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Katherine Kelly (actress)

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Katherine Kelly
Kelly in 2019
Born
Katherine Kelly

(1979-11-19) 19 November 1979 (age 44)
Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England
Alma materRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActress
Years active2001–present
Spouse
Ryan Clark
​
​
(m. 2013; sep. 2020)​
Children2

Katherine Kelly (born 19 November 1979) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her portrayal of Becky McDonald on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2006–2012), for which she received multiple awards, including the British Soap Award for Best Actress (2009) and the NTA for Best Serial Drama Performance (2012).

Kelly's subsequent television roles include Lady Mae in Mr Selfridge (2013–2014, 2016), DI Jodie Shackleton in Happy Valley (2016), Miss Andrea Quill in Class (2016), Jane Lowry in Strike Back (2017–2018), DCI Natalie Hobbs in Criminal: UK (2019–2020), Elizabeth Sutherland in Gentleman Jack (2019–2022), DI Karen Renton in Liar (2020), Sally Wright in Innocent (2021), and Angela van Den Bogerd in Mr Bates vs The Post Office (2024).

Early life

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Kelly was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.[1] She grew up in both South Yorkshire and the USA. She has strong links with The Lamproom Theatre in Barnsley, established in 1998 by her father John (who is originally from Castleisland, County Kerry, Ireland), and has regularly supported fund-raising events held there.[2][3] She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with fellow students Meredith MacNeill,[2][4] Leo Bill,[5] Elliot Cowan,[5] Laurence Fox,[2][4] and actor/novelist, Anna Hope,[5] graduating in 2001.[4][5]

Career

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Kelly starred in ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Becky McDonald from 2006 until 2012.[6]

Kelly at the Stoneleigh Park Country Festival in 2008

Kelly appeared on the 2010 album, Coronation Street: Rogues, Angels, Heroes & Fools. Kelly, in character as Becky McDonald, sang the lead single from the album, If It's Too Late, which was remixed by former PWL and Stock Aitken Waterman "Mixmaster", Pete Hammond.[7]

After she left Coronation Street, she starred as Miss Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre from 24 January 2012.[8]

Kelly's first television role after leaving Coronation Street was in the 90-minute BBC Four biopic The Best Possible Taste, in which she played Lee Middleton, wife of Kenny Everett.[9] In early 2013 she played socialite Lady Loxley in the ten part ITV drama series Mr Selfridge,[10] later signing on to appear in the second series of the show in 2014[11] and its final series in 2016.[12]

Later in 2013 she joined the lead cast of The Field of Blood, based on the novel by Denise Mina. Kelly played Maloney, an ambitious woman in the "ferociously male-dominated world of 1980s newspaper journalism".[13] Also that year she starred in the three part ITV thriller, The Guilty, as Claire Reid, mother to a missing five-year-old child.[14]

Kelly attending the BAFTAs in 2009, alongside co-star Antony Cotton

In 2014 she played Alaura Kingsley in the critically acclaimed production of City of Angels at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Josie Rourke.[15]

In August 2015 it was announced that Kelly would join the cast of Happy Valley, which aired the following year.[16] In the series Kelly portrays DI Jodie Shackleton, a part that was written for her by series creator Sally Wainwright. Kelly enjoyed the opportunity to play a character in her native Yorkshire accent, and prepared for the role by shadowing police detectives in Halifax.[17] Also in 2016 she appeared as the Permanent Secretary in four episodes of The Night Manager.[18]

On 4 April 2016, it was announced that Kelly would appear in the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off series Class written by Patrick Ness, airing from October 2016.[19] In October 2016, Kelly appeared as Hannah in ITV drama Him.

In 2018, Kelly made her first film appearance since 2009 in Dirty God,[20] playing Lisa, the protagonist Jade's mother. The following year, Kelly appeared in the feature film Official Secrets, based on the real life events of intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun (portrayed by Keira Knightley). In the film, Kelly plays Jacqueline Jones, an MI6 agent who tacitly confirms the legitimacy of Gun's leaked memo to a journalist contact at The Observer.

