Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in British series such as ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...

'' (2005–2012), '' Getting On'' (2009–2012), ''

Puppy Love Puppy love, also known as a crush, is an informal term for feelings of romantic love, often felt during childhood and early adolescence. It is an infatuation usually developed by someone's looks and attractiveness at first sight. Such feelings f ...

'' (2014), and ''

No Offence ''No Offence'' is a British television police procedural drama on Channel 4, created by Paul Abbott. It follows a team of detectives from Friday Street police station, a division of the Manchester Metropolitan Police (a fictional version of the ...

'' (2015–2018). She was nominated for three

BAFTA TV Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for ''Getting On'', including two for Best Writing. Scanlan's film appearances include '' Girl With a Pearl Earring'' (2003), ''

Notes on a Scandal ''Notes on a Scandal'' (''What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal'' in the U.S.) is a 2003 novel by Zoë Heller. It is about a female teacher at a London comprehensive school who begins an affair with an minor (law), underage pupil. Heller sai ...

'' (2006), ''

The Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel dur ...

'' (2013), and ''

Bridget Jones's Baby ''Bridget Jones's Baby'' is a 2016 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer and Emma Thompson, based on the fictional columns by Fielding. It is the third film in the franchise and a sequel to the ...

'' (2016). She won a

British Academy Film Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

and a

British Independent Film Award The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

for her performance in the film '' After Love'' (2020).

Early life

Scanlan was born on 27 October 1961 in West Kirby, Cheshire, the daughter of hoteliers Michael and Patricia Scanlan. She moved to North Wales with her parents at the age of three, and her parents later bought the Castle Hotel in

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

. She attended Brigidine Convent and

Howell's School, Denbigh Howell's School Denbigh ( Welsh: ''Ysgol Howell Dinbych'') was an independent girls only school located in Denbigh, Denbighshire. The school taught girls from the age of 3 up to 18 and contained a pre-preparatory , preparatory, senior and six ...

, as well as

New Hall School New Hall School is a Catholic co-educational independent boarding and day school in the village of Boreham in the City of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It was founded in 1642 in the Low Countries, now Belgium, by sisters of the Catholic order Cano ...

Chelmsford, Essex Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. She studied history at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

and joined the

Cambridge Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

, where she became friends with

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

Career

After graduation, Scanlan joined the academic staff of

Leicester Polytechnic De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was ta ...

lecturing in drama for five years, before she undertook a similar role at the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

for three years. After the Arts Council of Great Britain was split in 1994, at age 34 Scanlan decided to try becoming a professional actor, quickly gaining the role as a nurse in

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

's ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...

''. This formed somewhat of a theme in her early career, then playing a midwife in ''

The Other Boleyn Girl ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001) is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, loosely based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn (the sister of Anne Boleyn) of whom little is known. Inspired by Mary's life s ...

'' with

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

and

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

, before playing a nurse again alongside

Ade Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series '' The Young Ones'' (1 ...

's doctor in ill-fated '' Doctors and Nurses'', and latterly Dr Diana Dibbs in ''

Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella after the character of Dr Martin Bamford in the 2000 comedy film '' Saving Grace''. The ...

'' with

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes OBE DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series ''Doc Martin'' and Gary Strang in ''Men Be ...

. Scanlan is known for her portrayal of Terri Coverley, the notoriously useless senior press officer for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship in the British comedy television series ''

'' from 2005 to 2012. Among her successes is Scanlan's critically acclaimed dark satirical NHS drama '' Getting On'', which she starred and co-wrote with

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Saturd ...

and

Vicki Pepperdine Vicki Pepperdine (born 1961) is an English comedy actress and writer. She was nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards for co-writing the BBC sitcom '' Getting On'' (2009–12), and was also nominated for a British Comedy Award for her portrayal of Dr ...

. The series earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Female Performance in a Comedy and a BAFTA Television Craft nomination for screenwriting in both 2011 and 2013. They were also nominated for Best Comedy Screenwriting at the Royal Television Awards in 2010 and Best Comedy at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards in 2011. The comedy series was adapted for an American audience with

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, with Scanlan on board as an executive producer to closely work on script development. Scanlan was a guest star in the American version, reprising her role as Denise Flixter. The

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-nominated show ran for three seasons between 2013 and 2015. Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine teamed up again to write and star in their

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

comedy series ''

'', which follows two women at their dog training classes on

the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee, Wales, River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the Ri ...

