Peace studied acting at
Manchester Metropolitan University, where she obtained a BA (Hons) degree. Peace's break into television came when she joined the
ITV soap opera Emmerdale, playing the character Anne Cullen for seven episodes between January and June 1997. Her first professional stage role was in the 1997 Harrogate Theatre production of
My Fair Lady, playing
Eliza Doolittle. She subsequently has played Miranda in Shakespeare's
The Tempest and the same character in the actor-musician spoof
Return to the Forbidden Planet. After leaving
Emmerdale, Peace took parts in
The Bill and
Dangerfield, before being cast as Firefighter Sally "Gracie" Fields in the
ITV series ''
London's Burning'' from 1998 until the programme's cancellation in 2002. During this time, Peace made a TV movie called
Thunder Road, in which she played Sonia. Between 2003 and 2005, Peace played minor roles in television series including
Casualty and
Where the Heart Is. Peace played
Special Air Service Trooper Becca Gallagher in the
ITV action series
Ultimate Force alongside
Ross Kemp. Becca was part of the 3rd and 4th series, aired between 2005 and 2008. Peace has given credit to the writers for making Becca 'one of the lads', rather than an overly emotional character and said she had 'so much fun' playing the hero in the show. Ross Kemp has argued the show is made far more interesting by including a female role and believes Peace was the perfect choice for the part ("she is absolutely superb"). During 2006 and 2007, Peace starred in
Kay Mellor's TV series
The Chase as single mum Fiona Jones. Quite a different character to the action girls often played by Peace, Fiona is portrayed as a left out family member whose resentment and betrayals lead into unexpected sinister behaviour. She then appeared in television series including
Coronation Street,
Heartbeat and
Holby City. In 2008, Peace appeared as the secretly abusing wife in the "Private Sins" episode of
Blue Murder. She also starred in the film
31 North 62 East where Peace plays again part of a
Special Air Service unit. Peace is Captain Jill Mandelson, who will seek help in her twin Kimberly (also played by Peace) to unfold the political corruption that led to the death of the rest of her unit. In 2010, Peace was cast as Detective Sergeant Sam Murray in the
BBC Three TV series
Lip Service. Peace argued that being the only openly lesbian cast member influenced the attention she received regarding the show. The series revolves around the loves and lives of group of aged-30-something
lesbians in
Glasgow,
Scotland. The show reached cult status within the first few episodes, with Peace's character Sam, and the actor herself, becoming also the object of a cult following ("Team Sam" movement among fans of the show). Filming of the second series finished in July 2011 with a transmission date of spring 2012. Since the end of the second and final season fans of the drama called for a third season to be made but Peace said in an interview with Cult Box where she said she would 'definitely' return as the character. In 2011, Peace was cast as Head of English
Nikki Boston, before being appointed Deputy Headteacher in 2013 for the
BBC One school-based drama series
Waterloo Road. Following a tour of her debut album, she returned to the series for the second part of Series 8. She also featured in Series 9, which screened on BBC One in September 2013. She took another break from
Waterloo Road at the end of Series 9 Spring Term but has hinted that she may return in Series 11. In 2014, Peace took part in ITV's three-part drama
Prey as Abi Farrow, wife of main character Detective Constable Marcus Farrow (played by
BAFTA nominee
John Simm). The drama was directed by BAFTA winner
Nick Murphy. In 2016, she appeared in the BBC TV series
The Coroner Episode 2.3: "Those in Peril" as Chrissy Woodward. In 2019, she appeared in Series 22 of
Silent Witness as DI Murphy. Peace later played Alex Dawson in the BBC One
medical drama,
Holby City. In 2019, she hosted a two part chat and music show called
Heather Peace at the Bedford on the brand new digital TV channel
Diva Box Office, which is the first lesbian digital TV channel in Europe. Guests interviewed on the show include
Saara Aalto,
Sinitta,
Desiree Akhavan, and
Alicya Eyo, with
Saara Aalto performing her song "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" and Lots Holloway (formerly known as Charlie Rundle from
MK1) performing her song "Naked". In 2021, it was announced that Peace would be joining the cast of BBC soap opera
EastEnders as
Eve Unwin, the wife of
Stacey Slater (
Lacey Turner). ==Singing career==