Jane Horrocks
Encyclopedia
Barbara Jane Horrocks is an English voice, stage, screen and television actress, voice artist, musician, and singer. She is best known for her role as "Bubble" in the TV series Absolutely Fabulous
as well as her distinctive voice.
, Lancashire
, England, the daughter of Barbara (née
Ashworth), a hospital worker, and John Horrocks, a sales representative. She attended Balladen County Primary School and later trained at the Oldham College and subsequently at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
with Imogen Stubbs
and Ralph Fiennes
, and began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company
. She drew critical notice for her performance in the film Life Is Sweet
(1991), followed by her award-winning performance in the West End
play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice in which she sang all the songs. Horrocks became a name with the role of Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous
(1992–2004), in which she also played Katy Grin in the last two seasons.
, a play directed by Jim Cartwright
, Horrocks warmed up by doing singing impressions of Judy Garland
, Shirley Bassey
, and Ethel Merman
. Cartwright was so impressed with her mimicry he wrote The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
for her. She was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1992 West End production, directed by her boyfriend Sam Mendes
. She reprised her role in the 1998 screen adaptation, Little Voice
, which earned nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
, the Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture, and the British Independent Film Award
for Best Actress.
In 2000, Horrocks made the CD Further Adventures of Little Voice, again singing in the style of favourite divas. The recording includes duets with Ewan McGregor
, Robbie Williams
, and Dean Martin
. Horrocks collaborated once more with Robbie Williams the following year, for a cover of the Bobby Darin
song "Things" on Williams's album Swing When You're Winning
.
(Donmar Warehouse
, 1994), Macbeth
(Greenwich Theatre, 1995) and Absurd Person Singular
(Garrick Theatre, 2007). Her last West End appearance was in Sweet Panic, the 2003 Stephen Poliakoff
drama in which she portrayed a neurotic mother locked in a battle of wills with her disturbed son's psychologist. She starred in Richard Jones's critically acclaimed production of The Good Soul of Szechuan at the Young Vic in 2008, and was reunited with Jones in a new musical production of Annie Get Your Gun
, which opened at the Young Vic in October 2009.
Horrocks's voiceovers have been used on Chicken Run
(2000), Christmas Carol: The Movie
(2001), Corpse Bride
(2005), Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
(2006) and Tinker Bell
(2008) (in which she was Fairy Mary; she reprises the role in the Tinker Bell sequels), and on radio as Fenchurch in the audio adaptation of Douglas Adams
' science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
for BBC Radio 4.
Other television credits include Absolutely Fabulous, Victoria Wood
- We'd Quite Like To Apologise, Bad Girl, Boon, Heartland, Hunting Venus, La Nonna, Leaving Home, Never Mind the Horrocks
, Nightlife, Wyrd Sisters
, The Foxbusters
, Red Dwarf
, Some Kind of Life, Suffer the Little Children, The Storyteller
, The Garden, Fifi & the Flowertots
, Little Princess
(the voice of the princess) and Welcome to the Times. She was the subject of an episode of the genealogy
documentary series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2006. That year she played the title role in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard
, a drama about a woman elected prime minister
. She also appeared in the 2007 Robbie the Reindeer
BBC TV animations filmed in aid of Comic Relief
. For 10 years, Horrocks appeared with Prunella Scales
in commercials
for the UK supermarket chain Tesco
. She narrated BBC2's television series The Speaker
in April 2009.
Also in 2009, Horrocks took the lead in the BBC TV production Gracie!, a drama portraying the life of Gracie Fields
during World War II and her relationship with the Italian-born director Monty Banks
(played by Tom Hollander
).
with their children, son Dylan and daughter Molly.
Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
as well as her distinctive voice.
