Hey folks (or ‘sappenin all!).

A lot of my friends and family probably know by now that I am well-enamoured with a prolific Liverpudlian star whose name escapes me….

But in recent years, the Merseysider in me has slowly developed a strong appreciation for a variety of other active scouse actresses who have delivered fine work on the big and small screen over the years.

After highlighting these talented women on a social media post last year, I was inspired to put together a series of articles to celebrate their achievements, with each piece covering four different individuals.

As there were a wide selection of actresses to focus on, I only chose to concentrate on those that were born (or raised) in the Liverpool area, hence the exclusion of those that come from Wirral, Runcorn and Southport. Maybe next time!

The first quartet of names to make the list include a BAFTA winner, the star of one of the most popular programmes in Netflix history, and an actress who loves all the drama (and comedy!)…

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Alison Steadman, OBE

How fitting that our first actress on this list also happens to be one of the most cherished in the country!

Educated at Childwall Valley High School for Girls, Alison has enjoyed a very productive career in acting that began with her attending the East 15 Acting School in Essex. Whilst committing to an abundance of prestige work on the stage, her early screen roles included appearances in Bel Ami and Z Cars.

In the early 1970s, Alison starred in Girl, a 1974 BBC play in the Second City Firsts series. The role was a significant one as she and her co-star Myra Frances performed the first lesbian kiss on British television.

During that period, Alison was cast in the drama Hard Labour (1973) which was directed by award-winning filmmaker Mike Leigh. The pair soon embarked on a 28-year marriage that also included collaborations on Nuts in May (1976) and, more significantly, the acclaimed dramedy Abigail’s Party (1977) in which Alison produced a strong turn as the monstrous Beverly.

On the small-screen, she also made her presence felt in a variety of programmes, including her BAFTA-nominated performances as adulterous matriarch Mrs. Marlowe in the Dennis Potter miniseries The Singing Detective, and slimming club member Betty Simpson in the ITV drama Fat Friends (2000-05).

We also mustn’t forget her memorable television appearances in the likes of The Wackers (1975), Pride and Prejudice (1995), Crapston Villas (1995-98), No Bananas (1996), Let Them Eat Cake (1999), The Worst Week of My Life (2004-06), The Syndicate (2013), Orphan Black (2015-16), Hold the Sunset (2018-19), Care (2018), Life (2020) and Here We Go (2020-24) among many, many others.

Of course, we HAVE to mention her iconic role as Pamela Andrea “Pam” Shipman, the proud and doting mother of Matthew Horne’s Gavin in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which aired between 2007 and last year’s unforgettable Christmas finale.

Alison has also made the leap into film with memorable roles in the likes of A Private Function (1984), Clockwise (1986), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Shirley Valentine (1989), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Confetti (2006), Dad’s Army (2016), The King’s Man (2021), and more recently, as the caring grandmother of music icon Robbie Williams in Better Man (2024).

For her outstanding contributions, she was presented with the Richard Harris Award at the 2016 British Independent Film Awards.

Away from the big and small screen, Alison was further recognised with an Olivier Award victory for her performance as Mari in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice in 1993 and was made an OBE in 2000.

A national treasure in more ways than one!

 

Cathy Tyson

Though born in Kingston-upon-Thames, Cathy grew up in Liverpool and made her inroads in acting by attending Liverpool’s Everyman Youth Theatre.

Her first major screen role came as Joanna in the classic scouse dramedy series Scully (1984) and soon embarked on a five-year marriage to actor and comedian Craig Charles.

During that period, Cathy found fame on the big-screen with her memorable turn as Simone, an elegant prostitute who sought help from Bob Hoskins’s ex-con in the crime drama Mona Lisa (1986). Her performance brought critical acclaim as well as Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

From then on, she appeared in a number of films including Business as Usual (1987), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), The Lost Language of Cranes (1991), Priest (1994) and The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001).

Away from cinema, Cathy also enjoyed success on television with a recurring role as Annie McPhee in the political thriller Rules of Engagement (1989). However, her most notable small-screen role came as prostitute Carol Johnson in the hit ITV series Band of Gold, which ran for three series between 1995 and 1997.

