Elizabeth Morton

Last updated
Elizabeth Morton
Born (1961-01-08) January 8, 1961 (age 63)
Liverpool, England
Occupation(s)Actress, screenwriter
Spouse
(m. 2003)
Children2
Relatives
Website elizabethheery.com [ dead link ]

Elizabeth Heery (born January 8, 1961) is a British actress, screenwriter and novelist. As an actress and author she works under the name Elizabeth Morton and Eliza Morton. She played Madeline Bassett in ITV series Jeeves and Wooster. Since 2016, she has been an ambassador for the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. [1] She trained at the Guildhall School of Drama and The Royal Court Young Writers Group.

Contents

She is a short story writer and has written for BBC Radio 4, Channel 4, ITV and BBC Films and TV. In 2018, she secured a two book deal with Ebury Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Her novel A Liverpool Girl was published in 2019, followed by in August 2020, A Last Dance in Liverpool. The books reached Number 1 and Number 3 respectively in The Bookseller 's Heatseekers Charts. In August 2020 she secured a book deal with Pan Macmillan for two more Liverpool sagas. Angel of Liverpool was published in 2021 and was a number 3 Heatseeker, People’s Friend Recommendation and reached the Top 10 WHSmith bestsellers. The Girl From Liverpool was published July 2022 and also made Top 10 Booksellers Heatseekers chart and No 5 Amazon Historical Romance Bestsellers. Elizabeth narrates all her books for audio. In 2022, Angel of Liverpool was shortlisted for RoNA Best Saga award.

In August 2022 she received a three book deal from Pan for her ‘Orphans of The Living’ trilogy.

Life and education

Heery was educated at Seafield Convent School in Liverpool. She studied at the Guildhall School of Drama. She is married to actor Peter Davison. The couple have two sons, Louis Davison who is an actor, starring in Netflix Vikings Valhalla, and Joel Davison, also an actor and a musician. She also has a step-daughter, actress Georgia Tennant. [2]

Career

Television and film

Heery's first TV role under the name Morton was playing Papagena in BBC sci-fi series The Tripods. As well as playing a regular in ITV series Jeeves and Wooster and Watching , she starred in BBC's Rockliffe's Folly , playing Hester Goswell, and was in seasons four and five of London's Burning, playing Helen Field.

She guest starred in British TV series Spender, The Brothers McGregor , Brookside , Capital City , and Dear John . [3] In 1988 she starred in Philip Ridley's film The Universe of Dermot Finn, which was officially selected for The Cannes Film Festival. In 1995, she starred in Gurinder Chadha's BBC film Rich Deceiver, playing Gabriella de Courtney. On PBS America, she played Miss Jessel in the film The Haunting of Helen Walker. She was in Tobe Hooper's Life Force, Franc Roddam's Lords of Discipline, and Alan Clark's Billy the Kid and The Green Baize Vampire. She appeared as herself in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary film, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot .

Stage and Audio

She is a voice actor known for the film Faeries , starring Kate Winslet [4] and her work with Big Finish audio drama. In 2016, she voiced Mary Westerna in Dracula , starring Mark Gatiss. [5] In 2015, she voiced the role of Teldak in The Waters of Amsterdam, starring Peter Davison, and Stella Preston in The Avengers, the Lost Episodes. She was a member of Toby Robertson's company at Theatr Clwyd, alongside actors Ralph Fiennes and Nathaniel Parker. She was in the original casts of Howard Goodall's Girlfriends and The Hired Man. She played Linda in the second cast of Blood Brothers in the West End directed by Bill Kenwright. [6]

Writing

Heery began using her birth name for writing after winning The London Writer's Competition sponsored by Time Out Group. She was a member of The Royal Court Young Writers Group and took up a bursary at ITV on the New Writer's Initiative scheme. She has written for the BBC Radio 4 drama series Brief Lives. [7] [8] and episodes of BBC Doctors , C4 Film Series Coming Up , BBC Brief Encounters mentored by Andrew Davies, [9] and CBeebies[ Topsy and Tim . [10] She is a short story writer, having been shortlisted and won prizes in 2016 Margery Allingham CWA writer's award, [11] 2012 Bath Short story award, [12] Exeter Short story award, Trisha Ashley Award, Fish short story award 2015. [13]