Early life
Horrocks, the youngest of three children, was born in RawtenstallRawtenstall
Rawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, the daughter of Barbara (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Ashworth), a hospital worker, and John Horrocks, a sales representative. She attended Balladen County Primary School and later trained at the Oldham College and subsequently at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
with Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn is an English actress and playwright.-Early life:Imogen Stubbs was born in Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on an elderly river barge on the Thames...
and Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, and began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. She drew critical notice for her performance in the film Life Is Sweet
Life Is Sweet (film)
Life Is Sweet is a 1991 British film directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks and Timothy Spall. Leigh's third cinematic film, it was his most commercially successful title at the time of its release...
(1991), followed by her award-winning performance in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice in which she sang all the songs. Horrocks became a name with the role of Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
(1992–2004), in which she also played Katy Grin in the last two seasons.
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
While working on RoadRoad (play)
Road is the first play written by Jim Cartwright, and was first produced in 1986.The play explores the lives of the people in a deprived, working class area of Lancashire during the government of Margaret Thatcher, a time of high unemployment in the north of England...
, a play directed by Jim Cartwright
Jim Cartwright
Jim Cartwright is an English dramatist, born at Farnworth, Lancashire, England. Cartwright's first play, Road, won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC....
, Horrocks warmed up by doing singing impressions of Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, and Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
. Cartwright was so impressed with her mimicry he wrote The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is a 1992 play written by English dramatist Jim Cartwright. Sam Mendes directed stars Jane Horrocks and Alison Steadman at the Royal National Theatre before transferring to the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End....
for her. She was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1992 West End production, directed by her boyfriend Sam Mendes
Sam Mendes
Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes, CBE is an English stage and film director. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning work on his debut film American Beauty and his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret , Oliver! , Company and Gypsy . He's currently working on the 23rd James Bond...
. She reprised her role in the 1998 screen adaptation, Little Voice
Little Voice (film)
Little Voice is a 1998 British drama film with music written and directed by Mark Herman. The screenplay is based on the play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright.- Plot :...
, which earned nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
, the Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy is one the Satellite Awards, given annually by the International Press Academy.- 1990s :- 2000s :- 2010–2019 :...
, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture, and the British Independent Film Award
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
for Best Actress.
In 2000, Horrocks made the CD Further Adventures of Little Voice, again singing in the style of favourite divas. The recording includes duets with Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
, Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
, and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
. Horrocks collaborated once more with Robbie Williams the following year, for a cover of the Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
song "Things" on Williams's album Swing When You're Winning
Swing When You're Winning
Swing When You're Winning is a swing cover album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.-Background:After the success of his third studio album, Sing When You're Winning, Williams wanted to take another musical direction...
.
Career
Horrocks has appeared on stage in Ask for the Moon (Hampstead, 1986), A Colliers Friday Night (Greenwich, 1987), Valued Friends (Hampstead, 1989), and The Debutante Ball (Hampstead, 1989). She appeared in "Catherine Cookson's The Fifteen Streets, alongside Sean Bean and Owen Teale in 1989, Our Own Kind (Bush, 1991), Deadly Advice (Fletcher, 1993), CabaretCabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
(Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
, 1994), Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(Greenwich Theatre, 1995) and Absurd Person Singular
Absurd Person Singular
Absurd Person Singular is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples...
(Garrick Theatre, 2007). Her last West End appearance was in Sweet Panic, the 2003 Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
drama in which she portrayed a neurotic mother locked in a battle of wills with her disturbed son's psychologist. She starred in Richard Jones's critically acclaimed production of The Good Soul of Szechuan at the Young Vic in 2008, and was reunited with Jones in a new musical production of Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
, which opened at the Young Vic in October 2009.
Horrocks's voiceovers have been used on Chicken Run
Chicken Run
Chicken Run is a 2000 British stop-motion animation film made by the Aardman Animations studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films...
(2000), Christmas Carol: The Movie
Christmas Carol: The Movie
Christmas Carol: The Movie is a 2001 British live action/animated film based on Charles Dickens's classic novella. Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, the film features the voices of numerous actors including Simon Callow, Kate Winslet , and Nicolas Cage.- Voice cast :*Simon Callow – Charles...
