Hill was educated at Monkwearmouth School in Sunderland before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she won the Vanbrugh award.

Television edit

Hill replaced Gilly Coman in the role of Aveline in the last three series of Carla Lane's BBC television sitcom Bread. She has also appeared in such programmes as The Bill playing Marie Carver (née Graham), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet playing Hazel Redfern, Hot Money playing Liz Hoodless, Juliet Bravo playing Jean Simpson, Emmerdale playing Avril Kent and Cape Wrath playing Brenda Ogilvie.

On 17 March 2009, she was featured in an episode of Holby City, a medical drama broadcast weekly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. She appeared in subsequent episodes, following a story arc relating to the death of her on-screen husband. She also appeared in an episode of The Thick of It (series 3 episode 3).

In April 2011, she appeared in the BBC television comedy drama series Candy Cabs and in November, in the fantasy series Merlin as Mary Howden. In April that year she appeared as Cissie Charlton, mother of footballers Jack and Bobby Charlton, in the BBC drama United, about the 1958 Munich air disaster involving Manchester United.^[1]

In 2012, she made her debut in long-running school drama Waterloo Road as Maggie.

In August 2013, it was announced that Hill had joined the cast of the BBC Two sitcom Hebburn.^[2] The next year she joined the Craig Cash sitcom After Hours.

In February 2015, it was announced that Hill would join the cast of Coronation Street as Cathy Matthews, and she made her first appearance on 20 April 2015. She was introduced as a potential love interest for Roy Cropper (David Neilson), about which Hill was nervous, for Roy's deceased wife, Hayley (Julie Hesmondhalgh), was loved by the nation. Hill also starred in the third series of The Syndicate in June 2015.

In October 2023, it was announced that Hill would join the cast of the BBC medical drama series Casualty as Siobhan Mackenzie, the new Senior Sister/Clinical Nurse Manager, and is set to make her first appearance in early 2024.^[3]

Film edit

Hill's feature film roles include Sandra in Brassed Off (1996), the witch Ditchwater Sal in the fantasy film Stardust (2007), and Sonya in White Girl (2008).

Born to Anthony and Sylvia (née Pratt) Hill in Brighton, Hill was raised in her mother's native city of Sunderland. She married fellow actor Sean Bean in December 1990. They have two daughters: Lorna, born October 1987, and Molly, born September 1991.^[4] They divorced in August 1997. She is a supporter of Sunderland A.F.C. She married writer and producer Jimmy Daly on 29 April 2017 at a pub in Muswell Hill, north London.

Film edit

Television edit

• Melanie Hill at IMDb