. Under their production company George and George Co., they are currently adapting ''Puppy Love'' with HBO for America and a new sitcom ''This Land is Ours'' is in development for US Network IFC. Scanlan plays lead character DI Inspector 'Viv Deering' in Paul Abbott's BAFTA nominated and RTS award-winning primetime drama, ''

.'' Scanlan appeared as Cathy in ''

''. Other film credits include

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' wife in ''

'' and roles in ''

Get Santa ''Get Santa'' is a 2014 British Christmas comedy film directed and written by Christopher Smith. The film stars Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Warwick Davis, Stephen Graham, Jodie Whittaker and Kit Connor. Plot A few days before Christmas, Stev ...

'', ''

Testament of Youth ''Testament of Youth'' is the first instalment, covering 1900–1925, in the memoir of Vera Brittain (1893–1970). It was published in 1933. Brittain's memoir continues with ''Testament of Experience'', published in 1957, and encompassing th ...

'', '' In the Loop'', ''

The Bad Education Movie ''The Bad Education Movie'' is a 2015 British comedy film directed by Elliot Hegarty and written by Freddy Syborn and Jack Whitehall. The movie is based on Whitehall's sitcom of the same name, and follows a similar plot-line, with young teach ...

'', ''

'', '' Stardust'', ''

'', '' Girl With A Pearl Earring'', ''

Pin Cushion A pincushion (or pin cushion) is a small, stuffed cushion, typically across, which is used in sewing to store pins or needles with their heads protruding to take hold of them easily, collect them, and keep them organized. Pincushions are typic ...

'', After Love and '' Kinky Boots''. Additional television credits include ''

Death Comes To Pemberley ''Death Comes to Pemberley'' is a 2011 British mystery fiction novel by P.D. James that continues Jane Austen's 1813 novel '' Pride and Prejudice'' with a murder mystery. Plot summary The novel begins in October, 1803, six years after the ev ...

'', ''

Fungus the Bogeyman ''Fungus the Bogeyman'' is a 1977 children's picture book by British artist Raymond Briggs. It follows one day in the life of the title character, a working class Bogeyman with the mundane job of scaring human beings. The character and all relate ...

'', ''

Mapp and Lucia ''Mapp and Lucia'' is a 1931 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the fourth of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. It bring ...

'', ''

Heading Out ''Heading Out'' is a British sitcom created by and starring comedian Sue Perkins. It was first broadcast on BBC Two on 26 February 2013. ''Heading Out'' tells the story of Sara, a veterinarian who is given an ultimatum by her friends to tell he ...

'', '' Stella'', ''

'', ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour shows) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first fi ...

'' and ''

Spaced ''Spaced'' is a British television sitcom created, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright, about the (comedic and sometimes farcical and action-packed) misadventures of Daisy Steiner and Tim Bis ...

''. On stage, Scanlan has worked with Thea Sharrock in her production of ''Cloud 9'' at the Almeida Theatre and ''Top Girls'', with Rufus Norris in ''Vernon God Little'' at 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 ...

, and featured in Polly Teale's ''Madame Bovery''. Scanlon appeared in the first two episodes of ''

McDonald & Dodds ''McDonald & Dodds'' is a British television crime drama series, based in the English city of Bath, that stars Tala Gouveia and Jason Watkins as mismatched detectives, DCI Lauren McDonald & DS Dodds. Created and principally written by screenwr ...

'' in 2020. In 2021, Scanlon played Ma opposite

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and former professional footballer. Walsh is known for his roles as Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004–2006), as ...

’s Pop in ''

The Larkins The Larkins may refer to: * The Larkins (1958 TV series), a British TV comedy series broadcast between 1958 and 1964 * The Larkins (2021 TV series), a British TV comedy drama that started broadcasting in 2021 * the family which is the subject of Th ...

''. In March 2022, she received the

BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. * From 1952 to ...

for the film ''After Love'' (2020).

Personal life

Scanlan and her husband Neil live in

South Croydon South Croydon in south London is the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon and running as far south as the former Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded by Waddon to the West and Selsdon and Sanderstead to the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scanlan, Joanna 1961 births Living people English people of Irish descent Academics of De Montfort University Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Best Actress BAFTA Award winners British actresses British comedy writers British film actresses British television actresses People from the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral People from Ruthin Actors from Cheshire