In 2012, she formed Twotreeisland films and won first prize in Southend-On-Sea film festival for the film Beached. [14] She wrote the plays Feeding the Troll, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival, [15] Clip which ran at Battersea Arts Centre, First Kiss and Lauren The Brave at the Landor Theatre, and Sophie in Wonderland, which was produced by Theatre 503. [16]

She has written two books; A Liverpool Girl was published in 2019 and A Last Dance in Liverpool was published in 2020. [17] Two more books will follow published by PanMacMillan. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/morton-moves-ebury-pan-mac-two-sagas-1215907

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1983 The Lords of Discipline Girlfriend
1985 Life Force Second Radar Technician
1985 The Tripods Papagena
1986 The Brothers McGregor The Girl1 episode
1987 Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire Vidkid
1987 Dear John Karen1 episode
1987 Brookside Sizzler's Girlfriend1 episode
1988 Rockliffe's Folly WPC Hester Goswell5 episodes
1988The Universe of Dermot FinnPearlShort
1989 Capital City Sophie1 episode
1991 Spender Rose1 episode
1991–1992 London's Burning Helen Field9 episodes
1991–1993 Watching Lucinda Stoneway15 episodes
1992–1993 Jeeves and Wooster Madeleine Bassett5 episodes
1995Rich DeceiverGabriella de CourtneyTV movie
1995 The Haunting of Helen Walker Miss JesselTV movie
1999 Faeries Princess BrigidVoice
2013 The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot Maternity Nurse

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul McGann</span> English actor

Paul John McGann is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial The Monocled Mutineer (1986), then starred in the dark comedy Withnail and I (1987), which was a critical success and developed a cult following. McGann later became more widely known for portraying the eighth incarnation of the Doctor in the 1996 television film Doctor Who. He is also known for playing Lieutenant William Bush in the TV series Hornblower (1998–2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Walters</span> English actress (b. 1950)

Dame Julia Mary Walters, known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Davison</span> English actor (born 1951)

Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett, known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margery Allingham</span> English writer of detective fiction, editor

Margery Louise Allingham was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four "Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh.

<i>Jeeves and Wooster</i> British comedy-drama television series (1990–1993)

Jeeves and Wooster is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. Set in the UK and the US in an unspecified period between the late 1920s and the 1930s, the series starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, an affable young gentleman and member of the idle rich, and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his highly intelligent and competent valet. Bertie and his friends, who are mainly members of the Drones Club, are extricated from all manner of societal misadventures by the indispensable Jeeves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Morton</span> British actress and director (born 1977)

Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and director. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, in particular period dramas and is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Martin Jarvis OBE is an English actor. Described by the BBC as "one of Britain's most distinguished and versatile actors", he has had a varied career in theatre, film and television, and is particularly noted for radio acting and voicing audiobooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Kingston</span> English actress (b. 1963)

Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston is an English actress. Active from the early 1980s, Kingston became noted for her television work in both Britain and the US in the 1990s, including her regular role as Dr. Elizabeth Corday in the NBC medical drama ER (1997–2004) and her title role in the ITV miniseries The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders (1996), which earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Macfadyen</span> English actor (born 1974)

David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005). He rose to international fame for his role as Tom Wambsgans in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which he received two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clive Owen</span> British actor

Clive Owen is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film Close My Eyes (1991) before earning international attention for his performance as a struggling writer in Croupier (1998). In 2005, he won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the drama Closer (2004).

Catherine Tyson is an English actress. She won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Mona Lisa (1986), which also earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards. She has starred in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), Priest (1994), and Band of Gold (1995–1997). She won the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2022 for her performance in the film Help.

