Siobhan Redmond ( ; born 27 July 1959) is a Scottish

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, a member of the

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 ...

, and known for various stage, audio and television roles such as Anne Marie in '' Two Doors Down''.

Early life

Siobhan Redmond was born on 27 July 1959 in the Tollcross area of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the second-eldest of three children to Charlotte Redmond, a drama teacher, and John Redmond, a university lecturer. She attended the Sunshine School of Dance and Park School for Girls in Glasgow's West End. Redmond studied at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, where she earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in English. At university, she has said to have been 'discovered' by playwright

Liz Lochhead Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE (born 26 December 1947) is a Scottish poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the Makar, or National Poet of Scotland, and served as Poet Laureate for Glasgow between 2005 and 2011. ...

while performing in a student Mermaids society production written by Marcella Evaristi. Redmond also completed a course in massage and undertook a postgraduate year at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

Career

She began appearing on television in the early 1980s, firstly in the sketch show '' There's Nothing to Worry About!'' in 1982. She featured in two series of '' Alfresco'' in 1983 and 1984, but her first major television success was as George Bulman's assistant Lucy McGinty in '' Bulman'' (1985–1987). She played, among other roles, Maureen Connell in '' Between the Lines'' (1992–1994); Shona Spurtle in '' The High Life'' (1994–1995); Madame Sin in '' In the Red'' BBC TV adaptation of the novel (1998); Janice Taylor in ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' (2000–2002), Sharon in '' The Smoking Room'' (2004–2005); Maeve Brown 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 ...

''; clinical psychiatrist Pru Plunkett in ''

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. ...

''; and Ailsa in '' Shoebox Zoo''. She also appeared on radio including in the 2002

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 ...

series '' The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'', and as Jean Brash in BBC Radio 4's '' McLevy'' series. Redmond is also a stage actress. In 2003, she starred in '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'', and is a member of the

, with whom she appeared as Maria in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' in 2007. She played Titania/Hippolyta for Shakespeare's Globe in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', in its summer 2008 season. In 2004, Redmond starred in the BBC TV series '' Sea of Souls'' as twin sisters Carol and Helen. Redmond appeared in the " Gingers for Justice" sketch on '' The Catherine Tate Show'' in 2005, and then again in 2006. In 2007, she joined ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' as Crime Scene Examiner Lorna Hart, and in 2010, played one of the leads in David Greig's play '' Dunsinane'', reprising her role for the

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 ...

adaptation on 30 January 2011. On 26 June 2014, it was announced that Redmond would play a new incarnation of the Rani, a villainous character in the long-running series ''

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 ...

'', originally portrayed on television by Kate O'Mara, who had died earlier that year. Redmond's version of the Rani is featured in BBC-licensed audio dramas by

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

including '' The Rani Elite'' (2014) and '' Planet of the Rani'' (2015). In November 2014, Redmond joined Alun Armstrong and William Gaunt in a production of

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

's '' Exit the King'' at the Ustinov Studio in Bath. In 2018, Redmond appeared in three episodes in Series 3 of '' Unforgotten'' as Derran Finch, and in 2019, she appeared in the Acorn TV series '' Queens of Mystery'' as Jane Stone. In January 2020, Redmond played the role of the Principal of

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

in the ITV series ''

Grantchester Grantchester () is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta (river), Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Granteset ...

''. In 2021, Redmond starred in the

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

comedy pilot ''Beep'' alongside Lois Chimimba and Paul Higgins. She played Liz, a woman visiting her comatose husband on their anniversary, the programme exploring their dysfunctional family's dynamics. In November 2022, Redmond joined the cast of '' Two Doors Down'' as Colin's new partner Anne Marie. She appeared as Grey in the 2023 BBC comedy ''

Rain Dogs ''Rain Dogs'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September 1985 on Island Records. A loose concept album about "the urban dispossessed" of New York City, ''Rain Dogs'' is generally considered the middl ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Honours

Redmond was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by her alma mater, the

, in 2000. She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to drama.

References

External links

Siobhan Redmond recent performances
holby.tv; accessed 22 August 2014. *, accessed 6 November 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Redmond, Siobhan 1959 births Living people Actresses from Glasgow Comedians from Glasgow People educated at Park School for Girls Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Members of the Order of the British Empire Scottish soap opera actresses Scottish stage actresses Scottish television actresses Scottish radio actresses Royal Shakespeare Company members Scottish women comedians Audiobook narrators