Marsha?Thomason?was?born?and?raised?in?Manchester,?England.?Her?love?for?acting?began?after?watching?the?musical?Bugsy?Malone.?Soon?after,?aged?twelve,?she?joined?Oldham?Theatre?Workshop,?where?she?performed?many?diverse?stage?plays,?including?'Our?Day?Out'?by?Willy?Russell?and?'Peace'?by?Aristophones.?What?began?as?a?hobby?soon?helped?her?achieve?her?first?professional?acting?job?at?the?age?of?fourteen,?when?she?starred?in?'The?8:15?from?Manchester'?(BBC?1).?Marsha?took?'A'?levels?in?English?Language,?Media?Studies?and?Theatre?Studies?before?studying?for?her?BA?in?English?at?Manchester?Metropolitan?University.?Whilst?at?university,?Marsha?won?the?role?of?Janice?Lafferty?in?Prime?Suspect?5:?Errors?of?Judgement?(1996)?(TV)?alongside?Helen?Mirren,?and?later?the?same?year,?she?appeared?in?Brazen?Hussies?(1996)?(TV)?with?Julie?Walters?and?Robert?Lindsay.?Many?parts?followed,?including?Sally?in?the?BBC's?popular?series,?"Pie?in?the?Sky"?(1994).