Joanna Gabrielle "Pooky" Quesnel is an English actress, screenwriter and singer.

Early life

Quesnel was born and raised in Eccles,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, along with her five siblings. Her father was born in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. She read English at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

before spending a year at the

Academy of Live and Recorded Arts The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) was a British drama school. It had two sites: ALRA South on Wandsworth Common in south London and ALRA North in Wigan, Greater Manchester. It was founded in 1979 by director and actors Sorrel Carso ...

. In the 1980s, she performed in

Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkli ...

's Vile Bodies band at the Ritz Hotel, and performed in a tribute concert to him following his death in 2005. In 2003, she began screenwriting, producing scripts for ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' and ''

Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...

'', appearing in the latter as Diane Short.

Career

Quesnel has played Dr. Monica Broome in the first series of ''

Cardiac Arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

'' and DC Grace Harris in the first two series of '' Thief Takers''. She had a recurring role in the third series of ''

Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...

'' as Emma Keaton and returned to medical dramas in 2006, playing Dr. Christine Whelan in '' The Golden Hour''. In 2007, she starred as Nita 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 ...

series ''

True Dare Kiss ''True Dare Kiss'' is a six-part British television drama series, created by screenwriter Debbie Horsfield, that first broadcast on BBC One on 28 June 2007. The series follows the reunion of four sisters and a brother following the death of the ...

'', and later that year began a recurring role in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' as

Rachel Branning The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2006, by order of first appearance. 2006 was a year when many families joined ''EastEnders''. First, Deano Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), his sister Carl ...

, taking over the character from

Sukie Smith Sukie Smith (born 23 September 1964) is a British actress and musician. Her credits include the role of Rachel Branning in ''EastEnders'' in 2006, as well as appearances in '' Peak Practice'' and '' Doctors''. She also appeared in several fil ...

. In February 2008, she played the spoken title role in a City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra production of Stravinsky's Perséphone, broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. In July 2008, she appeared in an episode of the ITV murder mystery series, ''

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. ...

'' as journalist Julie Benson, and in an episode of '' George Gently'' entitled "The Burning Man", playing the character Wanda Lane. In March 2010, she appeared as Maureen in BBC One's second series of '' Five Days''. She also played the spaceship captain in the ''

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 ...

'' 2010 Christmas special, "

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

". In November 2010, she appeared as

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...

's character's wife in

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

's '' Accused''. From 2014 to 2015, she played the role of Olga Fitzgerald, Geography teacher and Headteacher

Vaughan Fitzgerald This article lists the characters and the actors who portray them from the BBC television series '' Waterloo Road''. The series utilises an ensemble cast, led by the staff members of the eponymous school. It also has a high turnover rate of ch ...

's estranged wife in BBC's '' Waterloo Road''. The following year she played Dorothea Ames, Head teacher at Coal Hill Academy, in the BBC3 series ''

Class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

'', and provided the voice of Yuria of Londor in the video game '' Dark Souls III''. She played Louise Wilson in BBC's '' The A Word'', and reprised the role more prominently in its spin-off series '' Ralph & Katie''.

Personal life

Quesnel practises

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

, and

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

dancing. In 2017, Quesnel won bronze at the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (BCCMA) annual British Tai Chi Championships in the Open Weapon category for her Wudang

taijijian ''Taijijian'' ( zh, t=太極劍, s=太极剑, p=tàijíjiàn, l= ''taiji'' sword) is a straight two-edged sword used in the training of the Chinese martial art tai chi. The straight sword, sometimes with a tassel and sometimes not, is used for u ...

routine.

Filmography

Film and television

Stage

Video games

References

External links

Official websitePooky Quesnel
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quesnel, Pooky Living people English television actresses English women singers English screenwriters English stage actresses English film actresses English soap opera actresses English women screenwriters English television writers English women television writers English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts Actors from Eccles, Greater Manchester Actresses from Lancashire 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people)