Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick has been on our screens as Vanessa Woodfield since 2012, and has been at the centre of some huge storylines.
Vanessa has been a fan-favourite for years. From her relationship with Charity to her emotional cancer storyline, fans love her. And after the recent death of her girlfriend, Suzy, she is once again thrown into centre stage. Especially as it looks set that she is going to have her heartbroken if she ever discovers the truth of Suzy and Mary.
From meeting her wife on Emmerdale, to raising their children together, let’s have a look at Michelle Hardwick’s life away from the Dales.
Michelle joined Emmerdale in 2012 (Credit: ITV)
Michelle Hardwick acting background
In reality, soapland is actually a small place, so it’s no surprise when stars have some cross-overs.
Before getting her role on Emmerdale, Michelle actually appeared on ITV’s other soap, Coronation Street in two different minor roles, in 1997 and 1998.
But it was her character in the TV series The Royal which worked as one of Michelle’s biggest roles. She starred as the character Lizzie Hopkirk – a huge hit with the fans!
Is Michelle in a relationship?
After coming out as lesbian in July 2013, Michelle confirmed she had been in a long-term relationship with music teacher, Rosie Nicholl.
The couple went on to get married in April 2015, but began divorce proceedings two years later, in 2017.
However, Michelle has happily moved on from her previous marriage. In October 2018 she revealed that she was in a relationship with then Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks.
A few months after going public the pair announced their engagement. And in September 2019, they tied the knot.
The pair are really big on keeping fans up to date with their life together on their social media platforms.
She has two children with former Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks (Credit: ITV)
Dealing with trolls
In a sit-down interview with OK!, Michelle admitted she got a lot of abuse online after coming out.
She said: “The root of it all is always because I’m gay. I’m a gay woman. And it’s like, ‘Lesbians shouldn’t be on this earth’.”
The trolls were so extreme that once Michelle had to call the police after receiving death threats.
She explained: “We have had a bit of trolling over the years. And there have been certain times when police have had to be called. There have been some death threats.”
Michelle’s family life
In October 2020, Michelle gave birth to her and Kate’s first son, Edward. And then in November 2022, she gave birth to their daughter.
After she had their each of their kids, she took a break from Emmerdale to enjoy time being a mum. But Michelle returned to the show, and has slotted back in naturally.
Away from her relationship, the Emmerdale star has taken part in numerous Race For Life events near her home, raising money for Cancer Research UK. She has publicly spoken about her brother’s diagnosis and recovery from skin cancer.
Michelle plays Vanessa in Emmerdale (Credit: ITV)
Is Michelle leaving Emmerdale?
As of today (Sunday March 9), there have been no reports that suggest Michelle’s time on Emmerdale is over.
However, in recent months, her wife made the decision to leave Emmerdale and move to Coronation Street.
And with Suzy’s death having just taken place a few weeks ago, it seems unlikely that she would go anywhere anytime soon. Vanessa still has a lot of storylines to share with us! And while there have been some exit announcements lately, she does not appear to be one of them.
But while we hope we aren’t losing Vanessa, it seems an exit is always a possibility in SoapLand.
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Vanessa, who was with Suzy in the limo when it crashed, was devastated and held her girlfriend in her arms for as long as she could, before she had to leave the car and get to safety.
We’ve just about recovered from those heartbreaking scenes now, so we grabbed the chance to catch up with Michelle Hardwick, who plays Vanessa, and found out how she coped filming such emotional scenes. And she gave us a little hint about what’s in store for Vanessa, too.
Vanessa was having a whale of a time before the limo crash (Credit: ITV)
Vanessa faces heartbreak in Emmerdale after the limo crash
As the women realised Suzy was dead they were shocked and horrified, but they also had to focus on getting themselves out of the car. So how did Michelle approach those scenes.