(2001), Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride, often promoted as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, is a 2005 stop-motion-animated fantasy musical film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. It is set in a fictional Victorian era village in Europe. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter ...
(2005), Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties is the 2006 sequel to 2004's live-action feature film Garfield: The Movie...
(2006) and Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell (film)
Tinker Bell is a 2008 computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise produced by DisneyToon Studios. It revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and featured in the 1953 Disney animated film, Peter...
(2008) (in which she was Fairy Mary; she reprises the role in the Tinker Bell sequels), and on radio as Fenchurch in the audio adaptation of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
' science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy radio series written by Douglas Adams . It was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC Radio 4 in 1978, and afterwards on global short wave radio on the BBC World Service, National Public Radio in the U.S. and CBC Radio in...
for BBC Radio 4.
Other television credits include Absolutely Fabulous, Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
- We'd Quite Like To Apologise, Bad Girl, Boon, Heartland, Hunting Venus, La Nonna, Leaving Home, Never Mind the Horrocks
Never Mind the Horrocks
Never Mind the Horrocks was a one-off television show built around the talents of British television comedian Jane Horrocks. It was broadcast on Channel 4 on Thursday 19 September 1996 at 10:00pm and also starred Martin Clunes, Mel Giedroyc, Rebecca Front, David Haig, Alexander Armstrong, Philip...
, Nightlife, Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters (TV series)
Wyrd Sisters is a two-part animated television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Cosgrove Hall, and first broadcast on 18 May 1997...
, The Foxbusters
Foxbusters
The Foxbusters is a British animation very loosely based on the Dick King-Smith book The Fox Busters. It was made by Cosgrove Hall and consists of two series of thirteen 11-minute episodes each, made between 1999 and 2000. The show was co-written by the animation partnership of David Max Freedman...
, Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
, Some Kind of Life, Suffer the Little Children, The Storyteller
The Storyteller
The StoryTeller is a live-action/puppet television series. It was an American/British co-production which originally aired in 1988 and was created and produced by Jim Henson....
, The Garden, Fifi & the Flowertots
Fifi & the Flowertots
Fifi and the Flowertots is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first broadcast in May 2005, which is shown on Channel 5, and on Nick Jr, in the United States. It has also been translated into Welsh as Fifi a'i Ffrindau and is shown on S4C...
, Little Princess
Little Princess (animated series)
Little Princess is a children's animated television series. Directed by Edward Foster it debuted in the UK in 2006 and is currently shown there as part of Channel Five's Milkshake! and – as Y Dywysoges Fach – in the children's programming strand Cyw on the Welsh-language channel S4C.In English the...
(the voice of the princess) and Welcome to the Times. She was the subject of an episode of the genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
documentary series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2006. That year she played the title role in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard
The Amazing Mrs Pritchard was a British drama series that aired on BBC One in 2006. Produced by Kudos, it was written by Sally Wainwright and stars Jane Horrocks in the title role of a woman with no previous political experience who becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.-Background:Sally...
, a drama about a woman elected prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
. She also appeared in the 2007 Robbie the Reindeer
Robbie the Reindeer
Robbie the Reindeer is a series of three animated comedy television specials shown on BBC One at Christmas, filmed in aid of Comic Relief. Written by Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley, the programmes are based on the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with Robbie as Rudolph's son and the tenth of...
BBC TV animations filmed in aid of Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
. For 10 years, Horrocks appeared with Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
in commercials
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
for the UK supermarket chain Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
. She narrated BBC2's television series The Speaker
The Speaker
The Speaker is a 2009 British television series, broadcast on BBC Two. It is a talent show type series that aimed to find the best young speaker in the United Kingdom. The show is narrated by Jane Horrocks...
in April 2009.
Also in 2009, Horrocks took the lead in the BBC TV production Gracie!, a drama portraying the life of Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
during World War II and her relationship with the Italian-born director Monty Banks
Monty Banks
Montague Banks was a comedian and film director. In the 1920s, he worked in Hollywood, starring in many silent short comedies and in the feature-length action thriller Play Safe...
