Julia Sawalha - wikipedia Julia Sawalha Julia Sawalha ( 1968 - 09 - 09 ) 9 September 1968 ( age 50 ) Lambeth, London, England Residence Wandsworth, London, England Education Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, London Occupation Actress Years active 1981 -- present Television Press Gang Second Thoughts Jonathan Creek Martin Chuzzlewit Pride and Prejudice Ai n't Misbehavin ' Faith in the Future Absolutely Fabulous Cranford Lark Rise to Candleford Remember Me Parent ( s ) Nadim Sawalha Roberta Lane Relatives Nadia Sawalha ( sister ) Nabil Sawalha ( paternal uncle ) Julia Sawalha ( born 9 September 1968 ) is an English actress known mainly for her role as Saffron Monsoon in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. She is also known for portraying Lynda Day, editor of the Junior Gazette, in Press Gang and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice. Additionally, she played Dorcas Lane in the BBC 's costume drama Lark Rise to Candleford, Carla Borrego in Jonathan Creek, and Jan Ward in the 2014 BBC One mystery Remember Me. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 4.3 Video games 5 References 6 External links Early Life and education Sawalha was born in Lambeth, London, the daughter of Roberta Lane and actor Nadim Sawalha. Her father was born in Madaba, Jordan. She was named after her paternal grandmother, a businesswoman who had received an award from Queen Noor for enterprise. She is of Jordanian, English, and French Huguenot ancestry. Sawalha was educated at the Theatre Arts School, a fee - paying independent school which is part of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, based at the time in Clapham in south London, which she left at the age of fifteen. She is part of an acting family ; Sawalha 's father Nadim appeared in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and The Living Daylights, while her sister Nadia starred in the soap EastEnders and is now a television presenter and chat show host with whom she has appeared on Lily Savage 's Blankety Blank. Career Sawalha made her debut in the 1982 BBC miniseries Fame Is the Spur and in 1988, played a small role in Inspector Morse on the episode `` Last Seen Wearing ''. She first gained attention for her starring role in the Bafta award - winning ITV teenage comedy - drama Press Gang, which ran from 1989 to 1993. In 1992 she starred in episode `` Parade '' ( S2 E4 ) of Bottom as Veronica Head, a beautiful young barmaid at the Lamb and Flag, whom Richie tries to woo by boasting of his false adventures in the Falklands. From 1991 -- 94, she starred in the ITV family comedy Second Thoughts and continued with her character, Hannah ( Lynda Bellingham 's daughter ), in the British Comedy Award - winning Faith in the Future ( 1995 -- 98 ). In 1994, she played Mercy ( Merry ) Pecksniff in the BBC production of Martin Chuzzlewit. From 1992 to 2012, Sawalha played strait - laced daughter Saffron Monsoon in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. She appeared in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice as Lydia Bennet, with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. She voiced Ginger in DreamWorks / Aardman 's Chicken Run. She also played `` Dawn the Wise Man '' in The Flint Street Nativity on Christmas Eve. In 2000 she appeared as Janet, the Australian barmaid ( `` Built for bar work ; it 's instinct... instinct ! ! '' ) in the first series of the British sitcom Time Gentlemen Please. She also played the much put - upon PA to `` Zak '' in Argos TV adverts during 2002 -- 2004, along with Richard E. Grant. She has also joined actor Ioan Gruffudd in the internationally successful TV adaptations of C.S. Forester 's Horatio Hornblower novels, as the captain 's wife Maria. The following year, she became Alan Davies 's co-star in Jonathan Creek after Caroline Quentin left, appearing in a Christmas Special ( `` Satan 's Chimney '' ). She returned for a series between 2003 -- 2004. In 2006, she participated in the third series of the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are ? tracing her family 's roots, which are Jordanian Bedouin on her father 's side, and French Huguenot on her mother 's. She also appeared in the pilot of BBC 1 's A Taste of my Life presented by Nigel Slater. After a two - year break, she was back on screen in May 2007, competing in the BBC dog training celebrity reality show The Underdog Show. She then returned to acting in two successive BBC costume dramas ; as Jessie Brown in 2007 series Cranford, followed by Lark Rise to Candleford in 2008. She provided the voice acting for Sister Hannah ( a.k.a. `` Hammer '' ), a main character in the 2008 Xbox 360 video game Fable II. In autumn 2014, Julia played the part of Jan Ward in BBC One 's thriller miniseries Remember Me, featuring Michael Palin. On 9 May 2015 she read the account of a member of the Women 's Land Army at VE Day 70 : A Party to Remember in Horse Guards Parade, London that was broadcast live on BBC1. Personal Life Sawalha lived with Press Gang co-star Dexter Fletcher, and subsequently comedian Richard Herring. She also had a relationship with Patrick Marber. She had an affair with Keith Allen, whom she met on the set of Martin Chuzzlewit. On 1 January 2004, it was alleged in the tabloid newspapers that she had married boyfriend Alan Davies, her co-star in the television series Jonathan Creek. Both she and Davies, who avoided discussing their private lives in public, denied this, and took legal action against the reports. After she met Rich Annetts at the Glastonbury Festival in 2005, the couple moved to Bath, Somerset, and lived in a flat close to the Royal Crescent. Sawalha started growing her own vegetables, attending yoga lessons and studying for an Open University English degree. Sawalha and Annetts have since split up. Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1981 Keep It in the Family Walk - On Role uncredited 1982 The Pirates of Penzance Daughter uncredited Buddy 's Song Kelly 1995 In The Bleak Midwinter Nina Raymond ( Ophelia ) The Wind in the Willows The Jailer 's Daughter 2000 Chicken Run Ginger ( voice ) Animated film 2002 Venus and Mars Marie The Final Curtain Karen Willet 2016 Absolutely Fabulous : The Movie Saffron Monsoon Television Year Film Role Notes 1982 Fame Is the Spur Amy TV series ( 1 episode : `` Episode 1.2 '' ) Educating Marmalade Good Girl TV series ( 4 episodes ) Inspector Morse Rachel TV series ( 1 episode : `` Last Seen Wearing '' ) Press Gang Lynda Day / Young Katherine Hill TV series ( 43 episodes : 1989 -- 1993 ) RTS Television Award -- Best Actor Spatz Chloe Fairbanks TV series ( 1 episode : `` The Sound of Muzak '' ) 1991 El C.I.D. Trudy TV series ( 1 episode : `` Thursday 's Child '' ) Casualty Nikki Watson TV series ( 1 episode : `` Living In Hope '' ) Second Thoughts Hannah Grayshot TV series ( 47 episodes : 1991 -- 1994 ) Bottom Veronica Head TV series ( 1 episode : `` Parade '' ) Absolutely Fabulous Saffron Monsoon TV series ( 40 episodes : 1992 -- 2012 ) The Word TV series ( 1 episode : `` Episode 3.2 '' ) Parallel 9 TV series ( 1 episode : `` Episode 2.5 '' ) Lovejoy Joanna Whymark TV series ( 1 episode : `` Double - Edged Sword '' ) Keeper Alison tv short Martin Chuzzlewit Mercy Pecksniff TV series ( 6 episodes ) 1995 Pride and Prejudice Lydia Bennet TV mini-series ( 6 episodes ) Faith in the Future Hannah Grayshot TV series ( 22 episodes : 1995 -- 1998 ) French and Saunders TV series ( 1 episode : `` Baywatch '' ) Tales from the Crypt Teresa TV series ( 1 episode : `` The Kidnapper '' ) McLibel ! Helen Steel TV mini-series ( 1 episode : `` Episode 1.1 '' ) Ai n't Misbehavin ' Dolly Nightingale TV mini-series ( 3 episodes ) An Audience with the Spice Girls TV special 1998 Absolutely Fabulous : Absolutely Not ! Saffron Monsoon video Light Lunch TV series ( 1 episode : `` The Future 's Bright, the Future 's Funny '' ) 1999 Doctor Who : The Curse of Fatal Death Emma Charity spoof TV movie by Comic Relief The Flint Street Nativity Wise Man TV movie The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything Catherine Parr TV