“Just putting yourself in that situation, it’s sheer panic,” she explained. “You’re in this confined space, I remember thinking ‘how would you react?’. You’d either go hysterical where you don’t stop screaming, but if I played it like that it wouldn’t be great! Or you just go into shock and disbelief.”
But the hardest part of the scene, according to Michelle, was when Vanessa had to leave Suzy behind. “It was so heartbreaking. It was horrific. It was so, so upsetting to do. Obviously it was Martelle’s last few days as well. It was really hard, really upsetting.”
There are hard times ahead for Vanessa (Credit: ITV)
Real-life emotions!
And the filming itself took its toll on Michelle.
“It was like 1am and it was heartbreaking to film,” she tells us. “It was really sad. I think because it was the the middle of the night in December and your emotions are heightened anyway, and I just broke down off camera. It was really emotional!”
But despite the tears, Michelle is full of praise for the dramatic episodes.
“It was one of the best things I’ve ever filmed in my career,” she tells us. “It was like being on a Hollywood film set. It was exciting. It was wonderful. But it was bittersweet because we knew we were losing some of our colleagues.”
There was a connection between Suzy and Mary when Vanessa was away (Credit: ITV)
Secrets revealed for Vanessa in Emmerdale
Of course, as far as Vanessa’s concerned, everything between her and Suzy was fabulous, but Michelle hints that perhaps that’s not exactly accurate.
“It was going really well, in Vanessa’s eyes, but if you think about what we’ve seen on screen, she had alluded to the fact that maybe the intimacy wasn’t there…” And that wasn’t all, Michelle reminds us. “In the limo she told Suzy she loved her and she didn’t really get anything back. But she thought Suzy was stressed. She wasn’t reading too much into it. But maybe she should have…”
Sounds intriguing! Perhaps Vanessa is going to find out something Suzy had been keeping from her? How would she feel if she found out Suzy wasn’t as committed?
“She would be heartbroken but also wouldn’t really believe it,” Michelle says. “Vanessa always puts 100% into what she does.”
Vanessa has good friends to help her through (Credit: ITV)
Support network after the limo crash
Luckily, Vanessa has a really strong network around her to help her get through the next few weeks. Who’s going to be there for her? We know she’ll lean on best friend Rhona and sister Tracy, but Michelle says she could also grow closer to someone a little surprising.
“When Vanessa was in Canada, Suzy and Mary had this connection but nothing came of it,” she reminds us. “But because Mary and Suzy had a tight friendship, which Vanessa knew about, Mary’s going to be the biggest support to Vanessa.”
Tough times ahead for Vanessa, there’s no doubt. But we can’t wait to see what happens next!
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
What do you think of our story? Visit our Facebook page @emmerdaleinsider for all the latest Emmerdale news, gossip and spoilers and let us know what you think!
Village vet Vanessa Woodfield has been an integral member of the Emmerdale cast ever since joining the village as the new locum in town. Over a decade later, Vanessa is part of the furniture – having weathered cancer, hostage terror and multiple failed romances.
This week Vanessa is at the heart of the drama once more as she finds her life at risk as two limousines crash on a deserted woodland road. Will Vanessa survive? And, with girlfriend Suzy already confirmed dead and ex Charity also in danger, how will she be affected by the consequences of the crash?
Here’s everything you need to know about Emmerdale vet(eran) Vanessa.
Vanessa has been on Emmerdale since 2012 (Credit: ITV)
Who plays Vanessa Woodfield?
Vanessa is played by actor Michelle Hardwick. Prior to joining Emmerdale, Michelle appeared in episodes of Hollyoaks, Heartbeat and Coronation Street in a series of smaller roles.
Outside of the soaps, she briefly appeared on American zombie drama The Walking Dead across two episodes in 2018 and 2019, where she played an unnamed survivor in one of the post-apocalyptic outposts.
When did Vanessa join Emmerdale?
In 2012, she joined the soap as Vanessa. She was hired by Rhona – her old university friend – to work at the vet’s surgery. She and Rhona remained firm friends during her time in the dales, helping Rhona when she learned about her addiction to painkillers.
