Holly Matthews
Holly Matthews | |
|---|---|
| Born | Holly Wilkinson 13 October 1984 , England, |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse | Ross Blair (2012 - 29 July 2017) (his death) (2 children) |
Holly Matthews (born Holly Wilkinson, October 13, 1984 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, UK [1] is an actress. She started her career in the hit BBC children's drama Byker Grove, playing the role of Emma Miller for seven years.[2]
She left the show in 2003 to pursue a singing career after signing to Sony. She appeared on various TV shows promoting her single "Little Miss Perfect" under the name Summer Matthews. The song's instrumentation consists of a guitar and synthesizer.[3] An editor from Cambridge News noted that "Little Miss Perfect" is reminiscent of songs released by Canadian recording artist, Avril Lavigne.[4] However, they felt that it was "not the worst single ever made", although "not one you're likely to remember either."[4] Matt Gray of The Digital Fix wrote that the song "doesn't quite scan", and joked that it has "all the ferocity and attitude of a cute ickle Care Bear. He also felt that "Amy Studt and Avril Lavigne do it a lot better" and went on to describe it as a "bland, uninspired pop tune".[3] "Little Miss Perfect" peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart for the issue dated 28 February 2004.[5]
Some of the shows she appeared on were Top of the Pops Saturday, MTV, TRL, Dick and Dom, The Box, RI:SE, Disney, Trouble, CBBC, Xchange, The Saturday Show, The Chart Show and Blue Peter.[citation needed]
She attended the British drama school East 15 in 2005, and left after winning a high-profile role in the BBC drama Waterloo Road, playing the bully Leigh-Ann Galloway.[6] Since that role, Matthews has continued to act in BBC's Doctors, playing Connie Whitfield; in ITV's The Bill playing drug addict Josie Clarke; and she was back in the BBC soap Doctors in 2009, playing Tansy Flack.
Personal life
Matthews gave birth five weeks early to a daughter, Brooke early in 2011.[7] At five months old Brooke was diagnosed with meningitis, which Matthews herself had at seven years old.
Matthews' husband Ross Blair, son of ex-Aston Villa footballer Andy Blair and brother of Doncaster Rovers footballer Matty Blair, died on 29 July 2017 from a brain tumour. [8]
Matthews has raised more than £11,000 for the Warwickshire hospice where her husband spent his final days. [9]
References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2645524/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
- ^ Holly Matthews Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b "Summer Matthews - Little Miss Perfect". The Digital Fix. 4 November 2003. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Summer Matthews - Little Miss Perfect (Sony)". Cambridge News. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Official Charts Company - Little Miss Perfect by Summer Matthews Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
- ^ "Holly Matthews - Waterloo Road interview". Waterloo Road. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ Coventry actress Holly Matthews tells of premature baby's meningitis battle - Coventry News - News. Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved on 17 December 2012.
- ^ of TV actress dies after wife shared heartbreaking Facebook post as he lay dying in hospice/The MirrorThe Mirror, retrieved on 1 August 2017.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-40978153