Helen Grace
Encyclopedia
Helen Grace is an English
actress who trained at the Drama Centre London, now part of the University of the Arts, London. She grew up as an only child
in Northwood, attended St. Helen's School
and obtained a psychology degree from Durham University
.
Her career began with her 1996 portrayal of Georgia Simpson in the controversial Channel 4
television soap opera
Brookside
, the role for which she is probably still best known. The character of Georgia Simpson was in an incestuous relationship with her younger brother, and the storyline attracted considerable press attention at the time. She undertook this role "for the experience" and as a springboard for her career more than for celebrity and was less than pleased with some of the early attention she received. However, she won her share of praise from respectable quarters for her handling of this difficult role and, at the beginning of 1997, appeared alongside fellow soap stars of the day Patsy Palmer
and Tracy Shaw
in a Vogue
magazine issue celebrating the British woman.
Upon leaving Brookside, she appeared in two series (1998 and 1999) of Roger Roger
, a BBC1 sitcom penned by Only Fools and Horses
creator John Sullivan
, set in a London minicab firm. She has also made numerous TV guest appearances, including Poirot "Lord Edgware Dies
", Bad Girls
, Cold Feet
, Midsomer Murders
, Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
and Lewis
.
On stage, she appeared as the wife of Gregor Antonsecu (played by David Suchet
) in the acclaimed revival of Terence Rattigan
's Man and Boy
at the Duchess Theatre
, London
. She has also appeared in Tennessee Williams
' The Glass Menagerie
at the Theatre Royal York
(November 1999) alongside Honor Blackman
, and in Don Taylor's
The Road To The Sea at the Orange Tree Theatre
, Richmond (2003). During 2007-2008, she played the role of Marjorie Houseman (Baby's mum) in the stage version of Dirty Dancing
at the Aldwych Theatre
in London's West End.
Her film work includes Hello Friend
, in which she plays the wife of a man whose life is blighted by a piece of demonic computer software. The film, written by IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan
, is included in the extras on the IT Crowd Series 1 DVD, and features cameo appearances by Richard Ayoade
and Julia Davis
.
A website with news and information on Helen's career, run by a then-16-year-old fan, opened at helengrace.co.uk in late-2000 and was endorsed by Helen shortly afterwards. It has now closed down after nearly a decade online. In a note posted on the site shortly beforehand, its author, now a journalist, explained this was a mutual, amicable decision as both she and Helen felt it had run its course, but that they would continue to support each others' work.
Helen is married, with one daughter, born in 2004.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress who trained at the Drama Centre London, now part of the University of the Arts, London. She grew up as an only child
Only child
An only child is a person with no siblings, either biological or adopted. In a family with multiple offspring, first-borns, may be briefly considered only children and have a similar early family environment, but the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have...
in Northwood, attended St. Helen's School
St. Helen's School
St. Helen's School, founded in 1899, is a selective independent day school in Northwood, North West London for girls aged three to eighteen. It is also the sister school of Merchant Taylors' School. It previously accepted boarders but as of Autumn 2009 the school is no longer a boarding school, and...
and obtained a psychology degree from Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
.
Her career began with her 1996 portrayal of Georgia Simpson in the controversial Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
, the role for which she is probably still best known. The character of Georgia Simpson was in an incestuous relationship with her younger brother, and the storyline attracted considerable press attention at the time. She undertook this role "for the experience" and as a springboard for her career more than for celebrity and was less than pleased with some of the early attention she received. However, she won her share of praise from respectable quarters for her handling of this difficult role and, at the beginning of 1997, appeared alongside fellow soap stars of the day Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer is an English actress. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill, but is best known for playing Bianca Jackson in the popular British television soap opera EastEnders. Originally in the cast from 1993–1999, Palmer returned to EastEnders in...
and Tracy Shaw
Tracy Shaw
Tracy Shaw is a British actress and singer.She is best known for her role as hairdresser Maxine Peacock in British soap opera Coronation Street during the 1990s and early 2000s.-Career:...
in a Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
magazine issue celebrating the British woman.
Upon leaving Brookside, she appeared in two series (1998 and 1999) of Roger Roger
Roger Roger
Roger Roger is a BBC television comedy-drama written by John Sullivan. The series was about a mini-cab firm called Cresta Cabs. The pilot aired in 1996 and there were three subsequent series on BBC1 in 1998, 1999 and 2003.-Pilot: 1996:...
, a BBC1 sitcom penned by Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
creator John Sullivan
John Sullivan
John Sullivan was the third son of Irish immigrants, a United States general in the Revolutionary War, a delegate in the Continental Congress and a United States federal judge....
, set in a London minicab firm. She has also made numerous TV guest appearances, including Poirot "Lord Edgware Dies
Lord Edgware Dies
Lord Edgware Dies is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of Thirteen at Dinner. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence...
", Bad Girls
Bad Girls (TV series)
Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
, Cold Feet
Cold Feet
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
, Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story is a 2008 BBC Television docudrama written by Amanda Coe, telling the life story of the British morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse...
and Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
.
On stage, she appeared as the wife of Gregor Antonsecu (played by David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
) in the acclaimed revival of Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
's Man and Boy
Man and Boy
Man and Boy is a play by Terence Rattigan.It was first performed at The Queen's Theatre, London, and Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, in 1963. It was poorly received, but revived in 2005 at the Duchess Theatre, London, with David Suchet as the lead part, Gregor Antonescu, to great acclaim...
at the Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She has also appeared in Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
at the Theatre Royal York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
(November 1999) alongside Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
, and in Don Taylor's
Don Taylor (director)
Donald Victor Taylor was an English writer, director and producer, active across theatre, radio and television for over forty years...
The Road To The Sea at the Orange Tree Theatre
Orange Tree Theatre
The Orange Tree Theatre is a 172-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south west London, built specifically as a theatre in the round....
, Richmond (2003). During 2007-2008, she played the role of Marjorie Houseman (Baby's mum) in the stage version of Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
at the Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
in London's West End.
Her film work includes Hello Friend
Hello Friend
Hello Friend, sometimes written as Hello, Friend, is a short comedy horror film directed and written by Graham Linehan. The film was Linehan's directorial debut. The film stars Martin Savage as a man, John Ward, but credited as the "Subject", who buys some new internet software for his computer,...
, in which she plays the wife of a man whose life is blighted by a piece of demonic computer software. The film, written by IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor, comedian and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
, is included in the extras on the IT Crowd Series 1 DVD, and features cameo appearances by Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade
Richard Ellef Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer and director best known for his role as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.Ayoade was born an only child to a Norwegian mother, Dagny , and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. Ayoade studied at St...
and Julia Davis
Julia Davis
Julia Davis is an English comedy writer and performer, best known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night.-Background:...
.
A website with news and information on Helen's career, run by a then-16-year-old fan, opened at helengrace.co.uk in late-2000 and was endorsed by Helen shortly afterwards. It has now closed down after nearly a decade online. In a note posted on the site shortly beforehand, its author, now a journalist, explained this was a mutual, amicable decision as both she and Helen felt it had run its course, but that they would continue to support each others' work.
Helen is married, with one daughter, born in 2004.