Tamsin Margaret Mary Greig (; born 12 July 1966) is a British actress. She is known for both dramatic and comedic roles. She played Fran Katzenjammer 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 '' Black Books'', Dr Caroline Todd in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Green Wing'', Beverly Lincoln in British-American sitcom ''

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode, a part of a dramatic work * Episodes (TV series), ''Episodes'' (TV series), a British/American television sitcom which premiered in 2011 * Episodes (journal), ''Episodes'' (journal), a geological science journal ...

'' and Jackie Goodman in the Channel 4 sitcom ''

Friday Night Dinner ''Friday Night Dinner'' is a British sitcom created by Robert Popper that aired on Channel 4 from 25 February 2011 to 1 May 2020. Starring Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, and Mark Heap, it follows the regular Friday ...

''. Other roles include Alice Chenery in

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 ...

's comedy-drama series '' Love Soup'', Debbie Aldridge in

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 ...

's soap opera ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

'', Miss Bates in the 2009 BBC version of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's '' Emma'', and Beth Hardiment in the 2010 film version of '' Tamara Drewe''. In 2020, Greig starred as Anne Trenchard in Julian Fellowes' ITV series ''

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

''. Greig is also a stage actress. She won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in 2007 for ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', and was nominated in 2011 and 2015 for her roles in '' The Little Dog Laughed'' and '' Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown''.

Early life

Greig was born in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, the second of three sisters. Her father, Eric (1906–1998), worked as a colour chemist creating dyes, and her mother, Ann (1933–2001), was enthusiastic about amateur dramatics. There was a 27-year age gap between her parents, with her father being 60 years old when Greig was born. The family moved to Kilburn when she was three. She went to Malorees Junior School, followed by Camden School for Girls later graduating with a first-class BA in Drama and Theatre Arts from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 1988. After graduating, she worked at the Family Planning Association and continued doing

temporary work Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time-based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...

until 1996. She also spent some time at a secretarial college.''Seriously funny''
an interview with ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' with Tamsin Greig. Written by Jasper Rees, 29 July 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2007.

Career

Radio

Greig has had a long-running part as Debbie Aldridge in the

soap opera ''

'' since 1991. As her other work increased, her appearances in the show decreased and her character Debbie spends most of her time living in Hungary. Her other radio work includes narrating the Radio 4 comedy ''Warhorses of Letters'', and guest-starring in five episodes of the second series of the radio version of '' Absolute Power'', playing Charles Prentiss's former lover Gayle Shand, who now runs a rival firm.

Television

Greig appeared in a number of supporting parts, notably as Lamia in ''

Neverwhere ''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was de ...

'' (1996) and The Mother in an episode of '' People Like Us'' (2000). Her first major role was Fran Katzenjammer in the sitcom '' Black Books'', which ran for three series from 2000. Fran was a friend of the main character, Bernard, and originally owned a gift shop called "Nifty Gifty" next door to his bookshop. In 2004, she played constantly embarrassed surgical registrar Dr Caroline Todd, the lead character in the Channel 4 comedy drama series '' Green Wing''. Her performance won her "Best Comedy Performance" in the 2005

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Awards. She also appeared as Caroline in an appearance at '' The Secret Policeman's Ball''. She starred 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 drama series '' Love Soup'' (2005), as Alice Chenery, a lovelorn woman working on a department store perfume counter, in a role specifically written for her by David Renwick, whom she met in 2003 when she appeared in an episode of ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery fiction, mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician whi ...

''. In May 2005 she also appeared as a nurse in an episode of the BBC 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 ...

'', entitled " The Long Game". Greig appeared in the role of Edith Frank in the BBC's January 2009 production of '' The Diary of Anne Frank''. Also in 2009, she appeared as Miss Bates in the BBC serial ''

's Emma''. In 2010, she played Sacharissa Cripslock in the two part mini-series ''

Terry Pratchett's Going Postal ''Terry Pratchett's Going Postal'' is a two-part television film adaptation of ''Going Postal'' by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Kurti & Doyle, Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle and produced by The Mob (film company), The Mob, which was first broadcast ...

''. In 2011, she starred in the BBC/ Showtime sitcom ''

'', alongside Matt LeBlanc and ''Green Wing'' co-star Stephen Mangan. Greig and Mangan play a husband-and-wife writing duo who travel to America to work on an adaptation of their successful series. Greig also stars in the Channel 4 sitcom, ''

'', as Jackie Goodman, the mother of a North London Jewish family. She played Beth in the 2012 BBC series '' White Heat''. She is also the lead in '' The Guilty'' in the three-part series on ITV in 2013, playing DCI Maggie Brand who investigates the death of a young child who went missing five years previously. In 2014, she played Sally in the ''

Inside No. 9 ''Inside No. 9'' is a British black comedy Anthology series, anthology television programme written and created by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. It aired on BBC Two from 5 February 2014 to 12 June 2024, running for 9 series and 55 episo ...