(played by Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
).
Personal life
Horrocks lives with playwright Nick Vivian in TwickenhamTwickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
with their children, son Dylan and daughter Molly.
Actress
- 2011: Phineas and FerbPhineas and FerbPhineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
(voice) .... Eliza Fletcher - 2011: TrolliedTrolliedTrollied is a British sitcom about employees in a fictional supermarket named "Valco", which debuted on Sky1 on 4 August 2011 at 9:00pm, and is the first sitcom made for Sky1 since Time Gentlemen Please in 2002...
(TV) .... Julie - 2011: Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow GamesTinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow GamesPixie Hollow Games is a half-hour TV special broadcast in 2011, based on the Disney Fairies franchise, produced by DisneyToon Studios. It features the voices of Mae Whitman, Brenda Song, Megan Hilty, and others, as Tinker Bell and the other fairies of Pixie Hollow in Never Land, taking part in an...
(V) (in production) .... Fairy Mary - 2010: No One Gets Off in This Town (pre-production)
- 2010: The Road to Coronation StreetThe Road to Coronation StreetThe Road to Coronation Street is a British drama first broadcast on BBC Four documenting the journey of Coronation Street, the UK's longest-running television soap opera, from conception to its first transmission in December 1960...
(TV) .... Margaret Morris - 2009: Gracie! (TV) .... Gracie Fields
- 2009: Tinker Bell and the Lost TreasureTinker Bell and the Lost TreasureTinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is a 2009 computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise, produced by DisneyToon Studios, and a Chapter Book, "Tink, North of Neverland". It is a sequel to the 2008 film, Tinker Bell, and revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M...
(voice) .... Fairy Mary - 2008: Tinker BellTinker Bell (film)Tinker Bell is a 2008 computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise produced by DisneyToon Studios. It revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and featured in the 1953 Disney animated film, Peter...
(V) (voice) .... Fairy Mary - 2007: Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind (TV) (voice) .... Donner
- 2006: The Amazing Mrs PritchardThe Amazing Mrs PritchardThe Amazing Mrs Pritchard was a British drama series that aired on BBC One in 2006. Produced by Kudos, it was written by Sally Wainwright and stars Jane Horrocks in the title role of a woman with no previous political experience who becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.-Background:Sally...
.... Ros Pritchard (6 episodes, 2006) - 2006: Little PrincessLittle Princess (animated series)Little Princess is a children's animated television series. Directed by Edward Foster it debuted in the UK in 2006 and is currently shown there as part of Channel Five's Milkshake! and – as Y Dywysoges Fach – in the children's programming strand Cyw on the Welsh-language channel S4C.In English the...
.... Little Princess / ... (4 episodes, 2006) - 2006: Garfield: A Tail of Two KittiesGarfield: A Tail of Two KittiesGarfield: A Tail of Two Kitties is the 2006 sequel to 2004's live-action feature film Garfield: The Movie...
(voice) .... Meenie - 2006: The StreetThe Street (TV series)The Street is a British television drama series created by Jimmy McGovern and produced by Granada Television for the BBC. The series follows the lives of various residents of an unnamed street in Manchester and features an all-star cast including Timothy Spall, Jim Broadbent, Jane Horrocks, Bob...
.... Angela Quinn (2 episodes, 2006) - 2005: JerichoJerichoJericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
.... Sadie Swettenham (1 episode, 2005) - 2005: Brothers of the HeadBrothers of the HeadBrothers of the Head is a 2005 mockumentary featuring the story of Tom and Barry Howe , conjoined twins living in the United Kingdom...
.... Roberta Howe - 2005: Corpse BrideCorpse BrideCorpse Bride, often promoted as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, is a 2005 stop-motion-animated fantasy musical film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. It is set in a fictional Victorian era village in Europe. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter ...
