Joanna Gabrielle "Pooky" Quesnel (born 30 April 1966) is an English actress, screenwriter and singer.

Early life

Quesnel was born and raised in Eccles,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, along with her five siblings. Her father was born in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. She read English at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

before spending a year at the

Academy of Live and Recorded Arts The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) was a British drama school. It had two sites: ALRA South on Wandsworth Common in south London and ALRA North in Wigan, Greater Manchester. It was founded in 1979 by director and actor Sorrel Carson w ...

. In the 1980s, she performed in

Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkli ...

's Vile Bodies band at the Ritz Hotel, and performed in a tribute concert to him following his death in 2005. In 2003, she began screenwriting, producing scripts for ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'', appearing in the latter as Diane Short.

Career

She played Dr. Monica Broome in the first series of ''

Cardiac Arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

'' and DC Grace Harris in the first two series of ''

Thief Takers ''Thief Takers'' is a British television crime drama series, created by Roy Mitchell, and produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. The series depicts the work of a team of officers based in the Metropolitan Police Servi ...

''. She had a recurring role in the third series of ''

Cold Feet Cold feet is a phrase that refers to a person not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. A person is said to be "getting cold feet" when, after previously committin ...

'' as Emma Keaton and returned to medical dramas in 2006, playing Dr. Christine Whelan in '' The Golden Hour''. In 2007, she starred as Nita in the

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 ...

series ''

True Dare Kiss ''True Dare Kiss'' is a six-part British television drama series, created by screenwriter Debbie Horsfield, that first broadcast on BBC One on 28 June 2007. The series follows the reunion of four sisters and a brother following the death of thei ...

'', and later that year began a recurring role in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British 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 Ea ...

'' as

Rachel Branning The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2006, by order of first appearance. 2006 was a year when many families joined ''EastEnders''. First, Deano Wicks, his sister Carly Wicks and fa ...

, taking over the character from

Sukie Smith Sukie Smith (born 23 September 1964) is a British actress and musician. Her credits include the role of Rachel Branning in ''EastEnders'' in 2006, as well as appearances in ''Peak Practice'' and ''Doctors''. She also appeared in several films, ...

. In February 2008, she played the spoken title role in a City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra production of Stravinsky's Perséphone, broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. In July 2008, she appeared in an episode of the ITV murder mystery 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 ...

'' as journalist Julie Benson, and in an episode of ''

George Gently George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

'' entitled "The Burning Man", playing the character Wanda Lane. In March 2010, she appeared as Maureen in BBC One's second series of '' Five Days''. She also played the spaceship captain 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 ...

'' 2010 Christmas special, "

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

". In November 2010, she appeared as

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...

's character's wife in

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

's ''

Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...

''. She has also played a pregnant woman in an episode of ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...

''. From 2014 to 2015, she played the role of Olga Fitzgerald, Geography teacher and Headteacher

Vaughan Fitzgerald This article lists the characters and the actors who portray them from the award-winning BBC television series '' Waterloo Road''. The series utilises an ensemble cast, led by the staff members of the eponymous school. It also has a high turnove ...

's estranged wife in BBC's '' Waterloo Road''. The following year she played Dorothea Ames, Head teacher at Coal Hill Academy, in the BBC3 series ''

Class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

'', and provided the voice of Yuria of Londor in the video game ''

Dark Souls III is a 2016 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. The third and final entry in the ''Dark Souls'' series, it is played in a Virtual camera system# ...

''. She played Louise Wilson in BBC's ''

The A Word ''The A Word'' is a BBC television drama series, based on the Israeli series ''Yellow Peppers''. The series follows a young boy and how his family cope with the revelation that he has autism spectrum disorder. Following filming in the Lake Dist ...

'', and reprised the role more prominently in its spin-off series ''

Ralph & Katie ''Ralph & Katie'' is a 2022 British television drama series. It is a spin-off of ''The A Word'', and is centred around the lives of a couple with Down syndrome. The six-part series, handled by a writing team made up predominantly of people with ...

''.

Personal life

Quesnel practises

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

tai chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...

, and

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

dancing. In 2017, Quesnel won bronze at the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (BCCMA) annual British Tai Chi Championships in the Open Weapon category for her Wudang t'ai chi ch'uan

jian The ''jian'' (pronunciation （劍）, English approximation: ) is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the ''jian'' date to the 7th century BCE, during the Spring and ...

routine.

Filmography

Film and television

Stage

Video games

References

External links

Official websitePooky Quesnel
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quesnel, Pooky 1966 births Living people English television actresses English women singers English screenwriters English stage actresses English film actresses English soap opera actresses British women screenwriters English television writers British women television writers English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts People from Eccles, Greater Manchester Actresses from Salford Actresses from Lancashire 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English women writers 21st-century British screenwriters