Emmerdale legend says ‘it’s not so easy’ taking regular job after leaving ITV soap
EXCLUSIVE: Former Emmerdale star Verity Rushworth has opened up on life away from the Dales.
Former Emmerdale star Verity Rushworth has branched out into the property business (Image: Supplied)
Former Emmerdale star Verity Rushworth, who played Donna Windsor in the long-running ITV soap, has opened up about life after the show as she embarks on an exciting new chapter. The 40-year-old mum of two confessed the life of a jobbing actor was more difficult than she expected. The star, spent 11 years in the show from the age of 12 and appeared for 11 years in total, across two stints. However, her character ultimately died by suicide on 14 August 2014, and she made her final appearance on 15 August 2014. before her character was killed off. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk she said: “After 11 years of filming, there was just something inside me that wanted to tick the box of being on stage in front of a live audience and just experience that feeling.
“I was lucky enough to walk straight into Hairspray in the West End with Michael Ball, and that was at 23 and I had to move to London on my own and rent a flat and I thought, ‘Oh, this is brilliant’. And then it’s only after that that you become a jobbing actress that you realise it’s not so easy,” she said.
“I did get another West End show and then I did lots of touring. I was very fortunate to fulfil that side of my career that I really wanted to do. But then as you get older and you have a family you just really want to get back into TV because theatre is eight shows a week, and commuting to London with kids is really difficult,” she reflected.
While she still acts, juggling family and career led the star to a new job as a property developer. Her first forays into the business came in her soap days. “I’ve always had a passion for property,” she says. “At 21, I bought my first home in Leeds, and then I was flipping properties from quite young with my Emmerdale money, so I’ve always been really intrigued by it, and it just all came together.”
This new chapter of her life sees her running a successful property development business with her partner, Anthony Martin, called MartinRushworth. The couple met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend and clicked right away thanks to their shared interests – including property.
“I retrained, and I did a qualification in bookkeeping, so I’m now the financial director of the company, and I do all the books and accounts and the payroll and everything, and it works alongside my acting and auditions and self tapes and the kids. So it’s just all fit into place, really,” she smiled.
Former Emmerdale star Verity Rushworth has opened up on life after the show (Image: Supplied)
The couple are now giving one lucky person the opportunity to win a £600,000 detached family home in Kent. The aim is not only to offer someone the chance to win a mortgage-free home, but also to give back, as the profits will support a children’s heart charity called ECHO (Evelina Children’s Heart Organisation), which is close to their hearts after Anthony’s daughter, now a happy and thriving seven-year-old, underwent life-saving surgery at 18 months.
“Anthony has built five four-bed detached houses, beautiful houses, and he could just put them through his estate agency and make a bit of commission. It’s a successful business. But he was so aware of how difficult it is at the moment for people to get on the property ladder nowadays
“He thought, what if we tried to raffle one, and if it worked, that could be like a new thing – then we’re actually giving back. If we actually make enough ticket sales this way, we’re going to be able to give a percentage to charity as well. And if it works, then it’s going to be a whole new thing that he can offer as part of his company.
“It’s £3 a ticket. We tried to make it as affordable as possible. If we sell the 300,000 tickets, then somebody will win the house, and we will be able to donate a massive percentage to the heart charity,” she said.
