Jessica Gunning is an English television and theatre

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. She was educated at

Holmfirth High School Holmfirth High School is a coeducational secondary school located on Heys Road in Thongsbridge, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England. Holmfirth High School opened in 1959 and currently has over 1,300 pupils, split over five-year groups from ye ...

near

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

before attending

Rose Bruford College Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various discipli ...

, graduating in 2007.Holmfirth's Jessica Gunning has been in Doctor Who, Law & Order and now she's set to star in BBC drama White Heat
''Huddersfield Daily Examiner'', 29 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-11.Denby Dale actor joins Holmfirth actress to star in BBC drama
''Huddersfield Daily Examiner'', 7 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-12.

Acting career

Gunning began her stage career at the National Theatre in productions including ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' and ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

''.National Theatre company members – Jessica Gunning
National Theatre, 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2012. On television, she guest-starred in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' episode " Partners in Crime". She also appeared in ''

Mutual Friends ''Mutual Friends'' is a British comedy drama television series broadcast in six episodes on BBC One in from 26 August until 30 September 2008. The series starred Marc Warren, Alexander Armstrong, Keeley Hawes, Sarah Alexander, Claire Rushbrook ...

'' before taking a recurring role as Angela in '' Law & Order: UK'' in 2009.Jessica Gunning
IMDb profile. Retrieved 11 March 2012. She was also in '' Life of Riley'' as well as playing Branita in the TV pilot ''Lizzie and Sarah'', written by

Julia Davis Julia Charlotte L. Davis (born 25 August 1966) is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy ''Nighty Night'' (2004–2005) and the comedies ''Hunderby'' (2012–2015) and ' ...

and

Jessica Hynes Tallulah Jessica Elina Hynes (''née'' Stevenson; born 30 October 1972) is an English actress, director and writer. Known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007, she was one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom ''Spac ...

. In 2012 she played the character of Orla in the BBC television series ''

White Heat ''White Heat'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly and Steve Cochran. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts (writer), Ben Roberts, ''White Heat'' is base ...

''.White Heat characters – Orla
''BBC website''. Retrieved 11 March 2012. This was followed by a lead role as Melissa Young in BBC drama '' What Remains''.What Remains Press Pack
''BBC website'', 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013. In 2013, Gunning also played the part of Summer in an episode of ''

Great Night Out ''Great Night Out'' is a British comedy drama which aired on ITV (TV network), ITV in 2013. It was created by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni and starred Lee Boardman, William Ash (actor), William Ash, Craig Parkinson and Stephen Walters. The ser ...

'' for ITV and the following year starred as Siân James in the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

- and BAFTA-nominated film ''

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

'',Surprise Pride Marches into Golden Globes Race
''Variety'', 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014. finishing 2014 in ''

That Day We Sang ''That Day We Sang'' is a British musical written and composed by Victoria Wood. It is based on a true story of the reunion of a famous recording of ''Nymphs and Shepherds'' in 1929 by The Manchester Children's Choir. 2011 Manchester Internationa ...

'', a television film written and directed by

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over se ...

. In other television work, Gunning was also seen in ''The Scandalous Lady W'' on BBC Two and played Shirley Allerdyce in Sky Atlantic’s series '' Fortitude''. She played the character of WPC Kath Morgan in ''

Prime Suspect 1973 ''Prime Suspect 1973'' (also known as ''Prime Suspect: Tennison'') is a British television detective drama series starring Stefanie Martini as the young Jane Tennison. It is a prequel to the long-running ''Prime Suspect'' series that had starr ...

'', DC Sophie Carson in '' In the Dark'' and Umm Walid in the Channel 4 drama ''

The State A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "stat ...

''. In 2019 Jessica performed alongside

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

at the National Theatre in ''When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other'', written by

Martin Crimp Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

and directed by

Katie Mitchell Katrina Jane Mitchell (born 23 September 1964) is an English theatre director. Life and career Mitchell was born in Reading, Berkshire, raised in Hermitage, Berkshire, and educated at Oakham School. Upon leaving Oakham, she went up to Mag ...

. Jessica plays the character of Jan in the Channel 4 comedy ''

Back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column runs ...

'' and can be seen as Diane Pemberley in

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

’s '' The Outlaws'', created by

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunning, Jessica Living people British actresses Alumni of Rose Bruford College Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses from Yorkshire People from Kirklees (district)