Katy Jane Carmichael (born 5 March 1970) is an English actress, director and producer. She is most known for her roles Twist Morgan in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

sitcom ''

Spaced ''Spaced'' is a British television sitcom created, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright, about the (comedic and sometimes farcical and action-packed) misadventures of Daisy Steiner and Tim Bi ...

'', Lucy Barlow in the ITV soap '' Coronation Street'', and Melissa Ryan in '' Waterloo Road''. As a director-producer, her work includes the award-winning ''Mayday Mayday'' (

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...

and St Ann's Warehouse New York).

Early life

Born and brought up in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

as the daughter of two architects, Carmichael attended Gateacre Community Comprehensive School. She did her A-levels at

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' Conference (HMC). History Liverpool College was the first of many public schools founded in the Victorian ...

, Mossley Hill,

. After six seasons with the National Youth Theatre, she studied for a drama, film and television degree, at Bristol University with peers

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...

, Jessica Hynes, Myfanwy Moore, and had a five-year relationship with the then-unknown drama student

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Br ...

Career

Her first professional acting role at the age of 18 was Connie in the Liverpool sitcom ''Bread'' which she filmed during her university studies. Early in her career, she teamed up with lifelong friend, future ''

'' star and writer Jessica Hynes in a comedy double-act called ''The Liz Hurleys''. After leaving university, she began a TV career with the 1950s Liverpool drama ''And The Beat Goes On'' (1994), the

Galton and Simpson Ray Galton OBE (17 July 1930 – 5 October 2018) and Alan Simpson OBE (27 November 1929 – 8 February 2017) were English comedy scriptwriters whose partnership lasted over 50 years. They met in 1948 whilst recuperating from tuberculosis ...

series with

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...

, ''Wing and a Prayer'', ''Death Of A Salesman'', and

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

's ''Karaoke / Cold Lazarus''. She played DC Jo McMullen in '' Liverpool 1''. Carmichael reunited with Hynes and Pegg to play Twist Morgan in the BAFTA nominated

sitcom ''

''. The sitcom lasted for two series. The three also previously appeared together in the short-lived sketch show ''Six Pairs of Pants'' (1995). In 2001, Carmichael starred in her first film, '' Dead Babies'', based on the novel by Martin Amis. She also appeared in

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

's comedy film ''In the Bleak Midwinter'' as mad puppetwoman and played the female lead Jane Wells in the period fantasy drama '' The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells''. A variety of roles in comedy and drama followed; Hex, Scarlett, ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour shows) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first fi ...

'', Clocking Off, Cutting It. In 2002, she landed the role of florist Lucy Richards in '' Coronation Street'' and was involved in the award-winning Peter Barlow bigamy storyline for two years. She went on to play Melissa Ryan (sister of headteacher Rachel Mason) school drama '' Waterloo Road'' (2007). Carmichael played the mother in Danny Stack's short supernatural thriller ''Origin'' (2010). In 2014, she played Helen the down-trodden housewife 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 series ''Moving On'' for the BBC and was Hayley Blake, Connie Beauchamp's nemesis in ''Casualty'' (2014–15). She plays Clarity Winlove in ''The Living and The Dead'' (2015). On stage, she played opposite Steven Berkoff in his 3 hander Sturm and Drang and Brighton Beach Scumbags at the Riverside Studios (1995), Yseult -Whitehands with Kneehigh Theatres's international hit Tristan and Yseult (2005–06) (Sydney Festival, US). Work at other theatres includes seasons at the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Liverpool Everyman, The Gate, and The Bristol Old Vic, where she met her future husband actor Tristan Sturrock in a production of ''The Beaux Stratagem''. In 2010, they set up Bristol based Theatre Damfino together. She has directed the company's projects to date including ''Mayday Mayday'' (Bristol Old Vic 2012) winner of the International Fringe Review award (Edinburgh 2012) and selected to play at St Ann's Warehouse New York and

Spoleto Festival USA Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due ...

(2013). Mayday Mayday is a drama documentary (afternoon play Radio 4 TX 1 May 2015). The Radio play won the International Third Coast award (US) was nominated for two BBC Drama awards 2016 - best sound design and finalist for best drama production. Carmichael collaborated with

Bib Gourmand The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

winning chef Matt Williamson and ''Guardian'' food writer Claire Thomson to create the food-theatre show ''The Table Of Delights'', which began as a gourmet tasting and performance experience for adults (

, 2013-2014). The children's version of the show premiered at The Print Room at The Old Coronet winning the

Off West End Off West End refers to theatres in London which are not included as West End theatres. The term is a relatively recent one, coined after the similar American term "off-Broadway" (though without the same strict definition). It is usually used synony ...

award for best production for families category (2016). Carmichael is creative director of The Table of Delights online a new food entertainment website sponsored by Yeo Valley and Pukka Tea. She directed singer and songwriter Kate Dimbleby's solo show Songbirds ( Tobacco Factory, Bath Ustinov, UK Tour 2017) based on her acclaimed a cappella album.

Personal life

Carmichael has been married to actor Tristan Sturrock since 2005. They have three children together: a son born in 2004, a daughter born in 2006, and a second daughter born in 2010. One of their daughters, Bronte Carmichael is also an actress, who is known for her role as Madeline Robin in the 2018 Disney film '' Christopher Robin''.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Origin Official Site

Theatre Damfino website

Table of Delights online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Katy English women comedians Living people 1970 births Actresses from Liverpool English television actresses English soap opera actresses People from Gateacre