Cathryn Bradshaw (born 13 January 1964,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

) is an English actress known for her role in ''

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit ''Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'' is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985 by Pandora Press. It is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian who grows up in an English Pentecostal community. Key themes of the book include transition from ...

''.

Background

Cathryn Bradshaw was born in Blackpool in 1964 and brought up in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire where she attended Breck School. She trained at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...

in Bristol, alongside Louise Plowright and

Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963) is a British actor best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in '' RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (200 ...

, and graduated in 1987. She married actor

in Lancashire in 1989, but the marriage ended in divorce after only a few years.

Career

Bradshaw's first television role came in 1988 when she played the Princess in an episode of '' The Storyteller''. The following year she appeared in an episode of ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' ("The Secret of Bay 5B") and in the 1989 comedy

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

, '' Bert Rigby, You're a Fool'' alongside Robert Lindsay and

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

. Then in 1990, she played Melanie in the acclaimed

BBC television drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importa ...

'' opposite

Charlotte Coleman Charlotte Ninon Coleman (3 April 1968 – 14 November 2001) was an English actress best known for playing Scarlett in the film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) and Jess in the television drama ''Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'' (1990)''.' ...

. She also appeared in four episodes of the ITV

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

Chancer ''Chancer'' is a British television crime drama serial, produced by Central Independent Television for ITV, that first broadcast on 6 March 1990. Starring Clive Owen in the title role of Stephen Crane, ''Chancer'' tells the story of a likable c ...

''. She made a number of television appearances throughout the 1990s,. In 1996, Bradshaw appeared at the National Theatre in

Helen Edmundson Helen Edmundson (born 1964) is a British playwright, screenwriter and producer. She has won awards and critical acclaim both for her original writing and for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage and screen. Early life Edmu ...

's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'', and from 1997 to 1999 she was a member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

She has also appeared in '' Down to Earth'' and ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

''. In 2003, she played Paula in

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

, '' The Mother'' opposite

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. ...

, and in 2004 she played Mary Webb in the BBC musical drama ''

''. She appeared in two films in 2006. Firstly, the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

'', as Jillian. She appeared in the

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

Like Minds ''Like Minds'' is a 2006 Australian thriller film written and directed by Gregory J. Read. The film was produced by the South Australian Film Corporation. It debuted in Australia on 9 November 2006. The psychological thriller is the first Au ...

'' as Helen Colbie. She played Margaret Littlefair in the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

television series '' Suburban Shootout'' which aired on Five and Paramount Comedy in the United Kingdom. In 2007, she appeared in an episode of the BBC sitcom ''

Lead Balloon ''Lead Balloon'' is a British sitcom television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic co ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* Living people English film actresses English television actresses Actresses from Blackpool Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School 21st-century English actresses 20th-century English actresses 1964 births {{England-actor-stub