Kelly Jane Shirley (born 11 July 1981), known professionally as Kellie Shirley is an English actress who works in film, television, theatre and radio. She hails from

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

via a large

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

family. She has also co-presented programmes for

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

and Channel 5. She is known for her role as Kirsty De La Croix in

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

comedy series Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...

''In the Long Run'' created by Idris Elba. She is also perhaps best known for the role of Carly Wicks in the BBC

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

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 ...

''. She returned to the soap in September 2012 for a short dramatic storyline. Other notable credits include ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

'' and the feature films ''King of Thieves'' and ''Wimbledon''.

Career

Kellie was selected by BAFTA to be part of their BAFTA Elevate 2020/21 programme which supports working-class talent and underrepresented groups on screen. She started her career via the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth the ...

and B.R.I.T school. Her recent credits include: three series of comedy ''

in the Long Run ''In the Long Run'' is a British comedy-drama television series created by Idris Elba which premiered on Sky One on 29 March 2018. Loosely based on Elba’s childhood, the show is set in the 1980s on the gritty, fictitious Eastbridge Estate i ...

'' for

, '' Death in Paradise'', '' Call the Midwife'', BBC, Children’s series '' Biff and Chip'' and the BAFTA-winning and

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 series ''Joe all Alone'' and mini series ''The Marriage of Reason and Squalor'' for Sky Arts. She played "Mable" in ''Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' (Working Title), "Kym" in ''

'' Christmas specials and "Violet" in BBC 4 mini series '' Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'' soon after graduating. Kellie co-hosted the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

show '' Something for the Weekend'' with Tim Lovejoy, standing in for Amanda Hamilton who was on

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...

. Kellie has since appeared regularly on '' Sunday Brunch'' and on magazine show '' The Wright Stuff'' she is now a regular on Matthew Wright’s show on

Talk Radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

. She featured in the "

Pencil Full of Lead "Pencil Full of Lead" is a song by Scottish recording artist Paolo Nutini. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2009 as the third single from his second studio album, '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009). A music video of the song ha ...

" video by Scottish singer Paolo Nutini. For film she can next be seen as "Cheryl" in British feature film ''Bull'' and as "Millicent" in Terence Davies' film '' Benediction''. She played the role of "Terri Robinson" in ''King of Thieves'' for Studio Canal and Working Title film. The central role of "Louise" for Lionsgate in their feature film ''Riot'' about the London Riots and Susie Browning in ''Run for Your Wife'' alongside

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and Danny Dyer. In the film ''

Girl on a Bicycle ''Girl on a Bicycle'' is a 1977 novel by Leland Bardwell (her first). The novel is set in 1940s Ireland, and deals with the reality of being Protestant and what it means to be an individual caught up in the momentum of historical change. I ...

'', directed by Jeremy Leven, Kellie plays 'Marta' opposite Paddy Considine. She played Ali in the independent film ''Everyone's Going to Die'' The film won a Dinard award. Kellie played the central role of "Lydia" in the six-part series ''Self Centered'' for Pollibee Pictures produced by Kevin Proctor. For theatre she played "Stella Stone" in

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

State of the Nation play about the phone hacking scandal ''Great Britain'' directed by Nick Hytner. This was after finishing a lengthy run in the West End at The Theatre Royal Haymarket in '' One Man, Two Guvnors'' as "Pauline" after its international tour clocking up over 700 performances. Kellie has also worked at the RSC,

and

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

. Kellie has worked extensively for BBC Radio 4, including three series of comedy ''House on Fire'' written by Chris Sussmann and long running series ''A Small Town Murder''. Kellie has been nominated three times for celebrity supporter of the year. She won it in 2019 for raising awareness for new Mother’s to consider donating cord blood (which doesn’t harm the mother or baby and gives someone with blood cancer a second chance at life.) She is ambassador for the charities

Anthony Nolan Anthony Nolan is a UK charity that works in the areas of leukaemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It manages and recruits donors to the Anthony Nolan Register, which is part of an aligned registry that also includes the ''Welsh B ...

and Mencap. She is also youth group patron for the charity Magpie Dance.

Personal life

In January 2019 it was announced that she would be running the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

with other former ''EastEnders'' actors for a

Dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

campaign in honour of

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.

. She has girl/boy twins who were born in late Summer 2015.

Filmography

*'' Ridley'' (ITV) - Denise *'' Meet the Richardsons'' (ITV Studios - series 3 - 2021) - Jean *'' Death in Paradise'' (BBC One 2021) - Pamela Bellman *'' Benediction'' (Emu Films, 2021) - Millicent *''

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

'' (Signature Films/Tea Shop productions 2021) - Cheryl. *'' Biff and Chip, series 1-3'' (BBC iPlayer/CBBC) - ‘Mum’ - Mrs Robinson. *''Merry Christmas Everyone'' (Music Video) - Herself *''

In the Long Run ''In the Long Run'' is a British comedy-drama television series created by Idris Elba which premiered on Sky One on 29 March 2018. Loosely based on Elba’s childhood, the show is set in the 1980s on the gritty, fictitious Eastbridge Estate i ...

'' (TV series & Christmas Special; 2018–2020) - Kirsty De La Croix *'' Call The Midwife'' (TV series 2018–2019) - Connie *'' Rock With Rudolph'' (Music Video) - Herself *''Snapshots'' (Short film 2018) - Marie *'' King of Thieves'' (Feature Film 2018) - Terri Robinson *''Who’s The Daddy'' (TV Pilot 2018) - Rachel *''Ivy'' (Short film 2018) - Ivy *''In The Long Run'' (TV series 2018) - Kirsty De La Croix *'' The Wright Stuff'' (TV 2018) - Herself *'' Sunday Brunch'' (TV 2018) - Herself *''Joe All Alone'' (TV series 2018) - Stacey *'' Doctors'' (TV series 2016) *''The Marriage of Reason and Squalor'' (TV series 2015) *''Shame The Devil'' (film 2013) – DS Clarke * ''Kick'' (film 2012) – Tracey * '' Everyone's Going to Die'' (film 2013) – Ali *''RIOT'' (film 2012) – Louise *'' Run for Your Wife'' – Susie (2012) *''Tangled up in Love'' – Bride (2011) *''Frank'' – Polly (2011) *''

'' – Marta (2012) *''Self Centred'' (web series) – Lydia (2010) *"

" (music video) (2010) *'' Lewis'' – Madeleine Cotton (2009) *'' Something for the Weekend'' – herself (2009) *'' Parents of the Band'' – Esther (2008) *''The Grind'' – Jo (2008) *''

'' – Carly Wicks (2006–2008, 2012) *'' The Sick House'' – Joolz (2007) *''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

'' – Royal Court Actress #1 (2006) *''Coming Up'' (TV series) ''– Happy $lapz'' – Lisa (2006) *'' Murder City'' – Episode 'Wives And Lovers' as Lucy Chalmers (2006) *

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toa ...

Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (2005) ''Promotion Girl'' (Advert) *''Too Much Too Young'' – Mandy (2005) *'' Heidi'' – Tinette (2005) *'' Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'' – Violet (2005) *'' Wimbledon'' – Betting Shop Girl (2004) *''

– Christmas Special'' – ''Blind Date'' KYM (Contestant) (2003) *''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

– Alanah 2003''- murdered prostitute 2 episodes *''Whacked'' – Waitress (2002) *'' Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon'' – Trish Cooper (2002) *'' Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' – Mabel Mercer (2002)

References

External links

Kellie Shirley
*
Interview with Kellie Shirley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Kellie Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art English soap opera actresses Living people People educated at the BRIT School 1981 births