movie Late Lunch TV series ( 1 episode : `` # 2.14 '' ) 1999 -- 2000 Kipper the Dog Mouse ( voice ) Animated TV series ( 4 episodes ) 2000 Mirrorball Freda Keill TV short Time Gentlemen Please Janet Wilson TV series ( 21 episodes : 2000 -- 2001 ) Sheeep Georgina ( voice ) Animated TV series ( 26 episodes : 2000 ) The Hatching of ' Chicken Run ' TV special Loose Women TV series ( 1 episode : `` # 2.13 '' ) Bob Martin TV series ( 1 episode : `` Through the Keyhole '' ) Masterchef TV series ( 1 episode : `` # 10.14 '' ) Poultry in Motion : The Making of Chicken Run Herself TV special HBO First Look Herself TV series ( 1 episode : `` The Hatching of Chicken Run '' ) Stars in Their Eyes TV series ( 1 episode : `` Cerys Matthews '' ) Jonathan Creek Carla Borrego TV series ( 7 episodes : 2002 -- 2004 ) 2003 Hornblower Maria Mason / Hornblower TV series ( 2 films : 2003 ) Comedy Connections Narrator ( voice ) TV series ( 14 episodes : 2003 -- 2004 ) The Story of Absolutely Fabulous TV special Hell 's Kitchen TV series ( 1 episode : `` # 1.4 '' ) 2006 A Taste of My Life TV special Who Do You Think You Are ? TV series ( 1 episode : `` Julia Sawalha '' ) 2007 Cranford Jessie Brown TV series ( 5 episodes ) The Underdog Show TV series ( unknown episodes ) The Graham Norton Show TV series ( 1 episode : `` # 1.7 '' ) 2008 Lark Rise to Candleford Dorcas Lane TV series ( 40 episodes : 2008 -- 2011 ) 2009 The Alan Titchmarsh Show TV series ( 1 episode : `` 9 March 2009 '' ) 2013 Agatha Christie 's Marple Mrs. Cresswell TV series ( 1 episode : `` Greenshaw 's Folly '' ) 2014 Remember Me Jan Ward TV series ( 3 episodes ) 2016 Midsomer Murders Penny Henderson TV series ( 1 episode : `` Saints and Sinners '' ) Video games Year Title Role Notes 2008 Fable II Hannah / Hammer Xbox 360 game References Jump up ^ Julia 's profile at BBC History ^ Jump up to : Sarah Gristwood ( 26 November 1995 ). `` Absolutely fab ''. The Independent. Retrieved 7 August 2018. Jump up ^ Lily Savage 's Blankety Blank. 4 March 2001. ITV. Jump up ^ Chicken Run DVD Cast Bio Jump up ^ `` Withnail star takes Argos upmarket ''. The Guardian. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 29 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` Hornblower : Duty '' cast list on IMDB Jump up ^ `` BBC ONE Autumn 2006 ''. BBC. 18 July 2006. Jump up ^ BBC Food -- A Taste of my Life Pilot episode description ^ Jump up to : ' Settled ' Julia seeks new role Daily Express, 21 March 2007 Jump up ^ `` Fable II game review ''. The Telegraph. 3 November 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` I ca n't stand actors '' 21 August 2005, The Observer Jump up ^ `` TV stars act over marriage report ''. BBC News. 6 January 2004. Jump up ^ `` Relative Values : Nadia and Julia Sawalha ''. The Sunday Times. London. 1 April 2007. Jump up ^ `` Ab Fab star Julia Sawalha : My disastrous relationships have made me give up on ever becoming a mum ''. Daily Mail. 21 Mar 2008. External links Julia Sawalha on IMDb Julia Sawalha on Who Do You Think You Are ? WorldCat Identities BNE : XX4927638 GND : 143376578 ISNI : 0000 0001 1627 7037 LCCN : no96042272 VIAF : 41435438 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julia_Sawalha&oldid=862715802 '' Categories : 1968 births 20th - century English actresses 21st - century English actresses People from Lambeth People from Wandsworth English people of Jordanian descent English child actresses English film actresses English television actresses English voice actresses Living people Actresses from London British comedy actresses Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from December 2016 Use British English from January 2012 Use dmy dates from January 2012 Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Cymraeg Deutsch Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Nederlands Norsk Русский Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 6 October 2018, at 06 : 18 ( UTC ). 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Question: who played dorcas in lark rise to candleford
Answer: Julia Sawalha