Coleman's first major television role was as Sue in
Southern Television's
Worzel Gummidge. This ran for four seasons from 1978 to 1981 on the
ITV network. Other early work included
A Choice of Evils (
Play for Today,
BBC, 1977) and
Two People (
London Weekend Television, 1979), as Emma Moffatt). She had a crush on
Stephen Garlick, her co-star in
Two People. For the role, she had to choose a stuffed toy for Emma to carry; she named it "Haggis" and still had it when interviewed in 1990. This was soon followed by her role as the teenage rebel
Marmalade Atkins, firstly in
Marmalade Atkins in Space (a one-off drama shown in 1981), and then in two series,
Educating Marmalade (1982–83) and
Danger: Marmalade at Work (1984). All three were made by
Thames Television and written by
Andrew Davies. In 1990, Coleman appeared as Jess, a teenage girl from
Lancashire brought up by a strict
Pentecostal mother, in the BBC
television drama Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, based on
Jeanette Winterson's novel of the same name. Coleman won a
Royal Television Society, Best Actress award and was nominated for a BAFTA for her portrayal of the young lesbian character. She also read the novel for release by
BBC Audiobooks. Other television appearances in the 1980s and '90s included roles in Thames Television's
The Bill and
Central Independent Television's
Inspector Morse, the short-lived comedy series
Freddie and Max, with
Anne Bancroft, a drama about homelessness,
Sweet Nothing and another lesbian role, as Barbara Gale in the political satire
Giving Tongue (1996). She also appeared in
Simon Nye's sitcom
How Do You Want Me? (1998–2000), alongside
Dylan Moran and
Emma Chambers, and voiced the lead female character, Primrose, in the animated adaptation of
Brambly Hedge. Coleman's final television appearance was in the adaptation of
Jacqueline Wilson's
Double Act, where she played the twins' teacher, Miss Debenham. Coleman played Scarlett in the film
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) with
Hugh Grant,
Simon Callow and
Kristin Scott Thomas. She received a BAFTA Film Award nomination for this part, losing to Scott Thomas. Coleman continued to act in films throughout the 1990s with her last major film being
Jasmin Dizdar's
Beautiful People (1999), set in London in 1993, at the time of the
Yugoslav Wars, playing the role of Portia Thornton.
Theatre Coleman portrayed the character of the teenage Lorna in
Our Own Kind (
Roy MacGregor), at the
Bush Theatre in London (April 1991). She co-starred with
Kevin Whately,
Nisha Nayar and
Jane Horrocks. The prime focus falls on Sylvie's bright-eyed schoolgirl sister Lorna. Vividly brought to life by Charlotte Coleman, she's both a droll chorus figure and an optimistic, surrogate victim. The play is tightly directed by new Bush supremo
Dominic Dromgoole. ==Personal life and death==