Annie Wallace | |
---|---|
![]() Wallace in 2023 | |
Born | |
Education | Manchester School of Theatre |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2004–present |
Known for | Role of Sally St. Claire in Hollyoaks |
Website | anniewallace |
Annie Wallace (born 6 May 1965) is a Scottish actress, known for portraying the role of Sally St. Claire in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks , a role she has portrayed since 2015. She is the first transgender person to portray a regular transgender character in British soap opera history. [1]
Wallace was previously a member of the National Youth Theatre in 1981, but she temporarily stopped acting to work in computer science and sound engineering. She spent eighteen months as a research assistant for the ITV soap opera Coronation Street , from 1998 to 2000, where she advised for and inspired the character of Hayley Patterson, portrayed by actress Julie Hesmondhalgh. [2]
Inspired by her time at ITV Granada, she auditioned successfully for the Manchester School of Theatre in 2001, graduating in 2004. She then appeared in various Manchester theatre productions, including Withnail and I and Wyrd Sisters.
In 2011, she appeared in an episode of Shameless [3] as school headmistress Miss Heller.
Wallace is also a musician, with two albums written and recorded with collaborator John Beresford. [4]
She has also worked on several podcast comedy series, [5] as well as sound and video design for various theatrical productions.
On 9 October 2015, it was announced [6] that she would be joining the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks , in a new regular role as Sally St. Claire. [7] [8] Wallace made her first appearance on 29 October 2015.
On 5 January 2018, Wallace took part in an edition of Celebrity Mastermind , [9] where her specialist subject was " Doctor Who – 1970–1980". She came in second place with 21 points, losing to journalist Martin Bell with 24 points. Her chosen charity was Mermaids.
On 27 May 2023, she appeared on Pointless Celebrities, partnering with Devon Anderson, and managed to get through to the head-to-head section, but not the final. [10]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Shameless | Miss Heller | Episode: "Beginnings and Ends" |
2013 | Dream On | Barmaid | Film |
2015–present | Hollyoaks | Sally St. Claire | Series regular |
On 15 November 2015, she was placed at number 17 on the Rainbow List , published by The Independent on Sunday ; a list of the most influential openly LGBTI individuals in the United Kingdom, published annually. [11]
On 25 June 2016, Wallace was placed at number 39 on the Pride Power List, published by Out News Global as part of Pride in London; another list of in celebration of the achievements of 100 most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Britain, voted for by the public. [12]
On 16 September 2016, she won The National Diversity Awards "Celebrity of the Year" award, at Liverpool Cathedral. [13] On the same day she was placed at No.38 on the DIVA Power List. [14]
On 5 October 2016, she was nominated in the BAFTA Scotland Awards 2016 in the category of "Best Actress - Television" for her role in Hollyoaks; [15] the first ever British transgender actress to be nominated for a BAFTA award. [16]
On 2 October 2021 she was presented with the Judges Award for Outstanding Trans Activism at the Proud Scotland Awards. [17]
On 26 April 2024, Wallace received a special honour at the DIVA Magazine Awards, celebrating their 30th anniversary. The honour was for her 30 years of activism, her advisory work on Coronation Street , and her work at Hollyoaks. [18]
Year | Ceremony | Award | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Sparkle National Transgender Awards | "Trans* Person in the Media/TV of the Year" | Hollyoaks as Sally St. Claire | Nominated |
2016 | The National Diversity Awards | "Celebrity of the Year" | Won | |
2016 | TV Choice Awards | "Best Soap Newcomer" | Nominated | |
2016 | Icon Awards | "Cultural Icon of the Year" | Runner-up | |
2016 | Digital Spy Soap Awards | "Biggest Unsung Hero" | Nominated | |
2016 | BAFTA Scotland Awards 2016 | "Best Actress - Television" | Nominated | |
2017 | British LGBT Awards | "LGBT+ Celebrity Rising Star" | Nominated | |
2018 | TRIC Awards | "Best Soap Actor" | Nominated | |
2021 | Proud Scotland Awards | "The Judges Award" | for Outstanding Trans Activism | Won |
2024 | DIVA Awards | 30th Anniversary Honouree | for Acting and Campaigning | Won |
Linda Ann Gray is an American film, stage and television actress, director, producer and former model, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the CBS television drama series Dallas, for which she was nominated for the 1981 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The role also earned her two Golden Globe Awards nominations.
Hollyoaks is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera Brookside. From 2005 to 2023, episodes have aired on sister channel E4 a day prior to their broadcast on Channel 4. In 2023, Hollyoaks was removed from Channel 4's early evening schedule, but remains on E4 and Channel 4's on demand service with episodes now uploaded to YouTube. At its inception, the soap was targeted towards an adolescent and young adult audience but it has since broadened its appeal to all age groups. Hollyoaks has covered various taboo subjects rarely seen on British television, for which it has received numerous awards. It has won the award for Best British Soap twice, in 2014 and 2019; its first win broke the 15-year tie between rival soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. Beginning with a cast of 15 characters, it now has upwards of 50 regular cast members. The longest-serving actor is Nick Pickard, who has portrayed Tony Hutchinson since the first episode.