(voice) .... Black Widow Spider / Mrs. Plum - 2005: Fifi and the Flowertots .... Fifi Forget-Me-Not (40 episodes, 2005)
- 2005: Look I'm Talking (V) .... Presenter
- 2005: Happy Birthday, Peter Pan (TV) (voice) .... Tinkerbell
- 2004: Wheeling Dealing .... Authentic Newsreader
- 2004: The All Star Comedy Show (TV) .... Various Roles
- 2003: Last Rumba in Rochdale (voice) .... Gran
- 2002: Legend of the Lost Tribe (TV) (voice) .... Donner / Arctic Fox
- 2002: Linda GreenLinda GreenLinda Green is a British television comedy-drama series that lasted for two series, screened in 2001 and 2002. The twenty half-hour episodes were broadcast on BBC One and produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company....
.... Teresa Franklin (1 episode, 2002, writer Danny BrocklehurstDanny BrocklehurstDanny Brocklehurst is a BAFTA and International Emmy -winning English screenwriter. Brocklehurst worked as a journalist for several years before becoming a full-time screenwriter.He has written acclaimed television drama...
) - 2001: Ivor the InvisibleIvor the InvisibleIvor the Invisible is an animated film made for British television's Channel Four in 2001. It was written by the popular British author/illustrator, Raymond Briggs...
(TV) (voice) .... Mum - 2001: Christmas Carol: The MovieChristmas Carol: The MovieChristmas Carol: The Movie is a 2001 British live action/animated film based on Charles Dickens's classic novella. Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, the film features the voices of numerous actors including Simon Callow, Kate Winslet , and Nicolas Cage.- Voice cast :*Simon Callow – Charles...
(voice) .... Ghost of Christmas Past - 2001: Little Big Mouth TV series (voice) .... Krystan
- 2000: MirrorballMirrorball (TV pilot)Mirrorball was a sitcom pilot in the United Kingdom directed by Adrian Edmondson and written by Jennifer Saunders. It originally aired on 22 December 2000....
(TV) .... Yitta Hilberstam - 1999: Watership DownWatership Down (TV series)Watership Down is an animated television series, adapted from the novel of the same name by Richard Adams. It was a co-production of Alltime Entertainment of the United Kingdom and Decode Entertainment of Canada, and produced by Martin Rosen, the director of the 1978 feature film...
.... Hannah (14 episodes, 1999–2000) - 2000: Born RomanticBorn RomanticBorn Romantic is a 2000 British film directed by David Kane. The film is centered around a salsa club. Fergus is trying to find his ex-girlfriend, the elderly charmer Frankie the beautiful Eleanor and the robber Eddie is trying to find one of his victims, cemetery worker Jocelyn.-Plot:Salsa dancing...
.... Mo - 2000: Chicken RunChicken RunChicken Run is a 2000 British stop-motion animation film made by the Aardman Animations studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films...
(voice) .... Babs - 2000: Discover Spot (V) (voice) .... Narrator (UK version)
- 2000: Lion of Oz (voice) .... Wimzik
- 1999: Hooves of FireHooves of FireHooves of Fire is one of three animated BBC Christmas comedy television specials, filmed using stop motion techniques, and presented in aid of Comic Relief.- Story :...
(TV) (voice) .... Donner - 1999: The Flint Street Nativity (TV) .... Shepherd
- 1999: FoxbustersFoxbustersThe Foxbusters is a British animation very loosely based on the Dick King-Smith book The Fox Busters. It was made by Cosgrove Hall and consists of two series of thirteen 11-minute episodes each, made between 1999 and 2000. The show was co-written by the animation partnership of David Max Freedman...
TV series .... Jeffries (unknown episodes) - 1999: Hunting VenusHunting VenusHunting Venus is a British television comedy-drama starring Martin Clunes and Neil Morrisey as former members of a 1980s pop group. The one-off drama was broadcast on ITV on 31 March 1999, and was produced by Buffalo Pictures for Yorkshire Television....
(TV) .... Cassandra - 1999: Faeries (voice) .... Huccaby
- 1998: Little VoiceLittle Voice (film)Little Voice is a 1998 British drama film with music written and directed by Mark Herman. The screenplay is based on the play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright.- Plot :...
