Holman started her acting career in the 1988 television film
The Rainbow based on the novel by
D.H. Lawrence, directed by
Stuart Burge. In 1989 she played the part of the school teacher Mary Llewellyn in an adaptation of The Fifteen Streets by Catherine Cookson. In 1991, she played Iris Bentley, sister to
Derek Bentley, played by
Christopher Eccleston, in the film
Let Him Have It, and in 1992, she voiced Juliet in the
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales adaptation of
Romeo and Juliet. She played Harper in the
Royal National Theatre's production of
Tony Kushner's
Angels in America in November 1993. In 1995, Holman was cast as Laura Hobson in the crime drama series
Inspector Morse, where she continued to play that part until 2000 when the series ended. Holman was nominated for a 1997
Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 1996 for her performance in ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. She appeared in three episodes of Midsomer Murders as three different characters. The episodes are entitled Country Matters
(2005), Ring Out Your Dead
(2002), and The Miniature Murders'' (2019). In 2006, Holman reprised her role of Dr Hobson in the series
Lewis, which series ended in 2015. She appeared in all 33 episodes. In 2007, Holman played Wendy the narrator and mother of Michael in the television series
Fallen Angel, a story about Rosie Byfield, a clergyman's daughter who grows up to be a psychopathic killer, starring
Emilia Fox. She portrayed Anglo-Irish noblewoman
Mabel Bagenal in
Brian Friel's play
Making History. In October 2013 she played the role of Liz in the
Tricycle Theatre production of the
Moira Buffini play
Handbagged,{{cite web Holman has directed six episodes of
Doctors in 2010 and two episodes of
Holby City in 2012. ==Personal life==