Kim Tserkezie (born 30 July 1973) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

actress, director, producer, and television presenter. She is best known for portraying the role of Penny Pocket in the children's series ''

Balamory ''Balamory'' is a Scottish live-action children's programme on CBeebies for pre-school children, about a fictional small island community off the west coast of Scotland, named ''Balamory''. Four series were produced from 2002 to 2005 by BBC Sco ...

'' and as a presenter for

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 ...

's 'Disability Today' and

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's 'From the Edge'.

Early life and career

Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, Tserkezie began her television career as a presenter for BBC's ''Disability Today'' programme and

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

's ''From The Edge'' programme. She is best known for playing the character of Penny Pocket 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 ...

award-winning

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

'' (which ran from 2002 to 2005 and aired on

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 ...

, and

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

). She also runs her own broadcasting production company called Scattered Pictures. In 2015, Kim wrote and published her first ever children's book, titled 'The Wheelie Wonderful Life of Millie Monroe' in a planned series called Toys for Tomorrow. She won a John Brabourne Award in 2016 and was a board member of the Royal Television Society North East and the Borders 2017–21. In 2020, she won two Royal Television Society Awards, Best Drama Performance for her role as 'Jasmine', the lead character in the short film, Obsession. She also won a Drama Short Form award with the rest of the team, as she also directed the film. In 2021, Tserkezie was nominated for the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award for her broadcasting work at the National Diversity Awards. Kim has starred in multiple radio documentaries for the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. The series were received well across the globe and were chosen as Pick of the Week by the Observer and The Times. In 2022, she presented and produced radio documentary series 'Hidden Sport' for the

. It was also aired on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

. In 2023, Tserkezie continued to work on films, including starring in two as a lead and working alongside

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. Tserkezie has been a full BAFTA member since 2014 and is Deputy Chair of BFI's Disability Screen Advisory Group. She has chaired industry events for RTS, BFI (including at London Film Festival) and for Netflix. She is a trustee of the North's leading development agency for writing and reading, New Writing North. In April 2023, Tserkezie and her production company ''Scattered Pictures'' were chosen as part of the

film-makers project ''Breakout'' in partner ship with ''Creative UK''. The project, a film titled 'My Thoughts Exactly', was awarded funding, with Tserkezie as lead actor and co-writer. Details regarding its release are yet to be revealed. In July 2023, Tserkezie was featured as a BroadcastNow 'Hot Shot 2023' for her services to writing and pushing for opportunities to portray disabled characters where their disability isn’t the central narrative. Tserkezie is set to return to her role on Balamory in 2026.

Personal life

Tserkezie was diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disorder

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common geneti ...

as a child and has been a wheelchair user for most of her life. Her website was voted "best representation of a wheelchair user" by children's organisation Whizz Kidz in 2005. In 2020, she was named as one of the UK's 100 most influential disabled people. She married schoolteacher Daniel Tunnicliffe in 2008 and they have two children together.

References

External links

Kim Tserkezie official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tserkezie, Kim 1973 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Newcastle upon Tyne People from Newcastle upon Tyne BBC television presenters English radio presenters English television actresses English television presenters People with spinal muscular atrophy British women radio presenters Television presenters with disabilities British actors with disabilities