.... LV (writer, Jim CartwrightJim CartwrightJim Cartwright is an English dramatist, born at Farnworth, Lancashire, England. Cartwright's first play, Road, won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC....
) - 1998: Absolutely FabulousAbsolutely FabulousAbsolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
:Absolutely Not! (1998) (V) .... Bubble - 1998: Crapston VillasCrapston VillasCrapston Villas is a British animated television series, in which the characters are made from plasticine and filmed with stop motion clay animation....
TV series (voice) .... Flossie - 1997: The BlobsThe BlobsThe Blobs is an animated television series based on the books by DC Thomson, published in 1980. It tells the story of a community of colorful paint-splash characters who live in Paintbox Land...
TV series (voice) .... All Voices (1997) - 1997: Bring Me the Head of Mavis DavisBring Me the Head of Mavis DavisBring Me the Head of Mavis Davis is a British comedy film directed by John Henderson, originally released in 1997.-Plot:The film stars Rik Mayall as a rock manager who recruits Jane Horrocks...
.... Marla Dorland/Mavis Davis - 1997: Wyrd SistersWyrd Sisters (TV series)Wyrd Sisters is a two-part animated television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Cosgrove Hall, and first broadcast on 18 May 1997...
TV mini-series .... Magrat (unknown episodes) - 1996: Never Mind the HorrocksNever Mind the HorrocksNever Mind the Horrocks was a one-off television show built around the talents of British television comedian Jane Horrocks. It was broadcast on Channel 4 on Thursday 19 September 1996 at 10:00pm and also starred Martin Clunes, Mel Giedroyc, Rebecca Front, David Haig, Alexander Armstrong, Philip...
(TV) .... Various Roles - 1996: Tales from the CryptTales from the Crypt (TV series)Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
.... Cammy (1 episode, 1996) - 1996: NightlifeNightlifeNightlife is the collective term for any entertainment that is available and more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning...
(TV) .... Helen - 1996: Combination Skin (voice)
- 1995: PerformancePerformanceA performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
.... Doll Tearsheet (1 episode, 1995) - 1995: Some Kind of LifeSome Kind of LifeSome Kind of Life is a 1995 TV drama written by Kay Mellor and directed by Julian Jarrold, starring Jane Horrocks and Ray Stevenson .-Synopsis:...
.... Alison - 1994: Self Catering (TV) .... Marilyn
- 1994: Second Best .... Debbie
- 1994: Deadly AdviceDeadly AdviceDeadly Advice is a 1994 British comedy drama film directed by Mandie Fletcher and starring Jane Horrocks, Brenda Fricker and Edward Woodward.-Plot:The daughters of a domineering mother aspire to break free of her control and form romantic attachments....
.... Jodie Greenwood - 1994: ButterButterButter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
(TV) .... Beggar - 1994: Suffer the Little ChildrenSuffer the Little Children"Suffer the Little Children" is a short story by Stephen King. It was first published by Cavalier in February, 1972. The story was later published as part of the collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes in 1993...
(TV) .... Deborah Hayes - 1993: CabaretCabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
(TV) .... Sally Bowles - 1992: Absolutely FabulousAbsolutely FabulousAbsolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
.... Bubble / ... (30 episodes, 1992–2005) - 1992: Roots (TV)
- 1987: ScreenplayScreenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
.... Louise / ... (2 episodes, 1987–1992) - 1992: Red DwarfRed DwarfRed Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
.... Cdr. Nirvanah Crane (1 episode, 1992) - 1991: Nona (TV)
- 1991: Screen OneScreen OneScreen One is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 between 1989 to 1993.Following the demise of the BBC's Play For Today which ran from 1970 to 1984, producer Kenneth Trodd was asked to formulate a new series of one-off television dramas...
.... Gail (1 episode, 1991) - 1991: Came Out, It Rained, Went Back in Again (TV) .... Learner Lesbian
- 1990: BoonBoon (TV series)Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV...
