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The most talented women in British TV
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Stacey Solomon was born on 4 October 1989 in Dagenham, Essex, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Itch of the Golden Nit (2011), The Keith and Paddy Picture Show (2017) and Sooty (2011). She has been married to Joe Swash since 24 July 2022. They have three children.- Claudia Winkleman was born on 15 January 1972 in London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Traitors UK (2022), Suzie Gold (2004) and Annually Retentive (2006). She has been married to Kris Thykier since 24 June 2000. They have three children.
- Michelle Keegan was born on 3 June 1987 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Coronation Street (1960), Our Girl (2013) and Drunk History: UK (2015). She has been married to Mark Wright since 24 May 2015.
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Carol Vorderman was born on 24 December 1960 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for W1A (2014), Trollied (2011) and Mr Blobby: Mr Blobby (1993).- Actress
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Lena Headey is a Bermudian-British actress. Headey is best known for her role as "Cersei Lannister" in Game of Thrones (2011) (2011-2019) and The Brothers Grimm (2005), Possession (2002), and The Remains of the Day (1993). Headey stars as "Queen Gorgo", a heroic Spartan woman in the period film, 300 (2006), by director Zack Snyder.
Headey was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, to British parents Sue and John Headey. Her father, a Yorkshire police cadet, was stationed in the Bermuda Police Service. She was raised there until age five, when her family returned to England. She was brought up in Yorkshire before moving to London in her teens. Headey had not gone to drama school before she became an actress. At the age of seventeen, Headey's performance in a one-off show in the company of six school friends caught the attention of a casting agent, who took a photo and asked her to audition. Eventually, Headey was cast in Waterland (1992), which became her big-screen debut. She honed her natural acting talent while filming and also took archery classes and horse training. She also took boxing classes in clubs in south London, where a former boxer had been teaching her to spar. During her film career, spanning over 15 years, Headey has shown her range in a variety of roles, playing characters from Amazon-type warriors and action-minded women in The Cave (2005) and The Brothers Grimm (2005), to a lesbian florist in Imagine Me & You (2005).
Headey's film career has taken her all over the world. She was in India for the filming of The Jungle Book (1994), then in St. Petersburg, Russia, for filming Onegin (1999), and in Norway for filming of Aberdeen (2000). In 2005 Headey was filming in Romania and in Mexico, then spent four months in Prague, Czech Republic, where a forest was designed and built for filming The Brothers Grimm (2005), with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. During 2006 Headey was in Canada for the filming of 300 (2006), then went to locations in Bulgaria for shooting The Contractor (2007), and Germany and in Czech Republic for the filming of The Red Baron (2008).
She also played Gina McVey in the horror thriller The Broken (2008), and Elizabeth in Tell Tale (2009). In addition to her film-work, Heady appeared as Sarah Connor in a TV spin-off of the popular "Terminator" film franchise, the FOX's television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008).
Outside of her acting profession, Headey continued taking boxing lessons in London. She is a vegetarian and also remains loyal to yoga, which she discovered during her work in India. She has never been back to her birthplace in Bermuda; she shares her time between her homes in London, England, and Los Angeles, California.- Actress
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Denise Van Outen was born on 27 May 1974 in Basildon, Essex, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Run for Your Wife (2012), Crossbow (1987) and Gloves Off (2017). She was previously married to Lee Mead.- Actress
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Billie Piper studied at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. She caught the eyes of record producers who were interested in signing a young vocalist when she was the poster girl for the ad campaign of a British pop music magazine, "Smash Hits". She released her first single, "Because We Want To", which debuted at #1 at age 15. Her second single, "Girlfriend", was also a #1 hit. By the time she turned 16, Billie had released 4 singles that all made the top three on the charts. She has been labeled the "Pop Princess" of England, UK.- Actress
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Sara Pascoe was born on 22 May 1981 in Dagenham, London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Twenty Twelve (2011), The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (2009) and Free Agents (2009). She has been married to Steen Raskopoulos since 2020. They have one child.- Actress
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Aisling Bea is an actor, stand-up comedian, and writer from Ireland. In 2020 she won a BAFTA for Breakthrough Talent for her television series This Way Up, in which she also starred. In 2014 she won the British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comedian. She trained at LAMDA (The London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art). In 2012 she won the Gilded Balloon So You Think You're Funny? stand-up competition; she was the first woman to win it in 20 years.- Actress
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Lucy Punch grew up in London and was a member of the National Youth Theatre in her late teens before going to University College London to read History. While she was there she auditioned for TV roles and eventually dropped out to concentrate on acting.
