Cordingly made her first major television appearance in the soap opera,
Family Affairs as troubled teenager
Sara Warrington; a lapdancer who blew most of her wages on cocaine. She left the soap after a year to play the lead in Noël Coward's
Semi-Monde at the Lyric Theatre, West End. The play was directed by
Philip Prowse and produced by
Thelma Holt. She then played Rose, a cabinet secretary reporting to
Derek Jacobi's Major Merton, in
Two Men went to War, a film starring
Kenneth Cranham and
Leo Bill. In 2002, she joined
The Bill as PC
Kerry Young. where she was interviewed by her friend and former co-star
Natalie Roles. In 2005, she played Vienna Keen, an exotic dancer, in BBC's
Funland, and in 2007, she played Naomi in
Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a call girl who has a threesome together with the show's main protagonist, Hannah, played by
Billie Piper. In March and April 2017, Cordingly appeared as
Debbie Morton,
Shirley Carter's (
Linda Henry) cellmate in British soap opera
EastEnders. She has played a variety of roles on television, notably filming two series for
Charlie Brooker, playing Veronica in his zombie series
Dead Set and featuring in his sketch show,
How TV Ruined Your Life with
Kevin Eldon. In theatre she has worked nationally and abroad. In 2006 she played the role of Nina in the
Menier Chocolate Factory's production of
Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson. In 2013, it was made into an independent feature film and she reprised her role, this time opposite
George MacKay,
Nigel Lindsay and
Norman Pace. When playing Amy in Salt at
Manchester Royal Exchange she was nominated for the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Performance in a Studio Production (2010). She worked with
Sharon Gless on
A Round Heeled Woman in the West End (2012) and has twice played lead roles in
Feydeau farces for
Sam Walters at the
Orange Tree Theatre. In 2012 she played Louisa in ''Children's Children
at the Almeida Theatre, a play directed by Jeremy Herrin and written by Matthew Dunster. In 2015, Dunster directed her in Love's Sacrifice for the RSC, in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. In the same RSC season she played Bellamira in The Jew of Malta'', starring
Jasper Britton. On 6 December 2023, Jessica Sansome of the
Manchester Evening News announced that Cordingly had joined the cast of
Emmerdale as
Ruby Fox-Miligan, the wife of
Caleb Miligan (
William Ash) and mother of
Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope). She made her first appearance in January 2024. For her role as Ruby, Cordingly was longlisted for Best Newcomer and Best Villain at the
2024 Inside Soap Awards. ==Writing==