BEST known for her roles as Debbie Gallagher in the Channel 4 hit TV series Shameless and Vicki McDonald in the BBC show Waterloo Road, Rebecca Ryan will bring to life Shelagh Delaney’s older than her year’s teenage lead Jo in A Taste of Honey at the Everyman next month.

Manchester born Rebecca made her television debut at the age of 15 when she appeared in Emmerdale and made her stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre in the highly acclaimed production Scarborough by Fiona Evans.

Rebecca Ryan said “I’m really happy to be starring in such an archetypal play by an inspirational writer. Being from Manchester this is a role that’s close to home for me and I’m particularly excited to taking this production out on the road with such an illustrious company as Hull Truck Theatre. “ She will be joined on stage by Julie Riley (Amateur Girl) as Jo’s carefree mother Helen, Christopher Hancock (Piaf) as young art student Geoff, Lekan Lawal (Blue/Orange) as love interest Jimmie and James Weaver (The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) as Helen’s fancy man Peter.

One of the most influential plays of its generation, A Taste of Honey, was written when Shelagh Delaney was only 18. It burst onto the stage in 1961 in a production that took the West End by storm and later became a classic of British cinema.

A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney will be Mark Babych’s debut production as Hull Truck Theatre’s new artistic director in a co-production with Derby Theatre.

l Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, July 1 - 5,all tickets £10. Visit everyman theatre.org.uk for more details.