Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress and presenter, known for portraying Stacey Shipman in the

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 ...

-winning television series ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom created, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one from Billericay in Essex, and the other from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and ...

''. She played

Dora Spenlow Dora Spenlow is a character in the 1850 novel ''David Copperfield'' by Charles Dickens. She is beautiful but childish. David Copperfield (character), David, who is employed by her father, the lawyer Mr Spenlow, falls in love with Dora at first sig ...

in the 1999 adaptation of ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'', and featured as Just Judy in the 2003 romantic comedy ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas film, Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous pro ...

''. She also co-presented (with

Melanie Sykes Melanie Ann Sykes (born 1970) is an English former television and radio presenter. She is best known for co-hosting '' Today with Des and Mel'' with Des O'Connor and '' Let's Do Lunch'' with Gino D'Acampo. She also co-hosted ''Going Out with Ala ...

) 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 ...

consumer series ''Shop Well for Less''. In 2023, Page joined ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

'' as a regular panellist.

Early life

Page was born in

Treboeth Treboeth (pronounced: ''tree-both'') is a suburb and historical village in the Mynydd-Bach and Penderry wards of Swansea, Wales. Gwyrosydd Primary School and Welsh language primary school Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Tirdeunaw are in Treboeth. Gwyro ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Wales. She attended Mynyddbach Comprehensive School, where she was

head girl The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1998.

Career

On graduation from RADA, Page spent ten years in stage-based roles, mainly

costume drama Costume is the distinctive style of clothing, dress and/or cosmetics, makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used ...

s for the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

and

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 ...

. This led to appearances in film productions, including ''

From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...

'', ''

Mine All Mine ''Mine All Mine'' is a British television series produced by Red Production Company for ITV. It was written by Russell T Davies and starred Griff Rhys Jones. The story takes place in Swansea, Wales. Overview Rhys Jones plays Max Vivaldi, an e ...

'', ''

'' and ''

Miss Julie ''Miss Julie'' () is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of a count in Sweden. ...

''. Page came to wider public attention after taking a leading role in the

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 ...

comedy ''

'', playing the main part of Stacey Shipman. She appeared in the show's three series between 2007 and 2010, before returning for a Christmas special in 2019. In May 2024 it was announced that a final episode of the show, to be broadcast on Christmas Day 2024, had been written. Page had a leading role in the 2001 BBC drama production '' The Cazalets'', about a disparate, well-to-do English family during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 2009, Page provided the voice-overs for a series of Kingsmill bread TV and radio advertisements and the Christmas TV advertising campaign for the

Carphone Warehouse Carphone Warehouse is a mobile phone retailer based in London, United Kingdom. In August 2014 the company became a subsidiary of Currys plc (previously named "Dixons Carphone"), which was formed by the merger of its former parent Carphone Wareh ...

. In December 2009, she was the cover star of ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) was a printed British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. It contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World. The final printed issue of British ''F ...

''. During Christmas 2009, Page played the role of Cinderella in pantomime in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

, a role she played a year earlier in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

. The following year, she played the role of Alice Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington at the

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

Theatre. In 2010, she hosted

Sky 1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

show ''My Pet Shame''. In October of the same year, she became the new face of

Superdrug Superdrug Stores plc (trading as Superdrug) is a health and beauty retailer in the United Kingdom, and the second largest behind Boots UK. The company is owned by AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited which is part of the A.S. Watson Group. ...

. From May 2011, Page provided the voice of the lead character in the first season of

Nick Jr. Channel The Nick Jr. Channel, sometimes shortened to Nick Jr., is an American pay television, pay television channel owned by the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. An offshoot of Nickelodeon ...

UK's pre-school animation ''

Poppy Cat Poppy Cat is a series of books created by the British illustrator and writer Lara Jones. The books are published by Campbell Books (a division of Macmillan Publishers), and include ''Poppy Cat's Play House'', ''Poppy Cat's Christmas'', ''Poppy ...

'', later replaced by

Jessica Ransom Jessica Audrey Ransom (born 1 December 1981) is a British actress and writer, best known for her role as medical receptionist Morwenna Newcross in the ITV drama ''Doc Martin'' (2011–2022), as well as being a writer on ''The Amazing World of ...

from 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 2012, Page played Leanne Powell in the

drama series ''

The Syndicate ''The Syndicate'' is a British television drama series. It was written by Kay Mellor and is broadcast on BBC One. It sees five members of a betting syndicate win the lottery. Each series follows a different syndicate. The first series is se ...

'', Helen Pearson in the

Sky Living Sky Living was a British pay television television channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky. The channel's programming was aimed mainly at women and young adults. It originally launched as UK Living yet became Sky Living by 2011. H ...

comedy ''

Gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadd ...

'', and Mrs Peterson in '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger''. In November 2013, Page starred as

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

in "

The Day of the Doctor "The Day of the Doctor" is a special episode of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', marking its 50th anniversary. It was written by Steven Moffat, who served as an executive producer alongside Faith Penhale. It was ...

", the 50th Anniversary episode of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. In 2021, Page began presenting

's consumer series ''Shop Well for Less''. At the end of 2021 she began co-hosting the show ''The Pet Show'' on ITV with

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot O'Leary (born 24 May 1973) is a British-Irish broadcaster. He presented the television talent show ''The X Factor'' on ITV from 2007 until its final series in 2018, with the exception of 2015. Since 2021, O'Leary has presented ITV' ...

. In 2022, she appeared on the second series of The Masked Dancer as Pig. In 2023 she filmed the BBC television feature ''

Men Up ''Men Up'' is a Welsh television film broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, about the first clinical trials for the drug viagra, which took place in Swansea in 1994. Russell T Davies is amongst the executive producers. The cast includes Aneurin ...

'', about the first clinical trials for the drug

Viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain symptoms in secondary Ray ...

that took place in Swansea in 1994. In 2023, Page began appearing as a regular panellist on the ITV talk show ''

''.

Personal life

Page is married to English actor James Thornton. They both appeared in the 1999 TV serial ''

'' (Page as

and Thornton as Ham Peggotty). Page and Thornton have four children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Radio advertisements

Recognition

Page was nominated for 'Best Female Comedy Newcomer' at the 2007

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Joanna Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Welsh actresses 21st-century Welsh actresses Actresses from Swansea Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Royal Shakespeare Company members Welsh film actresses Welsh stage actresses Welsh television actresses Welsh voice actresses