Upon arriving, she also made friends with Moira Dingle, striking up a strong and abiding friendship with the family. It was in the village that she learned she had a half-sister – Tracy Metcalfe.
Johnny is Vanessa’s son (Credit: ITV)
How many children does Vanessa have?
In 2015, Vanessa gave birth to her son Johnny. Johnny was the result of the relationship between Vanessa and Kirin Kotecha – Priya’s then-17-year-old stepson-to-be. The pair split up after she had a one-night stand with Adam Barton – and his father edited the result of a DNA test to make it look as though Adam was the baby’s dad.
By 2016, Kirin had learned the truth. He left the village later that year after leaving a woman for dead in a drunken hit-and-run. Kirin returned in 2020, only to face trial for the hit-and-run. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Pierce held Vanessa hostage for weeks (Credit: ITV)
Kidnapped by Pierce
In 2020, Vanessa was held hostage by Rhona’s rapist ex husband, Pierce, who blamed her for ruining his marriage. Keeping her tied up in her own home, Pierce held Vanessa there for weeks.
The police managed to capture Pierce after Rhona injected him with tranquiliser, allowing her to free Vanessa and call the police. He died from cancer while in prison in 2022.
Vanessa was stabbed in a brutal attack (Credit: ITV)
Stabbed by Lachlan’s dad
In 2018, Vanessa was subject to a brutal attack by Lachlan White’s dad, in a campaign of violence against the Dingles. When she attempted to stop Donny as he tried to set fire to the Woolpack, he stabbed her and took her car – unaware Johnny was hiding in the back.
Charity gave chase, rescuing Johnny and beating Donny with a metal pole, before taking up her rightful place at Vanessa’s bedside.
Bowel cancer
At the start of 2020, Vanessa was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes. She underwent surgery, but was devastated to learn that she’d still need a course of chemotherapy afterwards
She took some time out to recover at her mother’s house. When she returned, she did so with the news that she’d been given the all-clear – however, the positivity wasn’t to last, as she learned that girlfriend Charity had snogged another man while she was away. The pair split, and Vanessa returned to her mum’s for a while.
Fans couldn’t get enough of Vanity (Credit: ITV)
Relationships with Charity and Suzy – and breaks-up
Together with Charity Dingle, Vanessa made up one half of the soap’s most popular pairings – dubbed ‘Vanity’ by fans. After a tumultuous romance, the pair split up for good after Charity was kissed Mack.
In 2022, she met Suzy Merton. Flirting over a drink (after Vanessa almost run her over!) the pair dated for a while. However, things became tense with them when it was revealed that Suzy had been partly responsible for Holly’s addiction to drugs.
They split later that year, as Vanessa was offered her dream job, and Suzy decided it would be best if she went without her.
Suzy did return to the village and the couple reunited, with it looking for a while like they had found their happy ever after.
Vanessa left the soap in 2022 as actor Michelle took a break from the soap to go on maternity leave. She and wife Kate Brooks welcomed their daughter in November that year.
In the soap, Vanessa left to pursue a job opportunity in Canada. She returned in February this year to support Rhona, who had gotten herself into trouble with the law after kidnapping baby Ivy. Convincing Rhona to return home, Vanessa decided to move back to the village, where she remains to this day.
Fans are holding out for a Vanessa and Charity reunion (Credit: ITV/YouTube)
Will Charity and Vanessa ever get back together?
Ever since she returned to the soap, fans have been hoping that Vanessa and Charity will reconcile. Although there’s no animosity there, Charity did tell Mack that she had ‘no lingering feelings’ for her ex. That hasn’t stopped the fans from hoping though!
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
What do you think of our story? Visit our Facebook page @emmerdaleinsider for all the latest Emmerdale news, gossip and spoilers and let us know what you think!