She learned a lot, she says, from working on the short-lived TV series Let Them Eat Cake (1999) with Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French and although she has played many serious roles on TV and in film since, it's her comic skills that have shone.
After several years of steady TV and film work at home, she moved to Los Angeles in the mid-2000s and soon found work there on another short-lived comedy show, The Class (2006) and has stayed in the US ever since, appearing on TV and in movies to increasing acclaim.- Natasha Kaplinsky was born on 9 September 1972 in Brighton, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Gunman (2015), Hellboy (2019) and My Hero (2000). She has been married to Justin Bower since 21 August 2005. They have two children.
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Kirsty Young was born on 23 November 1968 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Trauma (2004), Summer Season (1985) and The Life of Rock with Brian Pern (2014). She has been married to Nicholas Keith Arthur Jones since September 1999. They have two children.- Actress
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Emily Maitlis was born on 6 September 1970 in Canada. She is an actress and producer, known for Taking the Flak (2009), A Very Royal Scandal and This Time with Alan Partridge (2019).- Actress
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Ronni Ancona was born on 4 July 1966 in Louth, Lincolnshire, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Penelope (2006), Big Impression (1999) and The Trip to Italy (2014). She has been married to Gerard Hall since 2004. They have three children.- Music Department
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Charlotte Maria Church was born on February 21, 1986 in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom to Steven Reed and his wife Maria. The couple separated shortly after the child's birth, and she was left in her mother's care. She started singing publicly when she was only three and a half years old, singing the Ghostbusters (1984) theme with her cousin at a seaside holiday camp in Caernarfon, Wales. She came to public notice after an appearance on the UK daytime magazine program, This Morning (1988) (aka "This Morning with Richard and Judy") and then made an impromptu appearance on The Big Big Talent Show (1996). She came on to say a few words about her aunt Caroline Cooper, who was also making an appearance on the show, and the show's host, Jonathan Ross, asked her to sing. She stole the show and immediately became an overnight sensation in her native Wales. More television and concert appearances followed, such as the ones at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales, the London Palladium, and the Royal Albert Hall, and opening for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp, Belgium. She was signed to Sony Music (UK) and has released three best selling albums of popular classics.- Actress
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Born in 1983, British singer Cheryl Cole studied dance, modeled and appeared in advertisements as a child. Her crowd-pleasing performances on Popstars: The Rivals (2002) won her membership to the pop group Girls Aloud and vaulted her into music stardom, virtually overnight. Cole has also enjoyed some success as a solo artist and appeared as a judge on The X Factor UK (2004).Born Cheryl Ann Tweedy in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on June 30, 1983. Cole showed an early interest in dance and was enrolled at The Royal Ballet's summer school at 9 years of age. She also won several modeling competitions and appeared in advertisements, including a pair of nationally televised commercials for British Gas. Cole's breakout moment, however, came in 2002 when, at age 19, she auditioned for the United Kingdom talent show Popstars: The Rivals (2002). After weeks of competition, the show's audience selected her along with four other female contestants: Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. Together they formed the group Girls Aloud, and Cole would spend the next seven years accumulating 20 Top 10 singles, including four songs and two albums that topped the U.K. charts. Cole began her solo trajectory in June 2008, when she signed on to be a judge on Simon Cowell's TV talent show, The X Factor UK (2004). She also released a single, "Cheryl Cole: Fight for This Love (2009)" which quickly rose to No. 1 on the charts. In December 2009, 5 million viewers tuned in to watch Cole host a one-hour special, Cheryl Cole's Night In (2009). Cole had signed on for the American version of The X Factor UK (2004).in 2011, but she was dropped from the show early on.- Actress
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Amanda Holden was born on 16 February 1971 in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Wild at Heart (2006), Marple (2004) and Jonathan Creek (1997). She has been married to Chris Hughes since 10 December 2008. They have three children. She was previously married to Les Dennis.- Actress
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Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born in Paris, France, to British parents, Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both lawyers. She moved to Oxfordshire when she was five, where she attended the Dragon School. From the age of six, Emma knew that she wanted to be an actress and, for a number of years, she trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing and acting. By the age of ten, she had performed and taken the lead in various Stagecoach productions and school plays.
