Cat Simmons is an English actress, known for her role as DC

Kezia Walker ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series, named after a slang term for the police. The characters are all police officers or civilian staff at the fictional Sun Hill police station in London. Senior ...

in the long-running

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

drama ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'', and for starring in ''

Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...

'' as Scarlett Anderson. She also played Sista Twista in ''

Life and Lyrics ''Life and Lyrics'' is a 2006 British film directed by Richard Laxton and starring Ashley Walters, a former member of the garage band So Solid Crew. A variation on the ''Romeo and Juliet'' theme, it is set in modern-day South London. It tell ...

''. She also made appearances in ''

No Angels No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of th ...

'' and ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''. The daughter of a singer and nurse, her mother is English and her father is Guyanese. Simmons trained with the

Oldham Theatre Workshop The Oldham Theatre and Music Workshop is a youth theatre group based in the north west of England. Outline Founded by David Johnson in , the Oldham Theatre Workshop has a purpose-built studio located in its own building off Oldham's Union Street, ...

and

National Youth Music Theatre The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company (orig ...

and studied at Pleckgate High School, Mathematics and Computing College. Simmons has worked in numerous stage shows. Her work includes Nancy in

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

's production of ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'',

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

in Gale Edwards' ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'', the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

's sell-out production of

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

' ''

Simply Heavenly ''Simply Heavenly'' is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Langston Hughes and music by David Martin, based on Hughes' novel ''Simple Takes A Wife'' and other ''Simple'' stories. The story is concerned with Jess Simple, an honest, easy-goin ...

'' as Joyce, and the Princess in ''Aladdin'' alongside

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

. In 2005, Simmons collaborated with music group Three Levels and released a track called "Rock U 2Nite". Simmons returned to the Young Vic in summer 2009 to appear in Ché Walker's and Arthur Darvil's musical premiere of '' Been So Long'' with nu-classic soul singer

Omar Lye-Fook Omar Christopher Lye-Fook MBE (born 14 October 1968), known professionally as Omar, is an English singer, songwriter and actor. He grew up in Canterbury, Kent and learned his craft classically, playing the trumpet, piano and percussion. He als ...

. The production then toured to the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

to showcase at the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...

. Simmons was cast as Nancy in the 2011-13 UK tour of ''

'', in the place of

Samantha Barks Samantha Jane Barks (born 2 October 1990) is a Manx people, Manx actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series ''I'd Do Anything (BBC TV series), I'd Do Anything'' in 2008. She has rele ...

, who was cast as Eponine in the film ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

''. Simmons took the role from Birmingham in April 2012, and continued it through to October 2012, finishing in Newcastle. In 2016 Simmons appeared as Clemmy Staples in the ITV series ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' episode 18.4 "A Dying Art". In 2018, Simmons was announced as part of the cast for the West End production of ''Come From Away''.

Filmography

References

External links

* Living people English television actresses English stage actresses 1981 births {{England-actor-stub