Elisabeth Dermot Walsh
Elisabeth Dermot Walsh is an English actress. After establishing a career in television and stage, she became known for her portrayal of Zara Carmichael in the BBC soap opera Doctors. She played Zara from 2009 to 2024, during which she won the award for Best Female Acting Performance at the RTS Midlands Awards in 2015. Since 2024, she has hosted the podcast Chicken Soap for the Soul, as well as returning to her stage career.
Early life
Born in the London Borough of Merton on 15 September 1974, Walsh is the daughter of Irish actor Dermot Walsh and English actress Elisabeth Madeleine Annear. She has a sister, Olivia, and, from her father's previous marriages, a half-sister, Sally, and a half-brother, Michael. Walsh was educated at West Heath School in Sevenoaks, Kent. She then studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Before pursuing a career in acting, Walsh worked as an intern for an American senator in Washington, D.C. when she was 17.Career
Walsh made her television debut in the 1998 television film Falling for a Dancer. She has also made appearances in television series such as Love in a Cold Climate, Unfinished Business, Midsomer Murders, Love Soup and Holby City. She also played the lead role of Elinor Carlisle in the 2003 ITV adaptation of Agatha Christie's Sad Cypress. Also in 2003, Walsh made her professional stage debut in The Misanthrope at the Gate Theatre. Alongside her television roles, she continued to make various theatre appearances. These included a role in The Rivals at the Bristol Old Vic and touring the United Kingdom in a production of Rebecca.In June 2009, she joined the regular cast of the BBC drama Doctors, in the role of Zara Carmichael. In an interview with OK! Magazine, Walsh talked about her character, saying: "I think it would be fair to call Zara a bit of a handful! She's quite the volatile personality, and I grabbed the character with both hands. She's been a bit of a home-wrecker in the past, but I like her; even when you’re playing a baddie, you have to play a baddie like you’re playing a heroine. She behaves appallingly. I don’t think I’d particularly want her as a friend, but she’d be a great fun ride if you’re with Zara!". For her portrayal of Zara, Walsh won the award for Best Female Acting Performance at the 2015 RTS Midlands Awards. Walsh expressed interest in writing episodes of Doctors, and directed nine episodes. She portrayed Zara until 2024, when the series ended. Following Doctors, Walsh appeared in Sister Boniface Mysteries, as well as starting a podcast, Chicken Soap for the Soul. It follows Walsh interviewing soap opera actors to ask them about their careers. In 2025, Walsh returned to the stage for a touring production of The Party Girls, a play about the Mitford family. She was cast as Diana Mitford.