In 1995, Dunlop starred in the two part Gurinder Chadha directed drama "Rich Deceiver" as Ellie Freeman, a Liverpudlian housewife who secretly wins the pools and uses the money to covertly help her husband's career. She also starred in the ITV series "Wokenwell" (1997) and the same year was in the BBC serial "The Phoenix and the Carpet". She appeared in a long-running series of television adverts for Kleenex directed by Mike Leigh and played Moira Pridwell in "Something to Treasure," S4:E1 of "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" (1998). In 2000, Dunlop joined the cast of the ITV series "Where the Heart Is" playing Anna Kirkwall. Since 2008, she has played the role of Brenda Walker in the ITV soap opera "Emmerdale". In 2013, after Brenda was diagnosed with a brain tumour, Dunlop shaved her head especially for the part.