In 1999, casting began for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (2001), the film adaptation of British author J.K. Rowling's bestselling novel. Casting agents found Emma through her Oxford theatre teacher. After eight consistent auditions, producer David Heyman told Emma and fellow applicants, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, that they had been cast for the roles of the three leads, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. The release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) was Emma's cinematic screen debut. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings and was the highest-grossing film of 2001. Critics praised the film and the performances of the three leading young actors. The highly distributed British newspaper, 'The Daily Telegraph', called her performance "admirable". Later, Emma was nominated for five awards for her performance in the film, winning the Young Artist Award for Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film.
After the release of the first film of the highly successful franchise, Emma became one of the most well-known actresses in the world. She continued to play the role of Hermione Granger for nearly ten years, in all of the following Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). Emma acquired two Critics' Choice Award nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her work in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. The completion of the seventh and eight movies saw Emma receive nominations in 2011 for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award, and for Best Actress at the Jameson Empire Awards. The Harry Potter franchise won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in February 2011.
2011 saw Emma in Simon Curtis's My Week with Marilyn (2011), alongside a stellar cast of Oscar nominees including Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe and Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier, in addition to Eddie Redmayne, Dame Judi Dench, Dougray Scott, Zoe Wanamaker, Toby Jones and Dominic Cooper. Chronicling a week in Marilyn Monroe's life, the film featured Emma in the supporting role of Lucy, a costume assistant to Colin Clark (Redmayne). The film was released by The Weinstein Company and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. In 2012 Emma was seen in Stephen Chbosky's adaptation of his coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), starring opposite Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller. This independent drama centered around Charlie (Lerman), an introverted freshman who is taken under the wings of two seniors (Watson and Miller) who welcome him to the real world. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and received rave reviews. The film won the People's Choice Award for Favourite Dramatic Movie and Emma also picked up the People's Choice Award for Favourite Dramatic Movie Actress. Emma was awarded a second time for this role with the Best Supporting Actress Award at the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards where the film also won the Best Ensemble Performance Award.
In summer 2013, Emma starred in Sofia Coppola's American satirical black comedy crime film, The Bling Ring (2013), opposite Katie Chang and Israel Broussard. The film took inspiration from real events and followed a group of teenagers who, obsessed with fashion and fame, burgled the homes of celebrities in Los Angeles. The film opened the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Emma also appeared in a cameo role as herself in Seth Rogen's apocalypse comedy This Is The End (2013). The film tells the story about what happens to some of Hollywood's best loved celebrities when the apocalypse strikes during a party at James Franco's house.
In 2014, Emma was seen in Darren Aronofsky's Noah (2014), opposite Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins. The film told the epic, biblical tale of Noah and the ark. Emma plays the role of Ila, a young woman who develops a close relationship with Noah's son, Shem (Booth). Noah made an outstanding $300m since its release in March. In 2015, Emma starred in Regression (2015), written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar and Occultum Luciferus. Also headlined by Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke, and set in Minnesota in 1990, Regression tells the story of Detective Bruce Kenner (Hawke), who investigates the case of young Angela, played by Emma, who accuses her father of sexual abuse.
