Donnaleigh Bailey (born 17 January 1983) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Michelle Corrigan in the BBC soap opera Doctors. For her role as Michelle, she received two nominations for the British Soap Award for Best Actress. Since 2017, she has played the part of Jess Heywood in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Life and career Bailey was born in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, on 17 January 1983. She attended Bishop Challoner School and the Central Junior Television Workshop. The minimum entry age for the latter was eleven, but wanting to join sooner, she lied about her age when she was nine. Bailey's professional acting debut came in 1996 when she appeared in an episode of Dangerfield. She also made appearances in Crossroads and Holby City. Shortly after leaving drama school, she was cast as Michelle Corrigan in the BBC soap opera Doctors. Bailey revealed on her BBC profile for Doctors that when she was shopping with co-star Martha Howe-Douglas who played Donna Parmar, the two were stopped by a man who showed them a cut on his arm. Bailey said that the man "wouldn't believe that they didn't work in a surgery". This happened in another instance, this time with co-star Diane Keen: "one day Diane and I were going for lunch and saw a cyclist knocked off his bike. We ran towards him to see if we could help, but when we got to him I said, 'What can we do?'. I thought, 'This is serious, we can't pretend'. So I just rang for an ambulance. In 2010, Bailey announced her decision to leave Doctors. She felt that since she had been cast on the series straight after leaving drama school, she wanted to explore other career opportunities. On the decision to leave, she said: "It was so sad, and filming the last episode was awful. I sobbed from the first scene of the day to the very end!"
In 2011, Bailey set up a kids drama workshops in Kings Heath. In 2015, she became a semi-regular in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, playing the role of Jess Heywood. Bailey's stage credits include the role of Leah in Beautiful Thing, Nikki in Redundant and Colleen in Martha Loves Michael. In 2019, Bailey appeared in Casualty, as well as an episode of The Reluctant Landlord.
Bailey is a mother of three boys and resides in Nottingham. She is also an Open Door tutor, supporting disadvantaged students with preparation for drama school.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1996 Dangerfield Sarah Episode: "Treasure" 2002 Doctors Jessica Collins Episode: "Carry That Weight" 2002 Crossroads Jenny 1 episode 2004 Holby City Debbie Allen Episode: "One Is the Loneliest Number" 2005 One Way Love Sara Gayle Film 2006–2010 Doctors Michelle Corrigan Regular role 2015–present Coronation Street Nurse (2015)P.C. Woodruff (2016)Jess Heywood (2017–present) Recurring roles 2019 Casualty Trina Frazier 1 episode 2019 The Reluctant Landlord Sandra Episode: "Couples Amnesty"
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2007 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors 2007 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Doctors 2008 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Doctors 2009 British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Doctors 2010 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors 2010 Inside Soap Awards Best Daytime Star Doctors
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