She attended the Merseyside Council-funded Glenda Jackson Theatre whilst still at Park High School in Birkenhead; she went on to study Theatre Arts at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama from 1983 to 1986, and was given her first leading TV role two months after receiving her BA.
She studied theatre arts at a college funded by the Merseyside Council while still in high school in Birkenhead; she went on to study Theatre Arts at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama from 1983 to 1986, where she earned her degree and secured her first prominent TV role shortly after.