Zöe Elizabeth Lucker is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tanya Turner in the ITV drama series, Footballers' Wives; Vanessa Gold in the long-running BBC One soap opera, EastEnders; Carol Barry in the BBC One school-based drama series, Waterloo Road; and Reenie McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks.
Heather Mary Peace is an English actress, singer and LGBT rights activist. She is known for her role as Nikki Boston in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road from 2012 to 2014. Her other credits include Sally 'Gracie' Fields in ITV's long-running series London's Burning, Fiona Murray in Kay Mellor's drama series The Chase, Sam Murray in the BBC Scotland drama series Lip Service and Eve Unwin in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
Natalie Joy Robb is a Scottish actress and singer. She played the roles of Gemma Clewes in EastEnders, Trish McDonald in the Scottish Television soap opera Take the High Road (1990–1999) and Jude Carlyle in the BBC soap opera Doctors (2001–2004). Since 2009, she has portrayed the role of Moira Barton in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Her other television roles include Dream Team (2000–2001) and The Bill (2004–2005).
Samantha Elizabeth Giles is an English actress and author. She is best known for portraying the role of Bernice Blackstock in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She had also portrayed Sally Boothe in the ITV drama series Where the Heart Is and Valerie Holden in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. She departed from Emmerdale in 2019 to focus on other creative projects, such as writing her debut novel, Rosemary and the Witches of Pendle Hill, released in August 2020. In April 2021, it was confirmed that she would be returning to Emmerdale.
Natalie Jane Anderson is an English actress, singer and television presenter. She is known for her roles as Stella Davenport in the medical drama The Royal from 2005 to 2008 and Alicia Metcalfe in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 2010 to 2015. She also played the role of Nessarose in the London production Wicked from May 2009 to March 2010. In 2015, she began appearing on the ITV talk shows This Morning and Loose Women on a recurring basis; Anderson also portrayed the role of Lexi Calder in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2021 to 2022. In 2021 she played the role of Maryanne Borden in Liam Neeson action thriller Memory. In 2023 Anderson took guest roles in Happy Valley and Boiling Point and appeared on stage at Hull Truck Theatre as Kayla in Anna Jordan’s two hander play Pop Music. In 2024 Anderson played Claire Walker in the Netflix adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “Fool Me Once”.
Gemma Merna is an English actress and model. She is best known for portraying Carmel McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2014.
Rita Joanne Simons is an English actress and singer. She is best known for portraying the role of Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2007 to 2017, when her character was killed off, alongside her on screen character's sister Ronnie Mitchell. For her performance on the show Simons received many accolades, including the 2008 National Television Award for Most Popular Newcomer.
Jorgina Alexandra Porter is an English actress and model. She is known for portraying the role of Theresa McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2008 until 2016 and again from 2020.
Kirsty-Leigh Porter is an English actress, known for her roles in British soap operas, including portraying Zoe Willson on Coronation Street, Roz Fielding on Emmerdale and Leela Lomax on Hollyoaks.
Glen Wallace is a Northern Irish actor, known for portraying the role of Malachy Fisher on the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.
Stephanie Ann Davis is an English actress. She began her career with small roles in British television series, and in 2010, she competed in the BBC talent-search Over the Rainbow. She was then cast in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, portraying the role of Sinead O'Connor between 2010 and 2015, and again from 2018 to 2019. In 2016, she was the runner-up in the seventeenth series of Celebrity Big Brother. In May 2023, Davis joined the cast of ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Courtney Vance.
Tamara Wall is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Grace Black in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks (2013–present). Prior to her decade stint in Hollyoaks, Wall portrayed the role of Martina Quinn in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Wall performed the role of Brooke Wyndham in the West End production of Legally Blonde. Wall also appeared as Karen in musical Viva Forever!. She made a guest appearance in One Night in 2012. In 2017, Wall appeared in the third celebrity special of The Crystal Maze.
Anna Passey is an English actress, known for portraying Sienna Blake in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. For her role as Sienna, she won the award for Villain of the Year at the 2014 British Soap Awards.
All About Trans is a project that aims to improve how the media understands and portrays transgender people. Its aim is to "promote trans voices in the media" and engage media professionals and other sector professionals with trans topics in creative ways.
Sally St. Claire is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Annie Wallace. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 29 October 2015 and Wallace is the first transgender person to play a regular transgender character in British soap opera. She was cast after the show held casting workshops to discover acting talent in the transgender community. Sally is characterised as a strict, "no-nonsense" headteacher who moves to Hollyoaks village to work at the local school. Hollyoaks' writers explored the character's transgender status and worked alongside equal rights group All About Trans, who consulted and advised to make the story realistic. In one surprise storyline, Sally is revealed to be the biological parent of John Paul McQueen.
Jessica Kate Plummer is an English actress and singer. From 2013 to 2015, she was a member of the British girl group Neon Jungle, with whom she released an album that peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart. She is also known for her roles as Chantelle Atkins in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2019–2020) and as Emma in the BBC drama series The Girl Before (2021) for which she was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Emily Burnett is a Welsh actress. From 2017 to 2019, she portrayed the role of Charlie Morris in the CBBC series The Dumping Ground, a role for which she won the 2019 British Academy Children's Award for Performer. In 2020, she portrayed the role of Jas Salford in fellow CBBC series So Awkward. In 2021, Burnett was cast in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Olivia Bradshaw.