Caroline Catz
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Caroline Catz (born Caroline Caplan; 19 October 1969) is a British film, television, and theatre actress and narrator. She is best known for her role as Louisa Glasson in ''
Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy-drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella developing the character of Dr Martin Bamford from the Nigel Cole comedy film '' Saving ...
'' (2004–2022). Her other major roles have included Auguste van Pels in ''
A Small Light ''A Small Light'' is a biographical war drama miniseries about Miep Gies, a secretary who helped her Jewish employer Otto Frank, his family (including Anne Frank), and other Jewish refugees go into hiding after the German invasion of the Netherl ...
'', Detective Inspector Kate Ashurst in ''
Murder in Suburbia ''Murder in Suburbia'' is a British television drama series first broadcast on ITV on 13 March 2004. The series focuses on the work of DS Emma Scribbins (Lisa Faulkner) and DI Kate Ashurst ( Caroline Catz), police detectives assigned to the m ...
'', Detective Inspector Helen Morton in ''
DCI Banks ''DCI Banks'' is a British television crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. Originally broadcast over five series in 2010–2016, the series was based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and ...
'', and PC Cheryl Hutchins in ''
The Vice Vice is a stock character of the medieval morality plays. While the main character of these plays was representative of every human being (and usually named Mankind, Everyman, or some other generalizing of humanity at large), the other character ...
''.


Early life

Catz was born on 19 October 1969 in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
to Bernard and Rosemary Caplan.


Television and cinema

She played opposite
Michael Kitchen Michael Roy Kitchen (born 31 October 1948) is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama '' Foyle's War'', which comprised eight series betwe ...
in the TV movie ''The Guilty'' in June 1992. In 1994, she took a lead role in the BBC's '' All Quiet on the Preston Front'', which ran for three series. She followed this with a spell in ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
'' as Rosie Fox, during which she met
Michael Higgs Michael Higgs (born 14 February 1962) is an English actor best known for prominent roles in two long-running television series: Eddie Santini in ITV1's ''The Bill'', and Andy Hunter (EastEnders), Andy Hunter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders' ...
, who later became her husband. Her part in ''The Bill'' was the first of four long-term roles in which she played police officers: in ''
The Vice Vice is a stock character of the medieval morality plays. While the main character of these plays was representative of every human being (and usually named Mankind, Everyman, or some other generalizing of humanity at large), the other character ...
'' she was a PC; in ''
Murder in Suburbia ''Murder in Suburbia'' is a British television drama series first broadcast on ITV on 13 March 2004. The series focuses on the work of DS Emma Scribbins (Lisa Faulkner) and DI Kate Ashurst ( Caroline Catz), police detectives assigned to the m ...
'' and ''
DCI Banks ''DCI Banks'' is a British television crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. Originally broadcast over five series in 2010–2016, the series was based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and ...
'' she was a
Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
. From 2004 to 2022, Catz starred in ITV's ''
Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy-drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella developing the character of Dr Martin Bamford from the Nigel Cole comedy film '' Saving ...
'', in which she played primary school headmistress Louisa Ellingham (''née'' Glasson). Catz continued to appear in one-off roles, including '' In Denial of Murder'', in which she played real-life murder victim Wendy Sewell, and in an episode of '' Hotel Babylon''. She also appeared in a two-part episode of '' Single Handed'', entitled ''The Stolen Child'', as Dr Maggie Hunter. Originally shown in Ireland in January 2008, the episode was broadcast by ITV on 9 August 2009. From 2012 until 2016, she played Detective Inspector Helen Morton in ''
DCI Banks ''DCI Banks'' is a British television crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. Originally broadcast over five series in 2010–2016, the series was based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and ...
''. In November 2016, ITV cancelled the programme. In 2014, Catz directed the documentary titled ''A Message to the World...Whatever Happened to Jesse Hector?'' Also in 2014, she narrated the BBC's television documentary ''Ebola – The Search for a Cure''. Catz starred in the 2016
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
sitcom series '' I Want My Wife Back'', playing the role of Bex. In 2017, Catz wrote, directed, and starred in a short documentary on
Delia Derbyshire Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music. She carried out notable work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme ...
, ''Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And The Legendary Tapes,'' (2017), which was screened at the
BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...
. She expanded it into a feature-length film that debuted in October 2020. In 2018, she was the narrator on '' Britain's Biggest Warship'', a documentary series about the aircraft carrier .


Radio

She co-starred in ''
Déjà Vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is the phenomenon of feeling like one has lived through the present situation in the past.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–1 ...
'', a radio play broadcast by
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
on 4 February 2009.


Stage

In November 2008, she played Anna, the puppet maker, in the stage production ''On Emotion''. She has previously appeared in the West End in the
Out of Joint Out of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specializes in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions. It was founded in 1993 by direct ...
/
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 West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
production of Mark Ravenhill's '' Shopping and Fucking'' in 1997, which earned controversy for its subject matter, while Catz herself appeared topless in one scene. However, she gained notice for her performance by critics, as well as for being the only woman in the production. In 2012, she played Marlene in
Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.
's play ''
Top Girls ''Top Girls'' is a 1982 play by Caryl Churchill. It centres on Marlene, a career-driven woman who is heavily invested in women's success in business. The play examines the roles available to women in old society, and what it means or takes for a ...
'' directed by
Max Stafford-Clark Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark (born 17 March 1941) is a British theatre director. Life and career Stafford-Clark was born in Cambridge, the son of David Stafford-Clark, a physician, and Dorothy Crossley (née Oldfield). H ...
. In 2018, Catz played Susan in ''Curtains'' at the
Rose Theatre The Rose was an Elizabethan playhouse, built by theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe in 1587. It was the fifth public playhouse to be built in London, after the Red Lion in Whitechapel (1567), The Theatre (1576) and the Curtain (1577), both i ...
in
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
. Other theatre roles include Haunted (West End), ''
The Recruiting Officer ''The Recruiting Officer'' is a 1706 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar, which follows the social and sexual exploits of two English Army officers, the womanising Plume and the cowardly Brazen, in the town of Shrewsbury (the town where ...
'' (Chichester Festival Theatre), ''Dogs Barking'' (Bush Theatre) and ''
Six Degrees of Separation Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is al ...
'' at the Royal Court Theatre.


Personal life

Catz is married to actor
Michael Higgs Michael Higgs (born 14 February 1962) is an English actor best known for prominent roles in two long-running television series: Eddie Santini in ITV1's ''The Bill'', and Andy Hunter (EastEnders), Andy Hunter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders' ...
, whom she met on the set of ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
''. They have a son born in 2001 and a daughter born in 2006.


Filmography

;Television ;Film


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catz, Caroline Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Manchester English stage actresses English television actresses 1969 births