The same year, Kelly appeared in an episode of Flack, as Brooke.[21] Later that year, Kelly portrayed Leah in four part ITV drama Cheat.[22] She plays DI Karen Renton in the second series of Liar for ITV/Two Brothers Pictures. In September, 2019, Netflix released its mini-series Criminal: UK with Kelly in the role of the lead investigator.[23]

Kelly joined the cast of Liar for its second series in 2020, playing Detective Karen Renton. A character bio for Renton describes her as an “unconventional” officer, whose “bluntness” often ruffles feathers. Of her role, Kelly stated “It's my belief that Karen Renton is that way because she has to be that, and if she wasn't that, I wouldn't believe that out of all the detectives that they could send from the Met to solve this front-page news story, why would they pick her if she wasn't excellent at her job?" she said. “I think she would have been chosen because she can act very quickly and very swiftly, and she has great instincts."[24]

In September 2023, Kelly appeared as Emily Jackson in the ITV1 drama series The Long Shadow.[25][26]

Personal life

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Kelly married Ryan Clark in 2013 in Las Vegas. In 2014, she gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Orla Kelly Clark. On 21 October 2016, she gave birth to a second daughter, Rose Christie Clark. In August 2020, the couple announced their separation when Kelly relocated from her home in North London to her home town of Barnsley.[27]

Kelly is currently dating actor Tony Pitts.[28]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Last of the Summer Wine Sharlene Episode: "Ancient Eastern Wisdom — An Introduction"
2003 Silent Witness Tina Allen Episode: "Running on Empty (Part One and Part Two)”
2004 The Royal Tina Binnington Episode: "Holding on Tight"
2005 Bodies Sally Campbell Series 2: Episode 8
2006 No Angels Annie Series 3: Episode 2
2006–2012 Coronation Street Becky McDonald Guest character (2006); Main cast regular (2006–2012; 704 episodes)
British Soap Award for Best Actress (2009)
British Soap Award for Best Exit (2012)
National Television Award for Best Serial Drama Performance (2012)
2006 Leerdammer Herself Advert
2007 Life on Mars Auntie Heather Series 2: Episode 4
2007 New Street Law Rebecca Series 2: Episode 3
2007 The Visit Julie Episode One
2012 The Best Possible Taste Lee Middleton Biopic
2013–2014, 2016 Mr Selfridge Mae, Lady Loxley Series one; series two; series four
2013 The Field of Blood Maloney 2 episodes
2013 The Last Witch Alice Lister Television film
2013 The Guilty Claire Reid 3 episodes
2015 The Sound of Music Live Baroness Elsa Schraeder UK version of The Sound of Music Live!
2016 Happy Valley DI Jodie Shackleton Series regular
2016 The Night Manager The Permanent Secretary Mini-series
2016 HIM Hannah Mini-series
2016 Class Miss Quill Main role; 8 episodes
2017–2018 Strike Back Jane Lowry Sky One series
2018–present Murdertown Presenter 2 series
2019 Flack Brooke Love-Wells 1 episode
2019 Cheat Leah Dale Main role; 4 episodes
2019 Gentleman Jack Elizabeth Sutherland BBC/HBO Series, 2 episodes
2019–2020 Criminal: UK DCI Natalie Hobbs Main role; 2 series
2020 Liar DI Karen Renton Series 2
2021 Innocent Sally Wright Main role[29]
2022 Bloods George Main role; series two
2023 Black Ops Kirsty two episodes
2023 The Long Shadow Emily Jackson [30]
2023 Ruby Speaking Vicki Main role
TBA Protection TBA Upcoming series[31]
2024 Mr Bates vs The Post Office Angela van Den Bogerd 4 episodes
2024 Inside No. 9 Episode: CTRL,ALT,ESC
TBA The Crow Girl Sophie Craven Filming[32]

