Clelia Murphy (born 5 December 1975) is an Irish actress. From 1996 to 2017, Murphy starred in the RTÉ soap opera Fair City as Niamh Cassidy. After leaving her role as Niamh, she competed in the third series of the Irish edition of Dancing with the Stars, where she reached the quarter-finals. In January 2022, Murphy was cast in the BBC soap opera Doctors as Maeve Ludlow, for which she moved from Dublin to Birmingham.

Clelia Murphy
Born (1975-12-05) 5 December 1975 (age 48)
Dublin, Ireland
EducationGaiety School of Acting
OccupationActress
Television
Children1

Early and personal life

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Murphy trained at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. She also has an MA in screenwriting.[1] In 1998, Murphy gave birth to a daughter, Clarabelle.[2] Clarabelle is an actress.[3]

Career

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Murphy began her career in Fair City in 1996 playing schoolgirl Niamh Cassidy.[4] Her character was featured in numerous storylines, involving having an illegal relationship with teacher Barry O'Hanlon (Pat Nolan),[5] her tumultuous relationship with her husband, Paul Brennan (Tony Tormey),[6][7][8][9] having an affair and eventually leaving her husband with his money. [10][11][12] In 2017, after 22 years on the soap, Murphy announced her decision to leave Fair City.[13][14][15] She revealed that she had been thinking about the decision since 2015 and eventually finalised her plans when she felt she was no longer learning anything from the experience. She added: "I felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again. It wasn’t fulfilling me anymore."[16]

In January 2019, Murphy appeared on the third series of the Irish edition of Dancing with the Stars.[17] Murphy was paired with Estonian dancer Vitali Kozmin in the competition.[18] They reached the quarter-finals of the competition before being eliminated after falling into the dance-off for the third consecutive week.[19]

In 2021, she appeared in an episode of the Channel 5 series The Madame Blanc Mysteries, which she described as an "amazing experience".[16] In February 2022, it was reported that Murphy had been cast in the BBC soap opera Doctors. She played Maeve Ludlow, a new nurse in the Sutton Vale practice.[20] She had begun filming on Doctors in January of that year after receiving a direct offer from the casting team. She moved to Birmingham, England to appear in the soap.[16]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role
2000 Odd Sock Sandra
2001 The Crooked Mile Jane
2010 Gift of the Magi Simone
2012 Grabbers Irene Murphy
2015 Dare to be Wild Barbara Murphy
2015 JFK. The Badge Man Conspiracy Rose
2016 The Gaelic Curse Flo
2019 DannyBoy Kathleen Buckley

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1996–2017 Fair City Niamh Cassidy Series regular
2017 Nowhere Fast Cyclist Lorraine Episode: "Work"
2019 Dancing with the Stars Herself Contestant
2021 The Madame Blanc Mysteries Georgina 1 episode
2022 Doctors Maeve Ludlow Recurring role

Stage

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Year Title Role Ref.
2014 Spring Awakening Frau Gabor
2016 Elvis is My Daddy Lulubelle LaVelle
2019 The Sound of Music Baroness Elsa

References

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  1. ^ a b c Nolan, Larissa (6 August 2017). "My first car took my breath away". The Times. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  2. ^ "'I don't think any man could have stuck around' - Fair City actress Clelia Murphy on becoming a single mum at 22". Independent.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  3. ^ "'My girl Clarabelle will be a very different actress to me' - Fair City's Clelia Murphy".
  4. ^ Archives, RTÉ (5 July 2012). "RTÉ Archives". Stillslibrary.rte.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  5. ^ Archives, RTÉ (5 July 2012). "RTÉ Archives". Stillslibrary.rte.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Niamh and Paul get passionate". Digitalspy.com. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Niamh's suspicions get the better of her". Digitalspy.com. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Niamh tries to save her marriage". Digitalspy.com. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Niamh threatens to tell the truth". Digitalspy.com. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  10. ^ Quigley, Maeve (12 February 2014). "Fair City: Niamh's fling with toy boy barman". Irishmirror.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Niamh is confronted over her affair". Digitalspy.com. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  12. ^ "From loyal wife to sultry temptress. . . Fair City's Niamh gets her revenge". Independent.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  13. ^ "'Surprise twist in store' as Fair City star Clelia Murphy finally bows out of soap". Independent.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  14. ^ Curran, Sarah (22 November 2017). "End of an era as Fair City favourite bids farewell tonight". Rsvplive.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Fair City's Niamh is shocked by a proposal from Marcus". Rte.ie. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  16. ^ a b c Walsh, Kayla (13 February 2022). "Former Fair City star Clelia Murphy has moved to England to star in BBC show Doctors". RSVPLive.ie. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Comedian and Irish model are the newest stars announced for Dancing with the Stars". Irish Examiner. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Fair City's Clelia Murphy reveals Peter Stringer is her secret weapon to losing weight on DWTS". Extra.ie. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  19. ^ "► VIDEO: Fair City star Clelia Murphy is the seventh celeb to leave Dancing With The Stars". www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  20. ^ Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Valerie Pitman confronts Princess..." What to Watch. (Future plc). Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  21. ^ "The Sound of Music at BGE Theatre: Darkness of story is swamped by saccharine optimism". Independent.ie. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
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