Born in Bishop Middleham, County Durham Muriel claimed that her whole career came about through two mistakes. Her modeling career began when as a scenic design student in London she was mistaken for a drama student and she got her first television job by turning up at the audition on the wrong day. Through her time in television she's been an announcer, a quiz show host a weather girl ,a producer and a radio disc jockey. and having retired she turned to a new career as an artist which is ideal for someone living in such a scenic area as the Durham Dales. She returned to the North East in about 1988 when her producer husband, Cyril Coke got a job with Yorkshire Television and they took an apartment in Stanhope Castle in County Durham.
She spent 25 years in front of the cameras then turned to producing and became head of children's programmes for Granada Television before retiring in 1989.