Cathy also made her presence felt in other familiar dramas, including over forty appearances as Reverend Steph McKenzie in the short-lived soap opera Night and Day (2002-03) and as headmistress Miss Gayle in the penultimate series of Grange Hill (2005-07). She later popped up in episodes of The Bill (2000-05), Holby City (2004), Emmerdale (2007), Lewis (2007), Doctors (2008-17), Casualty (2016) and McDonald & Dodds (2021).

In 2022, Cathy won the TV BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her small yet effective role as Polly, a care home patient with a gift for poetry in the acclaimed COVID drama Help (2021).

Since that success, she has enjoyed recurring appearances as Vivian in the kitchen-based BBC series Boiling Point (2023), Doris Mathis in the Apple TV+ crime thriller Criminal Record (2024), Alecto in the Netflix comedy Kaos (2024), and Raquella Berto-Anirul in the Max sci-fi epic Dune: Prophecy (2024).

As of now, Cathy can next be seen in both the next outing of the BBC crime comedy Black Ops, and the third series of the BAFTA-winning cop drama Blue Lights.

 

Christine Tremarco

A gifted star of the Liverpool region, Tuebrook-born Christine made her acting debut as a teenager when she played Lily, a child migrant sent to live in post-war Australia in the lauded television film The Leaving of Liverpool (1993).

Her breakthrough performance later brought her an AACTA Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Television Drama.

Shortly after, she took on the part of sexually-abused student Lisa Unsworth in the BAFTA-nominated Jimmy McGovern drama Priest (1994) and followed that up with recurring roles in Bordertown (1995) and Springhill (1996-97).

Christine soon juggled between a variety of projects that included impressive turns in Dockers (1999), Hold Back the Night (1999), Nice Guy Eddie (2001) and Gifted (2003) as well as appearing in films like Face (1997), Under the Skin (1997), Anita & Me (2002), Uncle Adolf (2005), and Hector (2015).

Significantly, Christine became a recognised face on the telly with her roles as school secretary and learning support assistant Davina Shackleton in the BBC drama series Waterloo Road (2007-09) and as staff nurse Linda Andrews in over seventy episodes of the BBC soap Casualty (2003-13).

She also showed impressive range in other notable television programmes from Clocking Off (2000), Fat Friends (2004-05), and Five Days (2007), to Silent Witness (2011), Glue (2014), Clink (2019), Wolfe (2021) and The Window (2022).

On the home front, Christine has also enjoyed recurring roles in a cluster of Liverpool-based crime programmes including Nurse Justine in Good Cop (2011), Marie Thompson in Little Boy Blue (2017), Dr. Diane Gallagher in The Responder (2022) and Carianne in The Gathering (2024).

After appearing as Rose in 48 episodes of the ITV soap Emmerdale last year, she recently delivered a devastating turn as Manda Miller, the distraught mother of a teenage boy convicted of murder in the acclaimed Netflix miniseries Adolescence.

Her performance earned her a well-deserved Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series, with the show itself becoming Netflix’s second most-watched English-language TV series of all time.

Away from acting, Christine is a proud patron of RASA Merseyside, which is a charity that supports victims of sexual assault and violence.

 

Crissy Rock

Another seasoned performer, Crissy started her career as a comedian in the late 1980s by appearing nationwide on Bob Monkhouse’s BBC Television show Bob Says Opportunity Knocks.

After performing her act in a variety of clubs, she soon made a remarkable transition to film with her dramatic turn as struggling single mother Maggie Conlan in the powerful Ken Loach drama Ladybird Ladybird (1994).

Crissy’s performance brought her major honours, including Best Actress wins at the Berlin International Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the London Critics Circle Film Awards.

She continued to deliver stellar performances in other dramatic projects including Springhill (1996-97), Born to Run (1997), Under the Skin (1997) and Dockers (1999), while also appearing in other television programmes like Peak Practice (1995-2000), Clocking Off (2000), Brookside (2001), and Trial & Retribution (2008).

However, her comedy roots helped her become a household favourite when she played feisty hotel manager Janey York in over thirty episodes of the hit ITV sitcom Benidorm (2007-15).

In the past decade or so, Crissy has continued to perform stand-up as well as appear in different pantomime shows like Cinderella (2011-12) and Snow White (2013).

Additionally, she has also popped up in other on-screen projects like the brilliant short film Cotton Wool (2017), and the drama Kate & Jake (2022).