Eileen Derbyshire

Eileen Derbyshire (born 6th October, 1930) is a British actress best known for playing Emily Bishop in Coronation Street from 1961 to the present day. She is the longest-serving actress on the programme, and the second longest-serving performer after William Roache. Eileen was a speech and drama teacher before she turned her attentions to acting full-time, and appeared in repertory theatre throughout Britain prior to joining the Street, first as an extra in Episode 3, then as Miss Nugent in January 1961. The character's Christian name Emily was not given until about a year later, and the character was always credited as "Miss Nugent" until the late 1960s.

Eileen is reknowned for maintaining her privacy, refusing to join her fellow cast and crew members at award ceremonies and other publicity events. She very rarely signs autographs for fans, although it has been noted that she will occasionally respond to fan mail. Her only son is the tabloid sports journalist Oliver Holt.