Nationality English TV shows Emmerdale, Teachers | Name Ursula Holden-Gill Website ursulaholdengill.co.uk | |
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Born 21 March 1974 (age 50) ( 1974-03-21 ) Occupation Actor, storyteller, performer and educator Known for Emmerdale, Teachers, There are Fairies in the Gutter Nominations The British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance |
Interview with Ursula Holden Gill
Ursula Holden-Gill (born 21 March 1974) is an award-winning storyteller, performer and educator known initially for her acting work including her roles as school secretary Carol on Channel 4's comedy drama Teachers (2001-04) and cancer sufferer Alice Dingle on ITV's Emmerdale (2004-06).
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Career

Ursula Holden-Gill graduated from St Martin's College, Lancaster in 1996 with a BA Honours in Drama and Music before attaining an MA in Intercultural Storytelling at University of Lancaster and a PG Dip in Acting from the Drama Studio London. Her screen credits include The Bill, Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll, Mrs Merton and Malcolm, Trial and Retribution, Doctor Willoughby, The Wyvern Mystery, People Like Us, Teachers, Emmerdale, The Syndicate, Vera and, most recently, Wolfblood.
Intermittent with her work as a performer, in recent years Holden-Gill has facilitated workshops on various aspects of performance technique at The Royal Shakespeare Company, Salford University, Edge Hill College, UCLAN, Blackpool and the Fylde College, The Thomas Whitham Sixth Form College and Calderdale College and has also served as a freelance workshop leader and personal LAMDA tutor of singing, speech, storytelling and drama.

In 2007, Holden-Gill underwent teacher training at Unity College, Burnley where she attained full status as a qualified teacher and went on to establish herself as a professional Storyteller and Writer. She is currently an associate artist of Opera North and works primarily within the education sector and on the folk, arts and literature festival circuit in the UK and abroad. In 2012 Holden-Gill was voted Best Newcomer at the British Awards for Storytelling Excellence and in May 2013 released her first collection of songs ‘The Handless Maiden’s Daughter’. Holden-Gill is a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, Rossendale Clog Heritage and the Hill Millie Morris Side. She is married to Keith Donnelly and lives in West Yorkshire.