Natalie J Robb

Early life

Robb is the youngest of three children. As a child, Robb attended weekend drama groups in Glasgow, where she was discovered by director Alan Macmillan, later going to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She made her screen debut as a nine-year-old starring in an STV docudrama with veteran Scots star Tom Conti. At 13, she was awarded the BBC Young Entertainer of the Year award on kids' TV show, Going Live! At the age of 14, she got the role of Trish McDonald in Scottish Soap, Take the High Road, which launched her TV career, with Taggart, Sunburn, Dream Team, Doctors and The Bill following respectively. Robb's parents split up when she was 15 and she rarely talks to her father, but remains close to her mother, who lives in Spain. Robb plans to set up her own website and work on a long-term goal of making a film telling the story of her mother's life. Robb was once in a band called The Kinky People and also sang "I Will Be There" by a group called Absolutely. In 1997, she released a single with dance group Partizan called "Keep Your Love". Both videos can be found on YouTube. She supports Celtic and sang at a Celtic v Liverpool friendly.

Career

Robb is best known for her roles in continuing dramas, initially playing Trish McDonald in Take the High Road before spending one season in the Sky One series Dream Team. She then spent three years as Jude Carlyle in the BBC One daytime soap Doctors before leaving for a role as an undercover journalist posing as a police officer PC Andrea Dunbar in The Bill. Her character was based on the BBC's Secret Policeman, Mark Daly, who infiltrated Greater Manchester Police and exposed racism among officers. Robb named Daly as a huge influence on her, and says she was thrilled to meet him at BAFTAs, where he picked up a gong for his work. Robb appeared in EastEnders in July 2006 as Gemma Clewes, the mistress of Max Branning. Later that year she appeared in New Tricks. In March 2007, she appeared in a TV show called Kitchen with Eddie Izzard and in April played the part of museum curator Carla in Sea of Souls. In July 2008, she appeared in The Shepherd: Border Patrol with Jean-Claude Van Damme, where she played Ramona Garcia, a no nonsense Captain of Border Patrol and love interest of Van Damme. In 2009, she played the part of a counsellor in BBC One drama Waterloo Road. Later in 2009, it was announced that Robb had joined the cast of Emmerdale as part of a new farming family, the Bartons. She plays mother-of-three Moira Barton. She made her Emmerdale debut on 17 July 2009.