Lorraine Ashbourne

Lorraine Ashbourne
Ashbourne in 2013
Born	(1961-01-07) 7 January 1961 Manchester, England
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	Andy Serkis ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	3, including Ruby and Louis

Lorraine Ashbourne (born 7 January 1961) is an English actress.

Early life

She attended Wilbraham High School, when living in Fallowfield. She joined Stretford Children's Theatre. She took part in the University of Manchester Stage Society and Manchester Youth Theatre. She joined the Webber Drama School on 19 April 1982.

Career

Ashbourne has appeared on British series and television films, including: The Street, True Dare Kiss, Thin Ice, In a Land of Plenty, Boon, Playing the Field, City Central, Peak Practice, The Bill, Pie in the Sky, Casualty, In Suspicious Circumstances, Mr Wroe's Virgins, Rich Tea and Sympathy, and London's Burning. She narrated Happy Birthday BBC Two in 2004.

As a stage actor, Lorraine regularly appeared at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, portraying roles such as Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer and Emilia in Othello, acting in both of these alongside her husband Andy Serkis.

Personal life

In 1987, her boyfriend was actor Glyn Pritchard, who played chef Paul on Crossroads. She has been the partner of actor Andy Serkis from at least 1993, and had toured in a production in 1991, living in Hackney.

On 22 July 2002, Ashbourne married Andy Serkis. Their three children are all actors: Ruby (b. 1998), Sonny (b. 2000) and Louis (b. 2004).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
1988	Distant Voices, Still Lives	Maisie Davies
	The Dressmaker	Factory Girl
1989	Resurrected	Reeva
1995	Jack and Sarah	Jackie
1997	Fever Pitch	Mrs. Ashworth
2001	The Martins	Lil
2005	King Kong	Theatre Actor #3
2008	A Bunch of Amateurs	Jane Jarvis
2010	Oranges and Sunshine	Nicky
	Thorne: Scaredycat	Ruth Brigstocke
2013	The Selfish Giant	Mary
2015	Child 44	Anna
2016	Adult Life Skills	Marion
2017	Breathe	First Woman
2019	Blinded by the Light	Kathy
	The Corrupted	Pam Cullen
2022	I Used to Be Famous	Cheryl

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	The Bill	Tracy	"Brownie Points"
	Casualty	Sandy	"Cry for Help"
1988	London's Burning	Sue	"1.2"
1989	Boon	Judy	"Big Game Hunt"
1990	The Bill	Maria	"Something Special"
1991	Rich Tea and Sympathy	Karen Rudge	TV series
1993	Mr. Wroe's Virgins	Anne	"Leah's Story"
	Fighting for Gemma	Susan D'Arcy	TV film
1994	The Bill	Jenny Longden	"He Who Waits"
	In Suspicious Circumstances	Ann Bailey	"Absence of Mercy"
	Casualty	Teresa England	"Relations"
	Three Seven Eleven	Sylvia Powers	"2.2", "2.3"
1995	Pie in the Sky	Maeve Cormack	"The Mild Bunch"
	Chiller	Susan Taylor	"Number Six"
	Peak Practice	Tina Greaves	"Life and Soul", "Other Lives"
1996	The Bill	Shirley Briggs	"Too Close for Comfort"
1998–2000	City Central	Sgt. Yvonne Mackey	Main role
1998–2002	Playing the Field	Geraldine Powell	Main role
2000	A Christmas Carol	Sue Cratchett	TV film
2001	In a Land of Plenty	Edna	TV series
2002	Clocking Off	Sally Preston	"Alan's Story"
2003	Love Again	Betty Mackereth	TV film
	The Eustace Bros.	Anna Goodman	"1.3"
2006	Thin Ice	Eileen	TV miniseries
	Jane Eyre	Mrs. Fairfax	TV miniseries
	Housewife, 49	Dot	TV film
2007	True Dare Kiss	Beth Sweeney	Main role
	The Street	Cath Hanley	Episode: "Demolition", "Taxi"
2009	Lark Rise to Candleford	Lilly Spicer	"Episode 2.3"
	Law & Order: UK	Maureen Walters	Episode: "Care"
	Murderland	Rachel	TV miniseries
	Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas	Catheter Finch	TV film
2010	Moving On	Treena	Episode: "I am Darleen Fyles"
	Thorne	Ruth Brigstocke	Episode: "Sleepyhead", "Scaredycat"
	Little Crackers	Miss Meadowcroft	"Victoria Wood's Little Cracker: The Giddy Kipper"
2011	Coming Up	Linda	Episode: "Rough Skin"
2012	New Tricks	Moira Wright	Episode: "Body of Evidence"
	Public Enemies	Marion Sharmer	TV miniseries
	The Syndicate	June Juniper	"Episode 1.3"
	Homefront	Cheryl Davies	TV miniseries
2014	Silent Witness	DI Rachel Klein	"Coup de Grace: Parts 1 & 2"
2015	Inside No. 9	Carol	Episode: "Nana's Party"
	The Interceptor	Valerie	Main role
	New Tricks	Vicky Collins	Episode: "The Crazy Gang"
	London Spy	Mrs. Turner	TV miniseries
2016	Jericho	Lace Polly	Main role
2017	Unforgotten	DI Tessa Nixon	Main role (Series 2)
	Grantchester	Cora Maguire	"3.5"
	Maigret in Montmartre	Rosa Alfonsi	TV film
2018	Midsomer Murders	Daniella Bellini	"Send in the Clowns"
2019	The Crown	Barbara Castle	6 episodes
2020-present	Bridgerton	Mrs. Varley	Regular role
2021	Alma's Not Normal	Joan Nuttall	6 episodes
2022	Sherwood	Daphne Sparrow	6 episodes
	I Hate Suzie	Karen	4 episodes
2024	After the Flood	Molly Marshall	6 episodes

Stage work

Ashbourne's roles in the theatre include

• Miss Kate Hardcastle, She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1990)
• She's in Your Hands by Georges Feydeau at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1990)
• Jean, Your Home in the West by Rod Wooden at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1991)
• Crystal, Doctor Heart by Peter Muller at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1991)
• Rhoda Nunn, The Odd Women by Michael Meyer at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1992)
• Grushenka,The Brothers Karamazov at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1993)
• The Kitchen by Arnold Wesker at the Royal Court Theatre, London (1994)
• Viv, Babies by Jonathon Harvey at the Royal Court Theatre, London (1994)
• Jocasta, The Phoenician Women by Euripides for the Royal Shakespeare Company (1995)
• Miss Hoyden, The Relapse by John Vanburgh for the Royal Shakespeare Company (1995)
• May, Fool For Love by Sam Shepherd at the Donmar Warehouse, London (1996)
• Emilia, Othello at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (2002)
• Olga, The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov at the National Theatre, London (2003)
• Aunt Dan, Aunt Dan and Lemon by Wallace Shawn at the Royal Court Theatre, London (2009)
• Aunty Carol, Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel at the National Theatre, London (2024)

External links

• Lorraine Ashbourne at IMDb
• Profile, bbc.co.uk. Accessed 9 April 2024.