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Sons and Lovers Emily / Suffragette
2006 Mischief Night Junkie Jane
2008 Coronation Street: Out of Africa Becky Granger Third Coronation Street direct to video movie
2009 Coronation Street: Romanian Holiday Becky McDonald Fourth Coronation Street direct to video movie
2018 Dirty God Lisa Minor role
2019 Official Secrets Jacqueline Jones
2021 Last Train to Christmas Paula

Audio

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 Class Miss Quill 2 episodes

Awards and nominations

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Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Katherine Kelly

References

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  1. ^ "Katherine Kelly aka Becky MacDonald from Coronation Street". Unit One Entertainment. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Penfold, Phil (19 August 2013). "The Big Interview: Katherine Kelly". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  3. ^ Ellen, Barbara (17 February 2012). "Katherine Kelly: from Rada to the Rovers – and back to the stage". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Penfold, Phil (6 February 2013). "Katherine Kelly: A role with surprise in store". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Fabrique. "Student & graduate profiles — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  6. ^ Bramford, Matt (9 March 2015). "Soap Stars in TV Adverts!". What's on TV. TI Media. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  7. ^ Sarah Tetteh (20 April 2011). "Corrie's Katherine Kelly to hit charts". Mirror. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  8. ^ Masters, Tim (23 January 2012). "Katherine Kelly: Coronation Street star back on stage". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  9. ^ Fletcher, Alex (3 April 2012). "Katherine Kelly in Kenny Everett biopic: First picture". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  10. ^ Jeffrey, Morgan (29 March 2012). "Jeremy Piven, Katherine Kelly to star in ITV's 'Mr Selfridge'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  11. ^ Lazarus, Susanna (25 April 2013). "New plot details for series two of Mr Selfridge". Radio Times. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Katherine Kelly on her return to Mr Selfridge". Radio Times. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Katherine Kelly to star in BBC Scotland drama, Field Of Blood: The Dead Hour". BBC. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  14. ^ "Katherine Kelly for new crime drama". Daily Echo. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  15. ^ Blount, Lorna (17 December 2014). "City of Angels musical returns to London". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  16. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (24 August 2015). "'Happy Valley' Adds Cast For Season 2; Lee Hupfield Inks Deal With Cats On The Roof Media – Global Briefs". Deadline. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  17. ^ Hiley, Robert (9 February 2016). "Katherine Kelly: 'It's nice to play someone in my own accent in Happy Valley – I never get to do that!'". What's on TV. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  18. ^ Lazarus, Susanna (23 January 2016). "Tom Hiddleston is up to his neck in first trailer for The Night Manager". Radio Times. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  19. ^ Gill, James (4 April 2016). "Who are the stars of new Doctor Who spin-off Class?". Radio Times.
  20. ^ "Modern Films announce the UK and Irish release date of June 7 for Sacha Polak's English-language debut DIRTY GOD". The Fan Carpet. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  21. ^ "Flack: 5 fast facts from Season 1, Episode 4". Hidden Remote. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  22. ^ "7 Questions With… Cheat's Katherine Kelly". BT.com. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  23. ^ Sutton, Megan (9 September 2019). "Katherine Kelly and the 'Criminal' cast reveal why it's a police drama with a difference". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  24. ^ Fenwick, George (2 March 2020). "Who is DI Karen Renton in Liar season 2? Katherine Kelly's character explained". Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  25. ^ Jessop, Vicky (2 October 2023). "Who is Katherine Kelly, the star of true crime show The Long Shadow?". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  26. ^ "The Guardian". 25 September 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  27. ^ Fitzpatrick, Katie (15 August 2020). "Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly has split from her husband". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  28. ^ "Katherine Kelly 'dating Tony Pitts'". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  29. ^ "ITV announce a second series of hit series, Innocent". ITalkTelly. 21 September 2020.
  30. ^ "The Long Shadow casting announcement". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  31. ^ "ITV commissions thriller, Protection, starring Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  32. ^ Cormack, Morgan (11 March 2024). "Katherine Kelly, Torchwood's Eve Myles cast in thriller The Crow Girl". Radio Times.
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