Alexandra Elizabeth Roach (born 20 August 1987) is a Welsh actress best known for her roles as Becky in ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...

'' and DS Joy Freers in '' No Offence''. She has also made appearances in series including '' Being Human'', '' Inside No. 9'', '' Black Mirror'' and '' Killing Eve''.

Life and career

Roach was born in

Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger. Acco ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known ...

, Wales. A number of her relatives, including her father Jeff (who went on to work for the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, ove ...

), her brother and her sister, have been part of the police force at one point. A fluent

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

speaker, Roach appeared in long-running television soap ''

Pobol Y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales an ...

'' in her early teens and won Best Juvenile Actor in a Soap at the Children in Entertainment Awards. After leaving the series in 2005, she spent time with the National Youth Theatre of Wales before going on to the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

, graduating with a B.A. in acting in 2010. She has described how her Welsh accent counted against her in an early audition for a television role. "This old guy was the director and he was so well spoken, and he asked me where I was from, and I told him: 'Wales, Swansea,' and he just blanked me and turned to the casting director and said, 'oh no, she's not right'" ... So I said, 'I'm not going to do it in this voice, I'm going to do it with an English accent,' and he was like, 'no, honestly, there's no point'. He just wouldn't look at me, he wasn't listening to me." In May 2010 Roach appeared in ''The Door Never Closes'' by Rex Obano at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a di ...

. A number of high-profile roles followed, including

Sasha Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe * Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sas ...

in '' Being Human'', Beth Partridge in '' Candy Cabs'', and '' The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'' (in which she played notorious child murderer Constance Kent). Roach starred as a young

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

in '' The Iron Lady''. She appeared as Helene in Sky Comedy's ''Hunderby'' in autumn 2012, and was cast as Molly in the film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 2003 novel '' Private Peaceful''. She was included on the

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

"Stars of Tomorrow" list in 2011. In 2013, she starred in the British TV series ''

''. On 3 June 2013, Roach appeared in the fifth episode of the ITV comedy '' Vicious'', as Ash's

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

girlfriend Chloe. She returned to the role for one episode in June 2015. On 8 August 2014, she appeared in the inaugural episode of the BBC One TV comedy drama film '' Walter'', in which she played a Welsh-speaking detective. In 2015 she starred in the TV series '' No Offence'' as DS Joy Freers. In 2016 she became engaged to club promoter Jack Scales, whom she later married. Roach was a presenter at the 2017 BAFTA Cymru Awards ceremony.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

* '' Du Lac & Fey: Dance of Death'' (2019), as Mary Jane Kelly (voice role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, Alexandra 1987 births Living people Welsh-speaking actors Welsh film actresses Welsh soap opera actresses British film actresses British soap opera actresses British television actresses 21st-century Welsh actresses People from Ammanford Alumni of RADA