She studied at the
Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre, and her first television appearance was a small part in an episode of
A Touch of Frost. She went on to star in the acclaimed drama series
Band of Gold before landing a role in the film ''
Girls' Night'' alongside
Julie Walters and
Brenda Blethyn. In 1998, she played Duty Sgt. Standish in the first series of
The Cops, and also played Glenda, a woman delivering baked goods in
Victoria Wood's
BBC comedy series
dinnerladies, appearing in four episodes from 1999 until 2000. She appeared as PC Sylvia Holland in
This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, a miniseries, in 2000. She also had a small part in the
Johnny Depp and
Cate Blanchett film
The Man Who Cried. It was after filming that role in 2000 that she was cast as
Eileen Grimshaw on
Coronation Street. Cleaver won praise for her portrayal of Eileen, the mother of a son,
Todd, who struggles with his sexuality and comes out as gay. Cleaver covered for
Denise Robertson as the
agony aunt on the
ITV daytime programme
This Morning until Robertson's death in 2016. Cleaver also completed three years of training to become a psychotherapist. In 2022, Cleaver was a contestant on the
twenty-second series of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.'' She placed 9th after sixteen days in the jungle. In 2023, Cleaver made a guest appearance on the ITV show
Loose Women, and then became a regular panellist. In 2024, Cleaver published her first book,
A Work In Progress, through Bloomsbury. ==Personal life==