'' episode " Last Gasp". In 2015 the fourth season of ''

'' was aired, and in 2016 a seven-episode fifth season, still starring Greig alongside Stephen Mangan and Matt LeBlanc, was filmed in London. Greig narrated the sixth series of '' The Secret Life of the Zoo'', taking over from

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

, in 2018. Greig has received three

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 ...

nominations for her TV work. She was nominated for Best Comedy Performance for '' Green Wing'' in 2005, and for Best Female Comedy Performance for ''

'' in 2012 and ''

'' in 2015.

Theatre

During 2006 and early 2007, Greig played Beatrice in a much acclaimed production of ''

'' for which she won a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

, and Constance in '' King John'', as part 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 ...

's ''The Complete Works'' season. Whilst the win itself was a surprise, her acceptance speech was received very well as being highly entertaining, claiming that she was so excited that she had wet her dress. The speech was apparently completely improvised. Backstage, when told not to tell her mother about her wetting her dress, she told the host that her mum was dead before dedicating her award to her "dead mum". She also won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for "Best Shakespearean Performance" in ''Much Ado About Nothing'', becoming the first woman to win the award, and was nominated for "The FRANCO'S Best Actress in a Play" in the Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Awards. At the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

in March 2008, she co-starred with

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

, Janet McTeer and

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play ''Broken Glass (play), Broken Glass'' at Royal National Thea ...

in the UK premiere of

Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (; born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays ''Art (play), 'Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. ...

's '' The God of Carnage'' (''Le Dieu du carnage'') translated by

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton (born 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses (play), ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the Les Liaisons da ...

and directed by

Matthew Warchus Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is an English theatre director, playwright, and filmmaker. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015. Early life and education Warchus grew up in Selby, North Yorkshir ...

. The play won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2009. In 2008, she co-starred in the surreal sci-fi film '' Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth''. In November 2008, she made her National Theatre debut in '' Gethsemane'', a new play by David Hare which toured the UK. Greig starred in '' The Little Dog Laughed'' by Douglas Carter Beane at the Garrick Theatre in London, which ran a limited season until 10 April 2010. She starred alongside Rupert Friend,

Gemma Arterton Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is a British actress. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature-film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' (2007). She p ...

and Harry Lloyd, and the play was directed by Jamie Lloyd. She won the 2011 WhatsOnStage Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a play for her portrayal. Her performance as Diane in ''The Little Dog Laughed'' garnered her a second Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. In October 2011 she was Hilary, the central character, in ''Jumpy'' at the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

, London., which later transferred to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

in the West End. In March 2013 she played Varia in '' Longing'', a new play by William Boyd based on two short stories by Chekhov, at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

. Greig previously performed in ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' at the Playhouse Theatre, London, until May 2015. In March 2015, she received a nomination for the

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre A ...

. In October 2016, she returned to the

to play Empty in '' The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures'' by

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''Angels in America'', which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, as well as its subsequent acclaime ...

. In February 2017 she returned to 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, ...

to play Malvolia in a new production of ''

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 ...

'' at the Olivier Theatre. As a Labour constituency agent spanning a period of 27 years, she gave a "polished ... magnificent" performance in James Graham '' Labour of Love'' at the

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

, London, in October 2017.

Film

Greig made a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in the 2004 comedy '' Shaun of the Dead''. She starred with Richard E. Grant in the 2009 film ''

Cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

'', and with Roger Allam and

in '' Tamara Drewe'' (2010). The latter role earned Greig a

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She co-starred in 2015's comedy-drama '' The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' and in the 2016 release of ''Breaking the Bank'', opposite

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

Personal life

Greig lived in a flat in

Kensal Green Kensal Green, also known as Kensal Rise, is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington, London, North Kensington. It lies north of the canal in the London Borough of Brent ...

, having moved back to the area in 1996 to be with her dying father. She became a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

at this time, despite being brought up as an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. Greig is also a vegetarian. Since 1997 she has been married to actor Richard Leaf, whom she met at a wrap party of

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

's 1996 miniseries ''

'', and has three children. She is a supporter of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, giving her backing to a rally organised by pro-NHS protest group NHS Together. She also supports more practical teaching of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

in British schools, supporting the RSC's "Stand Up For Shakespeare" manifesto. Greig was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' opposing

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

in the run-up to the 2014 referendum on that issue.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Audio

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
tv.com
Tamsin Greig biography.
Tamsin Greig – Drama Faces
Biography of Tamsin Greig on the BBC Drama Faces website.
Ms Tamsin Greig
at Debrett's ''People of Today''
39 Winter 2012 , Arete Magazine
Extensive interview with Tamsin Greig by Craig Raine and Nina Raine {{DEFAULTSORT:Greig, Tamsin 1966 births Living people Actresses from Maidstone Alumni of the University of Birmingham English Christians Converts to Christianity from atheism or agnosticism Critics' Circle Theatre Award winners English radio actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English voice actresses Laurence Olivier Award winners People educated at Camden School for Girls Royal Shakespeare Company members English Shakespearean actresses English people of Scottish descent English people of Polish-Jewish descent 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses English film actresses English women comedians Comedians from Kent Comedians from the London Borough of Brent Actors from the London Borough of Brent People from Kilburn, London Jewish English actresses Jewish English comedians Jewish women comedians Actors from the London Borough of Camden Comedians from the London Borough of Camden