Roisin Conaty ( born 1979) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She won the Best Newcomer Award at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

in 2010 for her show ''Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar''. She played Jo in 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 ...

sitcom '' Man Down'' from 2013 to 2017. In early 2014, the pilot of the sitcom '' GameFace'', of which she is the writer, lead actress and executive producer, aired on

. The first full series aired in 2017 on both E4 and

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in the US. The second series aired on Channel 4 and Hulu in July 2019. Conaty won the ''Heat'' magazine's "Unmissables Comedian of the Year" award in 2019. She played Roxy in the first two seasons of the

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 ...

comedy-drama series '' After Life''.

Early life

Conaty was born in the Camden area of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the daughter of Irish parents. Her mother was a nurse from Dromcolliher, County Limerick, while her father was an

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

employee from

Virginia, County Cavan Virginia () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. Founded in the 17th century as a plantation town, it now holds both local industry and commuter housing. History Foundation Virginia was founded in the early 17th century, at Aghanure (), during ...

. She grew up in Camden with her younger sister, Siobhan, and spent summers in Ireland. She studied film at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

and had several office jobs before starting her comedy career at the age of 24.

Career

Comedy

In 2010, Conaty won the Best Newcomer Award at the

for her show ''Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar''. In April 2011, she performed her show at the

Melbourne Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

. She followed that show up with ''Lifehunter'' in 2013. In November 2010, she appeared on series 3, episode 4 of ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' is a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on th ...

''. Other stand-up performances include "The Angina Monologues", alongside

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English actress, comedian, presenter and writer. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satur ...

Andi Osho Yewande "Andi" Osho (born 27 January 1973) is a British actor, writer, and blogger who had previously been a stand-up comedian and television presenter. Life and career Osho was born in Plaistow, East London,In an interview for BBC Radio 4 E ...

Isy Suttie Isobel Jane Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress and writer. She played Dobby in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave''. Ear ...

and

Katy Brand Katherine Frances Brand (born 13 January 1979), known as Katy Brand, is an English actress, comedian and writer, known for her ITV2 series '' Katy Brand's Big Ass Show'' and for Comedy Lab ''Slap'' on Channel 4. Early life and education Brand ...

for Sky Television, '' Russell Howard's Stand Up Central'' on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

and '' Live at the Apollo'' in December 2015. In 2016, she was a guest on the '' Jonathan Ross Show''. Conaty has appeared on a number of panel shows, including ''

Have I Got News for You ''Have I Got News for You'' (''HIGNFY'') is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one ...

'', ''

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of '' Countdown'', but presented in a comedy panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...

'', ''

Insert Name Here ''Insert Name Here'' is a British comedy panel game show presented by Sue Perkins. The programme made its debut on BBC Two on 4 January 2016. In each episode two teams of three compete to answer questions about famous people, past and present, wh ...

'', ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Ma ...

'', '' Would I Lie to You?'', ''

Hypothetical A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess or tho ...

'', and ''

Room 101 The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell. The use of contradictor ...

''. She starred in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

version of ''

Impractical Jokers ''Impractical Jokers'' is an American hidden camera comedy and reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, ''Impractical Jokers'' premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011, starring the members of The Tenderlo ...

''. Conaty was one of the original cast of comedians in series 1 of '' Taskmaster'' on

Dave Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

. ''Taskmaster'' creator and co-host

Alex Horne Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 10 September 1978) is an English comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series '' Taskmaster'', in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and ba ...

when reflecting on her performance in the tasks said that she was "the worst. But also one of my favourites." Conaty appeared on ''The Big Fat Quiz Of Everything'' broadcast on 7 January 2021 on a team with

Rob Beckett Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, actor, and presenter. He was a co-host on the ITV2 spin-off show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' from 2012 to 2014. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team captain ...

. In March 2025, she was co-host of the first series of ''LOL: Last One Laughing UK'', alongside

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...

, which starred

Sara Pascoe Sara Patricia Pascoe (born 22 May 1981) is an English comedian, actress, presenter and writer. She has appeared on television programmes including ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' and ''Taskmaster (TV series), Taskmaster'' for Channel 4 and ...

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, author, television presenter, writer and actor. He is one half of the comedy double act Reeves and Mortimer with Jim Moir, Vic Reeves, and appears in the ''Mortimer & Whitehouse ...

Lou Sanders Louise Samantha Sanders (born 24 November 1978) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Since beginning her career in comedy, she has appeared regularly on panel shows, performed on '' Live at the Apollo'' and won the eighth series ...

Judi Love Judi Love (born Judy Veronica Thomas; 4 June 1980) is an English stand-up comedian and presenter. She is a regular panellist on the ITV talk show ''Loose Women''. In 2020, Love appeared on the first all-black panel in the show's 25-year history, ...

Joe Wilkinson Joseph Roland Wilkinson (born 11 February 1975) is an English comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He began his comedy career in 2004 and has supported Alan Carr and Russell Howard on tour. In 2006, Wilkinson won the Hackney Empire New Act of ...

Joe Lycett Joe Harry Lycett (born 1988), also known by the self-given moniker "Mummy", and officially self-renamed briefly as Hugo Boss in 2020, is a British comedian, television presenter, and painter. He has appeared on many TV shows, including '' Live ...

Daisy May Cooper Daisy May Cooper (born 1 August 1986) is an English actress and writer. She won the 2018 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for playing Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series '' This Country'', which she co-created and co-wrote w ...

& Harriet Kemsley

Acting

Conaty played Jo in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Man Down'', alongside

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'' (2012–2019), Dan Davies in '' Man ...

, from 2013 to 2017; she also appeared in

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) ...

' film '' David Brent: Life on the Road''. In 2014, she wrote and starred in the pilot of her sitcom '' GameFace'', in which she plays a struggling actress named Marcella. The pilot aired on

in April 2014, following which a full series was commissioned, which premiered on E4 in October 2017. The second series debuted in July 2019 with critical acclaim. Between 2019 and 2020, Conaty featured in the

comedy-drama series '' After Life'' as Daphne/Roxy.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conaty, Roisin 1979 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English comedians Actresses from London Alumni of Middlesex University English stand-up comedians Comedians from the London Borough of Camden English comedy writers English film actresses English people of Irish descent English television actresses English women comedians Actors from the London Borough of Camden People from Camden Town