.... Trisha Downey (1 episode, 1990) - 1990: Life Is SweetLife Is Sweet (film)Life Is Sweet is a 1991 British film directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks and Timothy Spall. Leigh's third cinematic film, it was his most commercially successful title at the time of its release...
.... Nicola - 1990: Memphis BelleMemphis Belle (film)Memphis Belle is a 1990 film directed by Michael Caton-Jones and written by Monte Merrick, starring Matthew Modine and Eric Stoltz and introducing Harry Connick Jr. in his screen debut...
.... Faith - 1990: The Witches (1990 film) .... Miss Irvine
- 1989: Alas Smith & Jones (1 episode, 1989)
- 1989: The Wolves of Willoughby ChaseThe Wolves of Willoughby ChaseThe Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a children's novel by Joan Aiken, first published in 1963. Set in an alternate history of England, it tells of the adventures of cousins Bonnie and Sylvia and their friend Simon the goose-boy as they thwart the evil schemes of their governess Miss Slighcarp.The...
.... Pattern - 1989: Victoria WoodVictoria WoodVictoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
.... Cathy Warburton (1 episode, 1989) - 1989: Getting It RightGetting It Right (film)Getting It Right is a Randal Kleiser comedy film from 1989 starring Jesse Birdsall, Jane Horrocks, and Helena Bonham Carter.-Synopsis:The film concerns the late coming of age of protagonist Gavin Lamb , a painfully shy 31-year-old virgin still living at home with his parents and who works as a...
.... Jenny - 1989: Heartland (TV) .... Pam
- 1989: The Fifteen Streets (TV) .... Christine Bracken
- 1988: Ruth Rendell Mysteries .... Pippa Bond (1 episode, 1988)
- 1988: The StorytellerThe StorytellerThe StoryTeller is a live-action/puppet television series. It was an American/British co-production which originally aired in 1988 and was created and produced by Jim Henson....
.... Anja (1 episode, 1988) - 1988: The DressmakerThe DressmakerThe Dressmaker is a novel written by Beryl Bainbridge. In 1973, it was nominated for the Booker Prize. Like many of Bainbridge's earlier works, the novel is semi-autobiographical. In particular, the story draws from an affair that she had with a soldier as a teenager...
.... Rita - 1987: First Sight .... Natalie (1 episode, 1987)
Awards and honours
- BAFTA Awards (1999): Nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Little VoiceLittle Voice (film)Little Voice is a 1998 British drama film with music written and directed by Mark Herman. The screenplay is based on the play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright.- Plot :...
(1998) - British Independent Film AwardsBritish Independent Film AwardsThe Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
(1999): Nomination for Best Actress for Little Voice (1998) - Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (1999): Nomination for Best Actress for Little Voice (1998)
- Golden Globes (1999): Nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -Comedy/Musical, for Little Voice (1998)
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (1991): Won Award for Best Supporting Actress for Life is SweetLife Is Sweet (film)Life Is Sweet is a 1991 British film directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks and Timothy Spall. Leigh's third cinematic film, it was his most commercially successful title at the time of its release...
(1991) - National Society of Film Critics Awards (1992): Won Award for Best Supporting Actress for Life Is Sweet
- Satellite Awards (1999): Nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for Little Voice (1998)
- Screen Actors GuildScreen Actors GuildThe Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
Awards (1999): Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast, for Little Voice (1998), shared with Annette BadlandAnnette BadlandAnnette Badland is an English actress best known for her work in children's television.-Biography:Her training took place at East 15 Acting School, London...
, Brenda BlethynBrenda BlethynBrenda Anne Blethyn, OBE is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Jim BroadbentJim BroadbentJames "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
, Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, Philip JacksonPhilip Jackson (actor)Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
and Ewan McGregorEwan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
. - Screen Actors GuildScreen Actors GuildThe Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
Awards (1999): Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Little Voice (1998) - Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival (1994): Won Best Actress Award for Deadly Advice (1994)