Young with good performance: Emma Rigby
Emma Catherine Rigby (born 26 September 1989) is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Hannah Ashworth in long-running soap opera Hollyoaks, and Gemma Roscoe in BBC One drama series Prisoners’ Wives, which was broadcast in 2012.Emma Catherine Rigby attracted media controversy through her portrayal of Hannah Ashworth, who suffered from eating disorders. She gained critical acclaim from many national UK tabloids for her portrayal as an anorexic teen in the soap, with one journalist saying the storyline “taught her more than any drama or documentary on anorexia has ever doneOccasional model Rigby is currently dating Doncaster Rovers centre-back Matthew Mills.
Rigby was born in St Helens, Merseyside, and has one older sister, Charlotte. She attended De La Salle High School in St Helens, but left in 2006 to focus on her role as Hannah Ashworth in Hollyoaks. Despite her busy filming schedule in Hollyoaks, Rigby received nine A* in her GCSE exam results.Rigby’s first acting role was Lisa Gunstone in Born and Bred. Before getting the role as Hannah Ashworth in Hollyoaks, she had a few minor roles and appeared in popular soap Brookside as Elena Jones. In addition to acting, Rigby has also done some modelling work. In 2005, Rigby got the role as Hannah Ashworth in Hollyoaks at the age of 15. She was given praise and recognition for her anorexia storyline, in which she was nominated for various awards.
{loadposition tickers}
In November 2008, Rigby announced she was leaving Hollyoaks to pursue other projects, and would remain on-screen until June 2009. However, after meetings with soap bosses, it was later confirmed that Rigby had extended her contract for an additional six months and would remain on-screen until February 2010. Her final episode was broadcast on 11 February 2010. In July 2010, Rigby made her debut in the West End psycho-sexual thriller musical Wolfboy. She had a non-singing part, playing the role of nurse Cherry. She received positive feedback from critics. In 2011 Rigby starred as Brandy Mulligan in online series Becoming Human. She also had a main role in British horror film Demons Never Die as Samantha and then later on in 2011 she had a minor role in the first episode of C4 comedy Fresh Meat as Rachel. In 2012 she had a guest role in Pramface as Mike’s Blind Date Carrie-Ann.In December 2011 it was announced that Rigby would be starring in brand new six-part drama series Prisoners’ Wives along with Jonas Armstrong. The show’s first episode aired on 31 January 2012 with Rigby playing Gemma Roscoe, a young pregnant girl whose life falls apart when her husband is arrested for murder. The sixth and final episode of the series was broadcast on 6 March 2012.In January 2013 Rigby appeared in episode four of Ripper Street as Lucy Eames.In April 2013 she appeared in episode one of The Job Lot, and was also cast in a lead role as the Red Queen in the television series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
