateaux and Calendar Girls.
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Famous quotes containing the word career:
“He was at a starting point which makes many a man’s career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose, with all the possible thwartings and furtherings of circumstance, all the niceties of inward balance, by which a man swings and makes his point or else is carried headlong.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)