Teresa Churcher (born 7 January) is an English

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 ...

whose film credits include '' Gosford Park'',

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

's ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'', '' Being Julia'', ''

Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

'' and ''

The Woman in Black ''The Woman in Black'' is a 1983 gothic horror novel by English writer Susan Hill. The plot concerns a mysterious spectre that haunts a small English town. A television film based on the story, also called '' The Woman in Black'', was produced ...

''. Churcher was born in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Churcher graduated with a Drama Diploma (honours) and the award for Most Promising Student from a London drama school in the mid-1990s. She began her career on the London stage playing Olga in '' Three Sisters'', Agnes in ''

Agnes of God ''Agnes of God'' is a 1979 play by American playwright John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the child was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent cl ...

'' and Sue Murray in ''The Truth Game''. Television roles followed in ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Kavanagh QC ''Kavanagh QC'' is a British television series made by Central Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. All five series are available on DVD in both Region 1 and Region 2. Plot The series starred John Thaw as barrister James Kavanagh QC, wh ...

'' before Churcher landed the lead role in the

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 ''

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

''. Her performance gained her positive reviews and the part of Bertha, the 'naughty' kitchen maid, in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

's '' Gosford Park'', for which she received a

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

. Film roles followed in '' Being Julia'', as Charlotte in

's ''

'', in ''

'' and ''

''. Churcher has continued to appear in television shows such as '' Spooks'', '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'', ''

The Last Detective ''The Last Detective'' is a British TV comedy drama series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV between 7 February 2003 and 31 May 2007, starring Peter Davison as the title character, Detective Constable "Dangerous Davies". The series is based o ...

'', ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'' and ''

Garrow's Law ''Garrow's Law'' is a British period legal drama about the 18th-century lawyer William Garrow. The series debuted on 1 November 2009 on BBC One and BBC HD. A second series was announced on 7 July 2010 and was broadcast from 14 November 2010. A th ...

'', as well as the television films of ''

Ballet Shoes A ballet shoe, or ballet slipper, is a lightweight shoe designed specifically for ballet dancing. It may be made from soft leather, canvas, or satin, and has flexible, thin full or split soles. Traditionally, women wear pink shoes and men wear wh ...

'', ''

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the c ...

'' and ''Belonging'', amongst others. Churcher returned to the stage in 2009 to play the lead role of Jane in ''

The Girls of Slender Means ''The Girls of Slender Means'' is a novella written in 1963 by British author Muriel Spark. It was included in Anthony Burgess's 1984 book '' Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice''. In 2022, it was included on ...

'' at The Assembly Rooms,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, gaining a Stage Award for Acting Excellence nomination.

Selected filmography

* ''

Desert Flower ''Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad'' is an autobiographical book written by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller, published in 1998 about the life of Somali model, Waris Dirie. Summary Despite suffering female genital mutil ...

'' (2009)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Churcher, Teresa Year of birth missing (living people) English film actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people Actresses from St Albans