Denise Black

Denise is probably best known as siren hairdresser Denise Osbourne in Coronation Street, a role she played from '92 to '96, with a comeback in '07. Also as Denny's mum in Bad Girls and as Hazel, the mum all gay men wanted in Russell T Davies' Queer as Folk. Denise was born in Portsmouth. She got her equity card with the Actor's Touring Company in the early '80s performing plays around the globe, including the South American continent, Israel, Greece, Yugoslavia, and the Orkney Isles. Later in England, she landed her first acting break in the title role of a Pam Gems' premiere of La Pasionaria at the Newcastle Playhouse. There she met Josie Lawrence and Kate McKenzie which led to the formation of Denise Black and the Kray Sisters, a 3 girl harmony trio of the late '80s. Denise has a passionate interest in stage and music. She recently toured around GB playing the Mother Superior in Sister Act the musical. Also in Calendar Girls and Grumpy Old Women with Britt Eckland and Dillie Keane. She also won the Manchester Evening News Best Supporting Actress Award for her portrayal of Mrs Bryant in Roots (Wesker) at the Manchester Royal Exchange. Denise's theatre credits include: Sisters (a verbatim play about muslim women) at the Sheffield Crucible; Bedroom Farce (Ackbourn) at the West Yorkshire Playhouse; The Long Road (Stephenson) at the Soho Theatre; Aristo (Sherman) at Chichester Festival Theatre; The Seagull (Chekhov) at the Royal Court; Martha in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf (Albee) at the Liverpool Playhouse; The Retirement of Tom Stevens (Ivory) at the Lakeside; title roles in Yerma (Lorca) and Mrs Warren's Profession (Shaw) at the Manchester Royal Exchange; The Mistress (Wesker) at the Sherman in Cardiff; The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband at the Nottingham Playhouse and Plymouth Theatre Royal and Goneril in King Lear at the Ludlow Festival. Denise writes songs with guitarist Graeme Taylor and gigs with her band The Loose Screw. Their album 'Kiss The Joy' is available on iTunes and at the Dress Circle, Covent Garden.