The Emmerdale star who plays Vanessa Woodfield found romance while working on the show
Emmerdale’s Vanessa Woodfield is at the centre of drama as she edges closer to discovering Charity Dingle’s baby secret.
In the current ITV soap storyline, a pregnant Charity (Emma Atkins) faces a Christmas full of turmoil. She revealed to her former flame Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) that she isn’t carrying Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) and Jacob Gallagher’s (Joe-Warren Plant) baby as a surrogate, but became pregnant naturally.
Charity’s surrogacy plan has descended into chaos after a one-night stand with Ross Barton (Mike Parr). However, Vanessa remains unaware of the affair, believing instead that Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) is the father of the child.
On Christmas Day, Vanessa and Charity are forced to spend time together, though tensions rise. When Vanessa becomes slightly tipsy during dinner, Charity grows nervous about what she might reveal, according to the Mirror.
Later, as Mack and Charity share a quiet moment reflecting on their day, a possible bombshell looms. Will Vanessa reveal Charity’s baby secret?
Who is Michelle Hardwick’s wife?
Michelle Hardwick, 49, has played village vet Vanessa Woodfield since 2012, first introduced as Frank Clayton’s (Michael Praed) daughter and Tracy Metcalfe’s (Amy Walsh) half-sister.
Some fans may not realise that it was Emmerdale where Michelle met her real-life wife, Kate Brooks.
Kate, a seasoned TV executive, previously worked as a series producer on Emmerdale before taking on the role of producer for Coronation Street last year.
The couple publicly shared their relationship in October 2018, celebrating National Coming Out Day with a sweet Instagram photo.
Their engagement came after Michelle planned a memorable proposal, featuring a flash mob of The Greatest Showman cast members at their local cinema.
Instead of a lavish celebrity wedding in the UK, they chose an intimate ceremony, travelling to Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland estate in Memphis in September 2019.
Sharing a photo of herself with her new wife, both dressed in white in front of Elvis Presley’s former home, Kate wrote: “In over 100 degrees heat, on Tuesday 10th September, I became Mrs Brooks.”
Before their vows, Michelle spoke candidly to The Mirror in August 2019 about their laid-back wedding plans, saying: “There’s no magazine deal, we’ll just find a few witnesses wherever we are and it will just be me and her.”
She added: “We only have a few months to go, and we haven’t even sorted our outfits, but that’s because it doesn’t matter. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned.”
Michelle also shared their relaxed plans for the big day: “We’ll get married abroad, hit a few bars, and probably have chicken and chips for our wedding breakfast. Then a big party for our family when we get back to England. That’s all I can tell you! It will be ace.”
The happy couple have since welcomed two children, a son named Teddy and a daughter named Betty.
Who was Michelle Hardwick’s first wife?
Michelle was previously in a relationship with her first wife, Rosie Nicholl, for three years before they married in 2015. The couple split amicably a year later, with Michelle admitting she hadn’t told her co-stars about the separation until they noticed her wedding ring was gone.
In an interview with the Daily Star, she explained: “Unfortunately, Rosie and I did split last year but we’re still good friends. It was one of those things where we drifted apart. We had a big fairytale wedding and I still love that day — it was brilliant.”
She added: “It’s just really sad, but it’s one of those things that happens. We still share our dogs, nobody else was involved — it just happened, and it was a mutual decision. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
Before landing her role as Vanessa Woodfield in Emmerdale, Michelle appeared in both Heartbeat and Coronation Street. On the ITV soap, the Leeds-born actress played two separate characters: Sheila Dixon in 1997 and Naomi Russell in 1998.
One of her most notable roles was Lizzie Hopkirk in The Royal, a spin-off of Heartbeat. She also made a brief appearance in Hollyoaks.
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