Janice Connolly

Actress and comedienne Janice Connolly appeared on Coronation Street in two minor roles: firstly Dolly Gartside, the overbearing mother of Newton & Ridley drayman Eric who briefly dated Shelley Unwin; and returning to the programme in the autumn of 2009 as Sheila Wheeler, a short-term assistant to Norris Cole in The Kabin.

Connolly is best-known for her character Barbara Nice - a caricature of a middle-aged housewife and mother of five from Stockport. Her act is heavily reliant on interaction with the audience and she performs on the comedy circuit as a headline act and has performed one woman shows across the UK. Whilst performing as Nice, she was spotted by Peter Kay and went on to appear in his shows That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights and Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere.

Founder member and artistic director of the Women and Theatre company in Birmingham, her other credits include roles in The Locksmith, Doctors, Dead Man Weds, Thin Ice, Lunch Monkeys and In with the Flynns.