In 2012, Emma was honored with the Calvin Klein Emerging Star Award at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards. In 2013, Emma was awarded the Trailblazer Award at the MTV Movie Awards in April and was honored with the GQ Woman of the Year Award at the GQ Awards in September. Further to her acting career, Emma is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. Emma graduated from Brown University in May 2014.
In 2017, Emma starred in the live-action Disney fantasy Beauty and the Beast (2017), one of the biggest movies of all time in the U.S., and the dramatic thriller The Circle (2017).- Actress
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Gemma Christina Arterton was born in Gravesend, Kent, England, where she was raised. She is the daughter of Sally-Anne (Heap), a cleaner, and Barry J. Arterton, a welder. Her mother's cousin is singer-songwriter Eric Goulden.
Her parents divorced when she was age five, and Gemma subsequently lived with her younger sister and her mother. Her parents encouraged their children to explore their creative abilities. Gemma's sister, Hannah, liked to sing, whereas Gemma chose acting. During her teenage years, she was part of the Masquerade and Miskin theater companies, appearing in productions of The Massacre of Civitella and Guiding Star. In 2004, she won an award for Best Supporting Actress, which helped her to win a grant to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
Whilst studying at RADA, she landed her first professional role in Capturing Mary (2007), directed by Stephen Poliakoff and starring Maggie Smith. Gemma graduated from RADA in 2007 and won her first film role in St. Trinian's (2007). Her breakthrough role came in 2008, when she appeared in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008). In 2009, she was the winner of Empire's Best Newcomer Award.- Actress
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Natalie Dormer born February 11, 1982 is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Anne Boleyn on the Showtime series The Tudors (2007-10), as Margaery Tyrell on the HBO series Game of Thrones (2012-14), Irene Adler on the CBS series Elementary (2013-15), and as Cressida in the science-fiction adventure films The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015). She has been nominated for Best Performance at the Gemini Awards for her work in The Tudors. She has also been nominated for a Screen Actor's Guild Award for her performance in Game of Thrones.- Rachel Riley was born on 11 January 1986 in Southend, Essex, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The IT Crowd (2006), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (2012) and The Boat Race (1938). She has been married to Pasha Kovalev since 28 June 2019. They have two children. She was previously married to Jamie Gilbert.
- Tess Daly was born on 29 March 1969 in Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Duran Duran: Serious (1990), My Team: The Cheerleaders (2014) and Duran Duran: Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over) (1990). She has been married to Vernon Kay since 12 September 2003. They have two children.
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Anita Rani was born on 25 October 1977 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. She is a writer and actress, known for We/Us (2024), Bollywood: The World's Biggest Film Industry (2018) and Four Rooms (2011).- Script and Continuity Department
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Victoria Coren Mitchell was born on 18 August 1972 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. She is a producer. She has been married to David Mitchell since 17 November 2012. They have two children.- Actress
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Cat Deeley was born on 23 October 1976 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for So You Think You Can Dance (2005), Deadbeat (2014) and Life's Too Short (2011). She has been married to Patrick Kielty since 30 September 2012. They have two children. She was previously married to Mark Whelan.- Actress
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Kate Silverton was born on 4 August 1970 in Essex, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Destination... (2003), Twenty Twelve (2011) and Panorama (1953). She has been married to Mike Heron since 18 December 2010. They have two children.- Actress
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Mel Giedroyc was born on 5 June 1968 in Epsom, London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Spies of Warsaw (2013), The Great British Baking Show (2010) and Mist: Sheepdog Tales (2007). She is married to Ben Morris. They have two children.- Actress
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Lara Lewington was born on 10 May 1979 in England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Shouting Men (2010), Happiness (2001) and The Impressionable Jon Culshaw (2004). She has been married to Martin Lewis since 31 May 2009. They have one child.- Actress
