Inside the life of Emmerdale Michelle Hardwick: From relationship with Emmerdale boss to other soap roles
Michelle has been in Emmerdale for almost 13 years
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 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.
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.
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.
Read more: Emmerdale cast members with famous families, including Danny Miller and Will Ash
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Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an early release at 7am on ITVX.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs weekdays at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm on ITV3.
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