Katy Jane Carmichael is an English actress, director and producer. She is most known for her roles Twist Morgan in the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced, Lucy Barlow in the ITV soap Coronation Street, and Melissa Ryan in Waterloo Road. As a director-producer, her work includes the award-winning Mayday Mayday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denise Welch</span> English actress and television personality

Jacqueline Denise Welch is an English actress, television personality, writer and broadcaster. Her roles include Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street (1997–2000), Steph Haydock in Waterloo Road (2006–2010), and Trish Minniver in Hollyoaks (2021–2022). Welch also appears as a regular panellist on the ITV chat show Loose Women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Mangan</span> English film and stage actor (born 1968)

Stephen James Mangan is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge, Seán Lincoln in Episodes, Bigwig in Watership Down, Postman Pat in Postman Pat: The Movie, Richard Pitt in Hang Ups, Andrew in Bliss (2018), and Nathan Stern in The Split (2018–2022).

Lizzie Hopley is a British actress and writer born in Liverpool who trained at Manchester University and RADA.

Robert Daws is an English actor, and crime fiction author. He is best known for his television roles, including Tuppy Glossop in Jeeves and Wooster (1990–93), gruff cricketer Roger Dervish in the comedy Outside Edge (1994–96), mini-cab firm owner Sam in the sitcom Roger Roger (1996–2003), and East Yorkshire GP Dr Gordon Ormerod in the period medical drama The Royal (2003–11).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Walters</span> English actor (born 1975)

Stephen Walters is an English actor. A regular in British television and film, he has played a wide range and variety of character roles in both drama and comedy. Walters is most commonly associated with unpredictable, complex figures. He was nominated for a Royal Television Society Best Actor award in 2013 for his role in the Sky Arts drama Ragged and in 2023 for a Supporting Actor (Male) award for his role in the ITV drama Anne.

Jonathan Paul Harvey is an English screenwriter, actor, playwright and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Cullen</span> British actor

Thomas Cullen is a Welsh actor and director. He had roles in the independent film Weekend (2011), as Anthony Foyle, Viscount Gillingham in the television series Downton Abbey, and as Sir Landry in the historical drama series Knightfall. He also appeared in another historical drama playing the role of Thomas Seymour in Becoming Elizabeth.

<i>The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot</i> British TV series or programme

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is a 2013 comedy spoof and homage to the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It appeared on the BBC Red Button service after the broadcast of "The Day of the Doctor", the official 50th anniversary special. The programme was written and directed by Peter Davison, who stars alongside fellow former Doctor actors Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker and Paul McGann. It features appearances from then-stars of the show Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman as well as former stars David Tennant and John Barrowman. Additionally, then-Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat, his predecessor Russell T Davies and numerous others connected to the programme all appear as themselves in a more or less parodic manner.

References

  1. Hutchison, David (28 September 2016). "Orange Tree appoints stellar line-up of theatre ambassadors". The Stage. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. "Peter Davison's revival was just what the Doctor ordered". Sunday Post. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  3. "1987. Comedy.co.uk". British Comedy Guide .
  4. "Faeries cast 1999".[ permanent dead link ]
  5. "Dracula Big Finish". Starburst (magazine).[ permanent dead link ]
  6. "Blood Brother's Cast: 1987". Archived from the original on 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  7. "Episode 3, Brief Lives - Series 4, Afternoon Drama - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  8. "Brief Lives episode guide". Radio Times.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. Thomas, Liz (1 March 2005). "Afternoon drama for the BBC". The Stage. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  10. "Old Toys". BBC.
  11. "CWA Margery Allingham Short Story 2016".[ permanent dead link ]
  12. "Guest Interview: Michelle Elvy". Bath Flash Fiction Award. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  13. "Creative Writing Matters. Trisha Ashley award".
  14. "Award-winning film was real family affair". The Echo (Essex). 3 June 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  15. "Feeding the Troll". Edinburgh Festival. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  16. "Funny Women: 2013". 6 August 2013.
  17. "Elizabeth Morton". www.penguin.co.uk. Penguin Books. Retrieved 11 September 2020.