Siobhan Redmond

Scottish actress (born 1959)

Siobhan Redmond

MBE

Born|  (1959-07-27) 27 July 1959 (age 65)

Glasgow, Scotland

Nationality| Scottish
Alma mater| University of St Andrews
Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1982–present

Siobhan Redmond MBE (/ʃəˈvɔːn/ shə-VAWN; born 27 July 1959) is a Scottish actress, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and known for various stage, audio and television roles such as Anne Marie in Two Doors Down.

## Early life

[edit]

Siobhan Redmond was born on 27 July 1959[1] in the Tollcross area of Glasgow, the second-eldest of three children to Charlotte Redmond, a drama teacher, and John Redmond, a university lecturer.[2] She attended the Sunshine School of Dance and Park School for Girls in Glasgow's West End.[3]

Redmond studied at the University of St Andrews, where she earned a Master of Arts in English.[4] At university, she has said to have been 'discovered' by playwright Liz Lochhead while performing in a student Mermaids society production written by Marcella Evaristi.[5] Redmond also completed a course in massage and undertook a postgraduate year at the Bristol Old Vic.[6]

## Career

[edit]

Her first television appearances were in the early 1980s, the first of these being in 1982 in the sketch show There's Nothing To Worry About! After appearing in the two series of Alfresco in 1983 and 1984, her first major television success was as George Bulman's assistant Lucy McGinty in Bulman (1985–1987). She played, among other roles, Maureen Connell in Between the Lines (1992–1994); Shona Spurtle in The High Life (1994–1995); Madame Sin in In The Red BBC TV (1998) adaptation of the novel; Janice Taylor in Holby City (2000–2002), Sharon in The Smoking Room (2004–2005); Maeve Brown in EastEnders; clinical psychiatrist Pru Plunkett in Midsomer Murders; and Ailsa in Shoebox Zoo. She also appeared on radio including in the 2002 BBC Radio 4 series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and as Jean Brash in BBC Radio 4's McLevy series.

Redmond is also a stage actress, having starred in such theatre productions as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 2003, and is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with whom she appeared as Maria in Twelfth Night in 2007. She played Titania/Hippolyta for Shakespeare's Globe in A Midsummer Night's Dream, in its summer 2008 season.

In 2004, Redmond starred in the BBC TV series Sea of Souls as twin sisters Carol and Helen. Redmond appeared in the "Gingers for Justice" sketch on The Catherine Tate Show in 2005 and then again in 2006. In 2007 she joined The Bill as Crime Scene Examiner Lorna Hart and in 2010 played one of the leads in David Greig's play Dunsinane, reprising her role for the BBC Radio 3 adaptation on 30 January 2011.[7]

On 26 June 2014, it was announced that Redmond would play a new incarnation of the Rani, a villainous character in the long-running series Doctor Who, originally portrayed on television by Kate O'Mara, who had died earlier that year. Redmond's version of the Rani is featured in BBC-licensed audio dramas by Big Finish Productions including The Rani Elite (2014)[8] and Planet of the Rani (2015).[9]

In November 2014 Redmond joined Alun Armstrong and William Gaunt in a production of Eugène Ionesco's Exit the King at the Ustinov Studio in Bath.[10]

In 2018 Redmond appeared in three episodes in Series 3 of Unforgotten as Derran Finch.

In 2019, Redmond appeared in the Acorn TV series Queens of Mystery as Jane Stone.[11]

In January 2020, Redmond played the role of the Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge in the ITV series Grantchester.[12]

In 2021, Redmond starred in the BBC Scotland comedy pilot Beep alongside Lois Chimimba and Paul Higgins. She played Liz, a woman visiting her comatose husband on their anniversary, the programme exploring their dysfunctional family's dynamics.[13]

In November 2022, Redmond joined the cast of Two Doors Down[14] as Colin's new partner Anne Marie.[15]

She appeared as Grey in the 2023 BBC comedy Rain Dogs.[16]

## Theatre

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Company  | Director  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

1990 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Titania | Renaissance Theatre Company | Kenneth Brannagh | play by William Shakespeare
1990 | King Lear | Goneril | Renaissance Theatre Company | Kenneth Brannagh | play by William Shakespeare [17]
2011 | Dunsinane | Gruach | National Theatre of Scotland / Royal Shakespeare Company | Roxana Silbert | play by David Greig
2014 | Exit the King | Marguerite | Ustinov Studio, Bath |  | play by Eugène Ionesco

## Honours

[edit]

Redmond was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by her alma mater, the University of St Andrews, in 2000.[18] She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to drama.[19]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "20 Questions With...Siobhan Redmond - Interviews - 28 Feb 2005". Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
2. ^ McIver, Brian (16 May 2013). "Actress Siobhan Redmond: I grew up watching my mum's cancer battle and she's never far from my mind". Daily Record. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
3. ^ Griffin, Cheryl (13 January 2010). "Siobhan Redmond". www.holby.tv. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
4. ^ Davies, Gill. "St Andrews University alumni remember their student days". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
5. ^ "Liz Lochhead to be awarded honorary degree". University of St Andrews news. St Andrews University. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
6. ^ "20 Questions With...Siobhan Redmond". What's on Stage. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
7. ^ Profile, bbc.co.uk; accessed 22 August 2014.
8. ^ "The New Rani". Big Finish Productions. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
9. ^ "205. Planet of the Rani". Big Finish Productions. October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
10. ^ "Exit The King". Theatre Royal, Bath. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
11. ^ TV, Acorn (6 September 2018). "CASTING NEWS: QUEENS OF MYSTERY casts Julie Graham, Siobhan Redmond, Sarah Woodward and Olivia Vinall in the leads as the eponymous Queens". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
12. ^ "Grantchester Episode #5.1". IMDB. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
13. ^ Scotland, Screen (22 March 2021). "Brand new comedy pilot Beep set for BBC Two and BBC Scotland". Screen Scotland. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
14. ^ Smith, Paul T.; Meehan, Abbie (28 October 2022). "Two Doors Down return date confirmed as major star departs hit BBC show". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
15. ^ "Two Doors Down: What's the secret of the sitcom where nothing happens?". BBC News. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
16. ^ "Rain Dogs". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
17. ^ Cast apart, interview with Siobhan Redmond and Richard Briers by Mark Fisher, The List, Issue 126, 27 July - 9 August 1990, p. 45
18. ^ "Honorary degrees 2000". University of St Andrews news. St Andrews University. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
19. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 21.

## External links

[edit]

* Siobhan Redmond recent performances, holby.tv; accessed 22 August 2014.
* Siobhan Redmond at IMDb, accessed 6 November 2018

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Israel

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef