Christine Murray (born 23 September 1958), known professionally as Crissy Rock, is an English actress, stand-up comedian, and author, most notable for her role as Maggie Conlan in the 1994 film '' Ladybird, Ladybird'', and as Janey York in '' Benidorm''. She appeared in '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' 2011. In December 2012, she appeared on '' Celebrity Come Dine with Me''. For her performance in ''Ladybird, Ladybird'', she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.

Career

Stage

Rock started her career as a comedian in the late 1980s. She appeared nationwide on Bob Monkhouse's

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Television show '' Bob Says Opportunity Knocks'', By 1993, her career had started to take off. She performed her act in clubs in

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, Newcastle,

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Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

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, and

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. By 1994, Rock was bill-topping at the Central Pier and the

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. In 1998, Rock toured the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in a drama called ''Shellfish'', in which she played the role of the pivotal female role of Pat.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

newspaper wrote: ''Pat is an utterly believable portrayal of a woman making a last grab at happiness''. Following the success of the TV show '' Benidorm'' she returned to the UK in 2008 and continued to perform her stand-up act in clubs around the country. In 2011, Rock released her debut DVD: ''Crissy Rock – Live!'', recorded at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

's Royal Court Theatre. From December 2011 to January 2012, Rock played the role of the Fairy godmother in Billingham Forum's Christmas pantomime production of '' Cinderella''. Followed by 'From Benidorm To The Jungle And Back released in 2013. Her latest DVD 'Live 2022' was released March 2023. In December 2013, Rock appeared as the Wicked Queen in a production of '' Snow White'' at Liverpool's Epstein Theatre. On 15 March 2014, Rock led the cast of new comedy ''Dirty Dusting'' at the Bedworth Civic Hall. In April 2014, Rock starred alongside Duggie Brown in ''Escorts the musical'' at the Theatre Royal St Helens.''

Film and television

Rock's debut acting performance was as Maggie Conlan in Ken Loach's award-winning 1994 film '' Ladybird, Ladybird''. Loach later recalled: "I cannot think of anyone I have worked with who shines more brightly than Crissy Rock". Her performance won her numerous awards, including 'Best Actress' at the Berlin Film Festival, 'Best Actress' at London Film Critics Awards, and she received a 'Best Newcomer' nomination in the Evening Standard Awards. In 1995, Rock appeared on primetime ITV in '' Peak Practice'', '' Celebrity Squares'' and ''Funny Girls''. She also performed on Sky One's ''Stand and Deliver''. In 1996, she played Annie Greave in episode three of the

detective drama '' Dalziel and Pascoe'', had a regular television role as nosy neighbour Anita Cartledge in '' Springhill '', and starred alongside Julie Walters and Robert Lindsay in the

comedy play ''Brazen Hussies''. In 1997, she played alongside Billie Whitelaw in the six-part

BBC1 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 (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

series '' Born to Run''. She also made regular appearances on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's game show ''Pull The Other One''. In 1999, Rock played alongside Pete Postlethwaite in the

crime drama '' Butterfly Collectors'', Nancy Banks-Smith who, writing in

said: “Crissy Rock..just switch her on and watch her go”. This was the first of two plays in which she featured in that year, the other was as Jean Walton in Jimmy McGovern's

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

nominated

play '' Dockers'', with Ken Stott and Ricky Tomlinson. In the same year, she was acclaimed for her presenting debut on

TV's ''Millennium Night Show'' with Michael Parkinson and Gaby Roslin. In 2000, she played the regular role of the unnamed newsagent in the

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 ...

drama series '' Clocking Off''. In 2001, Rock starred as Amber Costello during a four-week stint in

's soap opera '' Brookside''. In 2002, she worked with Ricky Tomlinson again, when she played Madame Flo in his six-part

series ''Nice Guy Eddie''. She also starred in a short film called ''Hero'', which won the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

International Festivals in three categories, also the London International Film Festival for short subjects. Following a five-year

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

from acting, Rock was cast, without audition, in the two part ''Closure'' episode of Lynda La Plante's Trial & Retribution series for ITV in 2007. The following year, Plante cast her in another of her TV productions: '' The Commander''. In 2006, Rock took on the role of loudmouthed hotel manageress Janey York in ITV's sitcom '' Benidorm''. She left the show in 2011, although she returned in Episode 6 of Series 5 for a cameo role, and then again for two episodes of Series 7 in 2015. In 2012, Rock filmed "The Air That I Breathe", based on the 1970s TV series '' Hazell''. Over the years, she has appeared in various feature films, including '' Under the Skin'', with

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, particularly in period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship ...

, ''Act of Grace'', in which she played Leo Gregory's mother, and '' A Boy Called Dad''. She is currently filming three new films: ''In Search Of The Miraculous'', ''Death Of An Angel'' and ''Still Waters''.

''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''

Rock took part in the 11th series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. She came 6th and left on Day 19. On 8 December 2011, days after returning from Australia, she appeared on Gabby Logan's Channel 5 show ''Live with Gabby'' in which she reflected on her 19 days in the jungle, her weight loss and her DVD.

Publications

Rock published her autobiography ''This Heart Within Me Burns'' in 2011. Ghost written by author Ken Scott, the book was a best-seller in Britain, and Rock went on a book signing tour to promote it. The sales for the hardback edition hit 35,000, and it was subsequently released in paperback. ''This Heart Within Me Burns'' was described as 'an inspirational piece of literature'. Encouraged by this success, Rock teamed up with Ken Scott again to pen the first of a series of novels centring on fictional journalist Samantha Kerr. The first book, ''Revenge Is Sweeter Than Flowing Honey'' was published in February 2014. Ken Scott has recently written: "Look out for more Sam Kerr in the not too distant future", suggesting that there are more books in the pipeline.

Stage and Screen Credits

Screen

Stage

Releases

Bibliography

DVDs

* Crissy Rock: Live from the Royal Court (2010) * Crissy Rock: From Benidorm to the jungle and back (2011) * Crissy Rock: Live (2022)

References

External links

*
Unreality TV – News of Crissy Rock on ''I'm a Celebrity''British Comedy Guide
at British TV Comedy {{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, Crissy 1958 births Actresses from Liverpool English autobiographers English television actresses English women non-fiction writers Living people Writers from Liverpool Silver Bear for Best Actress winners English women comedians English film actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses English women autobiographers Comedians from Liverpool