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Patsy started acting at 4 as the daughter of Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in The Great Gatsby and continued to study acting and working during school holidays. In 1973 she was in the television productions of For the Love of Ada and King Arthur and at 8 she spent 9 months in Russia with Elizabeth Taylor filming The Bluebird then on her return to London worked on television serials The Foundation, Gemma Shore, Luna and the American serial Pollyanna. In 1993 she made her debut with the RSC in Richard III. At 14 she joined the rock band Eighth Wonder, created by her brother, as a singer and composed songs Stay With Me and Cross My Heart. At one of their concerts director Julian Temple offered her the lead in the film Absolute Beginners. At 14 she interrupted her acting career to perform as a singer with Eighth Wonder, a rock band created by her brother and for which she composed several songs including Stay With Me and Cross My Heart, At one of the concerts she was offered the female lead in the upcoming film Absolute Beginners alongside David Bowie and went on to appear in the films Lethal Weapon II, A Chorus of Disapproval, Chicago Joe and the Showgirl and Prince of Shadows,- Actress
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Jameela Alia Jamil was born on February 25, 1986 in Hampstead, London, England. She was discovered at 22 years old when she was teaching English in London, UK. Her first job in media was a main host on T4, the UK's leading youth entertainment show where she made a name for herself interviewing famous actors and musicians. She also became a journalist for Cosmopolitan Magazine and the Huffington Post. After 2 years she became the face of Maybelline and Nails Inc and in 2012, she released her own clothing line after much success in the fashion industry and having shot for both British and American Vogue, Glamour Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine and Japanese teen vogue. 2012 also saw her nominated for the PPA and BSME awards for her writing. Later that year she was recruited by BBC Radio 1, to host her own show on their network, which would lead to a promotion in 2013, where she made history as the first woman in its 60 years on air, to host the Official Chart on the esteemed radio station. With much success, including several awards for radio and a growing DJ career she stayed on at the network until 2015, when she left to pursue a writing career in the United States. After signing as a comedy writer at 3ARTS and being taken on by UTA, in spite of never having acted before, she was sent to audition for Michael Schur's latest project on NBC, The Good Place (2016), to star opposite Ted Danson and Kristen Bell. The comedy series will air in the fall of 2016 for 13 episodes.- Actress
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Stand up comedian, writer and actor Ellie Taylor has recently finished her debut stand-up tour in 2015 with her show Elliementary which was a smash hit at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer. Her TV work includes hosting BBC3's Snog Marry Avoid and being a team captain on ITV2's Fake Reaction as well as 8 out of 10 Cats. She has also recently appeared on Mock The Week and The John Bishop Show and will soon be appearing on Alan Davies As Yet Untitled Her acting credits include a starring role in Comedy Central's sitcom Brotherhood and working with Chris O'Dowd and Christopher Guest on HBO/BBC2's Family Tree. Ellie also performs at many of the UK's major comedy clubs.- Actress
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India de Beaufort was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Run Fatboy Run (2007), Slumberland (2022) and Kimi (2022). She has been married to Todd Grinnell since 29 August 2015. They have one child.- Belinda Stewart-Wilson is an English actress, born in London, England, U.K. She is best known for her role in the popular TV sitcom The Inbetweeners as Polly McKenzie. Her father is a British Army officer Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson.During childhood she grew up on various military postings in the UK, Germany, and Austria before her family finally settled in London. She was educated at Hurst Lodge School in Ascot, Berkshire, before training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, in London.Stewart-Wilson worked on a number of television shows, making mostly one-time appearances. Her most notable credits during this time period were the roles of Victoria Reynholm, the presumed dead wife of Douglas Reynholm in The IT Crowd, and Nikki in the TV series Jekyll alongside James Nesbitt and Gina Bellman. She also made an appearance in the commercially successful mockumentary feature film Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance. Belinda also played a cameo role in Stephen Poliakoff's Joe's Palace in a scene with Michael Gambon.
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Emma Pierson was born on 30 April 1981 in Plymouth, Devon, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for Absolutely Anything (2015), Guest House Paradiso (1999) and The Last King (2003).- Actress
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Emma Fryer was born in Coventry, England, UK. She is known for Kill List (2011), In the Dark (2017) and Home Time (2009).- Naga Munchetty was born on 25 February 1975 in Streatham, London, England, UK. She has been married to James Haggar since 2007.