There must be something in the water at Emmerdale, given the number of real-life couples that the soap has produced. Love has blossomed between several of the soap’s co-stars over the years.
Although some have just been short-term relationships, others have developed into marriage and babies!
Here’s a look at 10 couples whose eyes first met across the famous village…
Chris Chittell and Lesley Dunlop have been married for eight years (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
Emmerdale couples: Chris Chittell and Lesley Dunlop
Who knew Eric and Brenda were a real-life couple? Chris Chittell is Emmerdale’s longest-serving actor, and has been entertaining audiences with his portrayal of scheming Eric Pollard since 1986. Lesley Dunlop joined the soap in 2008 as Brenda Walker, and it wasn’t long before she and Chris became an item.
The couple, who both have two children each from their previous marriages, got hitched in June 2016. Their wedding took place at St Peter’s Church in the coastal village of Coverack in Cornwall.
Despite living and working together, Lesley and Chris have a policy not to talk about Emmerdale once they get home. But that might have been broken a few times over the years seeing as their characters have had an on/off romance.
We think they make such a gorgeous pair.
Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley are childhood sweethearts (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
Jeff Hordley and Zoe Henry
Jeff Hordley is known to millions as Emmerdale bad boy Cain Dingle, who’s bedded just about every woman in the village. But there’s only one woman for Jeff – his co-star, Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona Goskirk.
This handsome couple go way back. They first met in 1994 when they were students at drama school. Jeff proposed after Zoe won Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Manchester Evening News’ theatre awards. They got married in 2003.
Two years later, Zoe and Jeff welcomed their daughter, Violet, who was followed by son Stan in 2008. The family live in Yorkshire and are keen gardeners, who grow their own produce at their allotment.
Zoe and Jeff have been a couple for 30 years and have spent the last 14 of them both working at Emmerdale. However, don’t expect to see a Rhona/Cain storyline any time soon because they rarely have scenes together.
Charley Webb and Matthew Wolfenden announced their split in 2023 (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
Charley Webb and Matthew Wolfenden
Despite the fact they’re no longer together, Charley and Matthew are still Emmerdale’s most well-known real-life pairing.
Their love story started back in 2007, a year after Matthew joined the soap as David Metcalfe. Charley was already established in her role as Debbie Dingle.
In September 2009 the couple announced they were expecting their first baby, and welcomed son Buster the following spring. Charley and David went on to have two more sons – Bowie, in December 2015, and Ace came along in July 2019.
The couple gave their friends and family an unforgettable surprise in 2018 when they invited them to Charley’s 30th birthday, which turned out to be a secret wedding. Lucy Pargeter, who plays Charley’s on-screen aunt, Chas Dingle, acted as their bridesmaid.
Sadly after five years of marriage Matthew and Charley announced their separation in 2023. In a joint statement on Instagram they said:
“It is with love and respect that we have decided to separate. We remain friends and our priority is the love for our children.”
Chelsea Halfpenny and James Baxter are proud parents to a daughter (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
She was the first actress to play Amy Wyatt, between 2010-2013 before Natalie Ann Jamieson took over the role. While James played the character of Jake Doland from 2007 to 2009.
The couple went Instagram official back in October 2018 and shared some adorable shots with their pet dog.
An engagement announcement followed on June 13, 2021, and in 2023 Chelsea and James revealed they were expecting their first baby. Their little daughter arrived last June.
Emmerdale real-life couples: Natalie J Robb and Johnny McPherson
Natalie and Johnny, who play Moira Dingle and Dr Liam Cavanagh respectively, enjoyed a whirlwind romance.
They went from colleagues to lovers after spending time together doing a charity trip to Lapland in December 2019. Just three months later the world was plunged into lockdown due to the Covid pandemic. Natalie and Johnny decided to fast forward their relationship by moving in together.
The couple managed to keep their love under wraps until June 2020 when they appeared on a Zoom chat together.
