Margaret O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in ''

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 originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton ...

'' (2000–2002), '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' (2008) and '' Two Doors Down'' (2019 and 2023). In 1986 she appeared in the music video for

Simply Red Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...

's single " Holding Back The Years". In 1988 she appeared in the film ''

Gorillas in the Mist ''Gorillas in the Mist'' is a 1988 American biographical drama film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay by Anna Hamilton Phelan and a story by Phelan and Tab Murphy. The film is based on a book of the same name by Dian Fossey and fr ...

''.

Biography

The youngest of six Catholic brothers and sisters born to head-teacher parents, O'Neill grew up in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

, where she was educated at a convent school, and, after being inspired by a sixth-form drama teacher, "fell" into acting. After training at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

, she starred in the video for

's " Holding Back the Years" in 1986, and made her professional stage debut in ''Moving Pictures'' by Stephen Lowe at the

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1990 in the Quarry Hill area of the city as the West Yorkshire Playhouse, successor to the original Leeds Playhouse, and was rebranded in June 2018 ...

in Leeds in 1985. After making her first professional screen appearance in the British production ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

'' with

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough pl ...

in 1986, she played her maiden Hollywood part in the

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

film ''

'' in 1988. She acted with Keith Barron and

Annette Crosbie Annette Crosbie (born 12 February 1934) is a Scottish actress.Annette Crosbie fi ...

in the 1989 TV series '' Take Me Home''. O'Neill played Alex Redman in ITV's medical drama ''

'' and appeared as Sheila Jackson in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's comedy drama '' Shameless.'' O'Neill also played

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

and

Jack Branning DI Jack Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Scott Maslen. He made his first appearance on 29 October 2007. He is the youngest child of Jim ( John Bardon) and Reenie Branning (Joy Graham) and the ...

's sister Suzy in the soap opera ''

'' for five months in 2008. As a voice actress, O'Neill voiced companion Sally Morgan in

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

audio dramas.

Filmography

*''

'' (1986) as Girl in Paradise Club *''Wherever You Are...'' (1988) as Julian's second wife *''

'' (1988) as Kim *''Defrosting the Fridge'' (1988, TV) *'' Jim Henson's The Storyteller – Greek Myths'' (TV) as Ariadne *'' Take Me Home'' BBC – Three Part TV Drama (1989, TV) as Kathy *' (1989) as Berta *''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' (1991, TV) in episode "Fat Chance" as Hilary Dobson *'' Under Suspicion'' (1991) as Hazel Aaron *'' Boon'' (1991, TV) in episode "Lie of the Land" as Amanda Shepley *''The Life and Times of Henry Pratt'' (1992) TV *''Friday on My Mind'' (1992) BBC TV as Louise *'' When Pigs Fly'' (1993) as Sheila *'' Cadfael'' (1994, TV) in episode "One Corpse Too Many" as Aline Siward *'' All Men Are Mortal'' (1995) as Florence *''Killing Me Softly'' (1995, TV) as Sara Thornton *'' The Fix'' (1997, TV) as Marina Kay *'' Invasion: Earth'' (1998, TV) as Amanda Tucker *''Births, Marriages and Deaths'' (1999) as Alex *''Hero of the Hour'' (2000, TV) as Alison Liddle *''

'' (2001, 2002, TV) as Alex Redman *''

White Teeth ''White Teeth'' is British author Zadie Smith's debut novel, published in 2000. It focuses on the later lives of two wartime friends—the Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and the Englishman Archie Jones—and their families in London. The novel centres ...

'' (2002, TV) as Poppy Burt-Jones *'' Murder in Mind'' (2002, TV) in episode "Rage" *'' Blue Murder'' (2004) in episode "Lonely" (TV) as Matilda Urwin *'' Shameless'' (2004–2007, TV) as Sheila Jackson *''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' (2004, TV) in episode "The Straw Woman" as Agnes Waterhouse. *'' Wild at Heart'' (2007) as Elaine *''

Mansfield Park ''Mansfield Park'' is the third published novel by the English author Jane Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton (publisher), Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by John Murray (publishing house), John Murray, st ...

'' (2007) as Mrs Norris *''Little Devil'' (2007, TV) as Laura Crowe *''

The Royal ''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the st ...

'' (2007, TV) as Jane Cooper in episode #2.5 *''

'' (2008, TV) as Suzy Branning (55 episodes) *''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

'' (2010, TV) in episode "Gloves Off" as Ronni Mayfair *''

Inspector George Gently ''Inspector George Gently'' (also known as ''George Gently'' for the pilot and first series) is a British crime drama television series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and loosely based on some of the Inspector Gently ...

'' (2012, TV) in episode "Gently Northern Soul" as Matilda Braithwaite *'' Truckers'' (2013, TV) as Sue *'' A Gert Lush Christmas'' (2015, TV) as Aunty Jade *'' Death in Paradise'' (2016) as Perrie Campbell episode #5.8 *'' The Halcyon'' (2017, TV) as Gloria episode #1.4 *''

'' (2018, TV) in episode #19.6, "The Curse of the Ninth" as Audrey Glenhill. *'' Unforgotten'' as Ellen Price episodes #2.4 & #2.5 *''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'' (2018) as Mae Stanton episode #7.2 *''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

'' as Mrs. Kendall in episode #7.9 “The Skylark Scandal" (2019) *'' Two Doors Down'' (2019 & 2023) as Sandra *'' White Lines'' (2020) as Yoana *''

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 ...

'' (2021) as Cindy *'' Sweet Sue'' (2023) as Sue

Other appearances

, " Holding Back the Years" (1985, music video) as the young teacher * Clock Opera, "The Lost Buoys" (2012, music video) as the wife

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Maggie 1962 births Living people Actresses from Buckinghamshire Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English Roman Catholics English people of Irish descent English television actresses English film actresses English stage actresses English soap opera actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses