Holli Cara-Rhian Dempsey (born 11 May 1990) is an English actress, writer and comedian. On television, she is known for her roles in the ITV drama ''

The Ice Cream Girls ''The Ice Cream Girls'' is a three-part British television crime drama, first broadcast in 2013, based on the bestselling novel by Dorothy Koomson. The story follows two vulnerable teenage girls, Serena Gorringe ( Lorraine Burroughs) and Poppy ...

'' (2013), the

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 ...

series '' Derek'' (2013–2014), the E4 series '' The Aliens'' (2016), and the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series '' Harlots'' (2017–2019). Her films include '' Aaaaaaaah!'' (2015) and ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' (2016).

Early life

Dempsey is from

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. Her first experience of acting was in a school play, as Detective Bernstein in ''Little Shop of Horrors''. Dempsey was trained in

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

improvisation style as part of the junior group at Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Career

In 2013, she had a regular role as Maureen Mulliganin the tv series '' Breathless''. In 2014, she appeared as Vicky for ten episodes of the

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

comedy series '' Derek''. In 2015, she appeared as Jolene in ''

You, Me and the Apocalypse ''You, Me and the Apocalypse'' is a British-American comedy-drama miniseries. The series was green-lit on 8 January 2015. It debuted on Sky 1 on 30 September 2015 and on NBC on 28 January 2016. Sky 1 said in March 2016 there would be no sec ...

'' for a single episode: "Right in the Nuts". In 2016, she played Holly in the TV series '' The Aliens'', and appeared in ITV's ''

Plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

''. The same year, she was in 2016 film version of ''

Dad’s Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for ...

''.Holli Dempsey,exclusive to HELLO! Online
Holli Dempsey, star of Ricky Gervais's comedy Derek and the new Dad's Army film speaks exclusive to HELLO! Online
accessdate: 8 February 2016 In 2016, she appeared in " Hated in the Nation", an episode of the

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

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''. In 2019, she appeared in '' After Life'', then in 2020, she played a lead role as Emily Lacey in the TV series '' Harlots'', alongside

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 ...

. In 2020, she appeared in the BBC comedy ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

''. She has also appeared in an episode of BBC's

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

, as prostitute 'Bridget Cole', and ITV’s '' The Delivery Man'' (2015), and ''

'' (2013), an ITV drama based on the novel by Dorothy Koomson. Dempsey also appears in the 2015 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' Aaaaaaaah!'' directed by

Steve Oram Stephen John Oram (born 1973) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He is known for his role in the multi-award winning 2012 film ''Sightseers'', which he also co-wrote. His other credits include '' People Like Us'' (2001), '' It ...

. In 2021, Dempsey played the role of Grace Melbury in a

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 ...

adaptation of the

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

novel

The Woodlanders ''The Woodlanders'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy serialised from 15 May 1886 to 9 April 1887 in ''Macmillan's Magazine'' and published in three volumes in 1887. It is one of his series of Thomas Hardy's Wessex, Wessex novels. Plot summary The st ...

. In 2022 and 2023, she took the lead role of Jess in three series of Matthew Broughton’s radio thriller ''Broken Colours''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
Holli Dempsey
at Curtis Brown {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Holli Living people 1990 births 21st-century English actresses Actors from the London Borough of Newham Actresses from London English television actresses English women comedians Comedians from the London Borough of Newham