Daniela Denby-Ashe (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress, known for playing the character Sarah Hills in the soap opera EastEnders, Margaret Hale in the period drama North and South and Janey Harper in the sitcom My Family. She also played the character Lorraine Donnegan in the drama series Waterloo Road after previously playing a different character, “Jem Allen” in one episode a few years earlier.

She has one daughter, Evie.

Early life

Daniela’s parents are of Polish descent, her paternal surname being Pszkit. Before they married, they decided to create a more British-sounding family name, so they looked in the telephone directory and each chose a name they liked and hyphenated them.

Denby-Ashe is fluent in English, Polish and French – the latter due to her grandmother, who was brought up in France until World War II. She began studying ballet at the age of two and tap at a later stage; from the ages of 10 to 16, she attended several stage schools including Corona Academy.

Career

Daniela first gained film experience on the children’s video Nursery Rhymes 2 from Pickwick Video. She appeared in many television commercials as a child actor which then led on to children’s drama such as Kevin & Co, as well as the Channel 4 sitcom Desmond’s. Daniela also appeared briefly alongside Jennifer Saunders and Julia Sawalha in season 3 episode 6 of Absolutely Fabulous. Her big break came in 1995 when she landed the role of Sarah Hills in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She played this character until 1999.

The following year she got the role of Janey Harper in the BBC sitcom, My Family. Daniela took a break from My Family for the fourth series in 2003, but returned to the role in 2004. The eleventh and final series first aired on BBC One from June 2011.

In 2005 she took the lead role of Margaret Hale in the BBC TV drama adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South, and in 2006 played Mary in the science fiction TV series Torchwood episode Greeks Bearing Gifts. Her other television roles include Office Gossip, Rescue Me, Is Harry on the Boat?, and The Afternoon Play. From 2003 she appeared in the Radio 4 comedy Ring Around the Bath.

In 2007, she starred as Robert Maxwell’s secretary in Maxwell, a BBC drama about his life.

In December 2008 she appeared in BBC Four’s supernatural drama series Crooked House, and in October 2010 she starred in an episode of the ITV detective drama Midsomer Murders. In April 2009 she appeared in the fourth series of the BBC drama Waterloo Road as deceitful supply teacher, Jem Allen. In April 2012, she returned to the drama as a new regular character, Lorraine Donegan. The character, a former pupil taught by current headteacher Michael Byrne (Alec Newman), played an important role in a storyline that has seen the current school move from its location in Rochdale to a new site in Greenock, Scotland at the end of the seventh series. The character appeared regularly throughout the eighth series, however the character left the school toward the end of the series due to a disagreement with Michael, leading to her handing the school over to LEA control.

She appeared in Mum in 2019.