Cherylee Houston

Cherylee Houston is a British actress best known for playing Izzy Armstrong on Britain's longest running soap series Coronation Street. She also plays Maz in the ongoing radio 4 series Tinsel Girl.

Houston's love for entertainment began at the age of seven after she watched the film Annie. As a teenager, she began appearing in school plays and later trained at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester.

At 23, Houston was diagnosed with the rare connective tissue disorder, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Type III hypermobility type. She has used a wheelchair ever since.

In 2003, Houston landed a part in the daytime TV soap Doctors, playing a girl with multiple sclerosis. She has appeared in The Bill, Holby City, Emmerdale, and the cult comedy series Little Britain, where she played the girlfriend of wheelchair-user Andy Pipkin.

Houston was also one of the main characters, named Dorothy, in the BBC3 comedy I'm with Stupid. Next, she landed the part of Izzy Armstrong in Coronation Street, which she has portrayed since 2010. She has played Maz in the radio 4 drama series Tinsel Girl since 2015.

Since her diagnosis of EDS, Houston has become an activist for people with physical disabilities. She advocates on social media for more exposure of the access problems that the disabled continually face on a daily basis. She has also spoken out about ableist abuse that she has experienced on the streets.