Johnny and Natalie stayed together for a year before deciding they were better off as friends. The exes have appeared in Emmerdale scenes together since their split, but have both said there’s no awkwardness there.
Dominic Brunt and wife Joanne Mitchell are both in the business (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
Emmerdale real-life couples: Dominic Brunt and Joanne Mitchell
Paddy’s love life has been chaotic to say the least, but thankfully that’s not the case for his alter-ego, Dominic Brunt. The popular Emmerdale star is happily loved up with wife, Joanne Mitchell – who also happens to be an actor.
Dominic has portrayed village vet Paddy since 1997, but Joanne has played no fewer than four different Emmerdale characters.
Her first role was as DS Karen Barnborough, who investigated Zoe Tate’s rape allegation against Scott Windsor in 2003. Three years on, Joanne played Midwife Yeo and this was followed up by two stints as CAFCASS officer, Susan Davies.
But fans will probably remember her best as Liv’s mum, Sandra Flaherty, who she played intermittently from 2016 to 2022.
Dominic and Joanne met when they were both students at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. They married in 2003 and are parents to their sons, Mickey-Joe and Danny Lee.
It was love at first sight for Fiona Wade and her former co-star Simon Cotton (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
Fiona Wade and Simon Cotton
People often meet their other-halves at work, and that’s what happened for Fiona Wade.
The actress, who is best known for playing Priya Sharma between 2011 and 2023 met her husband, Simon Cotton on the set of Emmerdale. Simon had a short stint as Home Farm Estate client Hugh Bryant in August 2017 and says it was love at first sight.
The couple got engaged at the end of 2018 and married in December 2019. Fiona and Simon exchanged vows in a Bahá’à Faith ceremony at Euridge Manor and Orangery, surrounded by their family and several Emmerdale co-stars.
Since leaving Emmerdale, Fiona has gone on the road in a touring production of 2:22 A Ghost Story.
Emmerdale real-life couples: Max Parker and Kris Mochrie
Max Parker and Kris Mochrie were another couple who fell in love on the set of the ITV soap.
On-screen, the actors played brothers Luke (Parker) and Lee Posner (Mochrie). The day they first met was actually Kris’s last filming on the set of Emmerdale. Max was instantly attracted to his co-star, and decided to slide into Kris DMs after spotting his profile on Tinder.
They got together in July 2020, and were engaged by January 2022 after Max popped the question.
Mark Jordon and Laura Norton have been a couple since 2015 (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
Laura Norton and Mark Jordon
Laura is best known for playing Emmerdale motormouth Kerry Wyatt, while Mark played Daz Spencer. Some viewers may also remember him for his iconic role of PC Mark Bellamy in the ITV teatime drama, Heartbeat.
They’ve been together since 2015, and met on the set of Emmerdale.
Laura and Mark are parents to three-year-old son Jesse, and daughter Ronnie, two, both of whom have been diagnosed with Usher Syndrome. The rare genetic condition affects hearing and vision and can lead to blindness.
The couple are united in their mission to help find a cure for the disease, and are working hard to raise both awareness and funds.
The Emmerdale couple are married with two children (Credit: SplashNews.com)
Emmerdale real-life couples: Michelle Hardwick and Kate Brooks
Love isn’t just amongst the actors on Emmerdale. Michelle Hardwick, who plays vet Vanessa Woodfield, is married to Coronation Street producer Kate Brooks.
The couple first met when Michelle was working as a producer on Emmerdale, and went public with their romance on National Coming Out Day in September 2017.
The following year, Michelle popped the question to Kate. They had an intimate wedding at Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland home in Memphis, followed by a big party back home for their family and friends.
They are now parents to son, Teddy, who Michelle gave birth to in October 2020. And they completed their family with the arrival of daughter Betty in November 2022.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
Visit our Facebook page@emmerdaleinsider for all the latest Emmerdale news, gossip and spoilers and let us know what you think! Or find us on Twitter@emmerdaleinside
