# Pooky Quesnel

Joanna Gabrielle "Pooky" Quesnel is an English actress, screenwriter and singer.

## Early life

Quesnel was born and raised in Eccles, Lancashire, along with her five siblings. Her father was born in Trinidad. She read English at Oxford University before spending a year at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. In the 1980s, she performed in Humphrey Carpenter's Vile Bodies band at the Ritz Hotel, and performed in a tribute concert to him following his death in 2005. In 2003, she began screenwriting, producing scripts for Doctors and Family Affairs, appearing in the latter as Diane Short.

## Career

She played Dr. Monica Broome in the first series of Cardiac Arrest and DC Grace Harris in the first two series of Thief Takers. She had a recurring role in the third series of Cold Feet as Emma Keaton and returned to medical dramas in 2006, playing Dr. Christine Whelan in The Golden Hour. In 2007, she starred as Nita in the BBC One series True Dare Kiss, and later that year began a recurring role in EastEnders as Rachel Branning, taking over the character from Sukie Smith. In February 2008, she played the spoken title role in a City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra production of Stravinsky's Perséphone, broadcast on BBC Radio 3. In July 2008, she appeared in an episode of the ITV murder mystery series, Midsomer Murders as journalist Julie Benson, and in an episode of George Gently entitled "The Burning Man", playing the character Wanda Lane. In March 2010, she appeared as Maureen in BBC One's second series of Five Days. She also played the spaceship captain in the Doctor Who 2010 Christmas special, "A Christmas Carol". In November 2010, she appeared as Christopher Eccleston's character's wife in Jimmy McGovern's Accused. She has also played a pregnant woman in an episode of Not Going Out. From 2014 to 2015, she played the role of Olga Fitzgerald, Geography teacher and Headteacher Vaughan Fitzgerald's estranged wife in BBC's Waterloo Road. The following year she played Dorothea Ames, Head teacher at Coal Hill Academy, in the BBC3 series Class, and provided the voice of Yuria of Londor in the video game Dark Souls III. She played Louise Wilson in BBC's The A Word, and reprised the role more prominently in its spin-off series Ralph & Katie.

## Personal life

Quesnel practises kickboxing, tai chi, and flamenco dancing. In 2017, Quesnel won bronze at the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (BCCMA) annual British Tai Chi Championships in the Open Weapon category for her Wudang taijijian routine.

## Filmography
### Film and television

| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1993 | The Hawk | WPC Clarke | Feature film |
| 1993 | A Woman's Guide to Adultery | Francie | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Cardiac Arrest | Dr. Monica Broome | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Finney | Carol | All 6 episodes |
| 1994 | The Bill | Elaine Curtis | Episode: "Licensed to Kill" |
| 1996 | Thief Takers | DC Grace Harris | Main role; 16 episodes |
| 1998 | The Ambassador | Liz | Episode: "Nine Tenths of the Law" |
| 1999 | A Christmas Carol | Maude | Television film |
| 2000 | The Mrs Bradley Mysteries | Delilah Hicks | Episode: "The Worsted Viper" |
| 2000 | Sunburn | Josie Daley | Series 2: Episode 7 |
| 2000 | City Central | Zora | Episode: "Respect" |
| 2000 | Innocents | Michaela Willis | Television film |
| 2000 | Cold Feet | Emma Keaton | Series 3: Episodes 4, 6, 7 and 8 |
| 2001 | Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years | Eleanor Flood | Series 1: Episodes 5 and 6 |
| 2001 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Stepha Odell | Episode: "A Great Deliverance" |
| 2001 | Doctors | Angela Crowther | Episode: "Bring Me Sunshine" |
| 2001 | The Armando Iannucci Shows | Unknown | Episode: "Imagination" |
| 2001–2002 | Family Affairs | Diane Short | Regular role Nominated, British Soap Award for Best Actress, 2002 |
| 2003 | Holby City | Melanie Knox | Episode: "House of Cards" |
| 2003 | The Bill | Jo Fox | Series 19: Episode 99 |
| 2004 | Monarch of the Glen | Kelly McGee | Series 6: Episode 6 |
| 2005 | Doctors | Rebecca Dobson | Episode: "When Two Become One" |
| 2005 | Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee | Bea | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2005 | The Golden Hour | Dr. Christine Whelan | Miniseries; all 4 episodes |
| 2005 | Walk Away and I Stumble | Suzi | Television film |
| 2006 | Holby City | Jill Pearce | Episode: "Invasion" |
| 2007 | Skins | Claire | Episode: "Jal" |
| 2007 | Recovery | Homeowner | Television film |
| 2007 | Oh Happy Day | Fern | Feature film |
| 2007 | True Dare Kiss | Nita McKinnon | All 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Suburban Shootout | Penny Hawthorne | Episodes: "Fight Club" and "In it For the Wild Life" |
| 2007–2010 | EastEnders | Rachel Branning | Recurring role; 18 episodes |
| 2008 | Midsomer Murders | Julia Benson | Episode: "Midsomer Life" |
| 2008 | Inspector George Gently | Wanda Lane | Episode: "The Burning Man" |
| 2008 | Casualty | Pennie Ashton | Episode: "Guilt Complex" |
| 2009 | Ashes to Ashes | Ruth Irvine | Series 2: Episode 1 |
| 2009 | The Bill | Maria Walmsley | Episode: "Down South" |
| 2009 | Criminal Justice | Amelia Rose | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | The Clinic | Sue Murdoch | Series 7: Episode 3 |
| 2009 | Enid | Theresa Blyton | Television film |
| 2009 | Paradox | D.C.I. Sarah Bower | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Five Days | Maureen Hardy | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Doctors | Dr. Diana Flaxman | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | New Tricks | Lady Catherine Bryant | Episode: "Good Morning Lemmings" |
| 2010 | Moving On | Lynne | Episode: "Sauce for the Goose" |
| 2010 | Accused | Carmel Houlihan | Episode: "Willy's Story" |
| 2010 | Law & Order: UK | Andrea Raines | Episode: "Shaken" |
| 2010 | Doctor Who | The Captain | Episode: "A Christmas Carol" |
| 2011 | Shameless | Sandra Brown | Episode: "Kidnap and Ransom" |
| 2011 | Scott & Bailey | Siân cook | Episode: "Personal" |
| 2011 | Ideal | Donna | Episode: "The Love" |
| 2011 | In with the Flynns | Rachel | Episode: "Whistleblowing" |
| 2011 | Casualty | Emma Davies | Episode: "Starting Out" |
| 2011 | The Body Farm | Sarah Haines | Episode: "You've Got Visitors" |
| 2011 | Top Boy | Dr. Jenny Northam | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Just Henry | Mrs Jeffries | Television film |
| 2012 | The Preston Passion | Betty Cleasby | Television film |
| 2012 | Silent Witness | Helen Karamides | Episodes: "Paradise Lost": Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2012 | Starlings | Lynn | Series 1: Episode 7 |
| 2012 | Great Expectations | Sarah Pocket | Feature film |
| 2013 | Not Going Out | Pregnant Woman | Episode: "Skiing" |
| 2013 | The Guilty | Ruth Hyde | Miniseries; all 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Truckers | Pauline | Series 1: Episode 5 |
| 2014 | Doctors | Wanda Aleksandrov | Episode: "Made in Heaven" |
| 2014 | Endeavour | Muriel Todd | Episode: "Trove" |
| 2014–2015 | Waterloo Road | Olga Fitzgerald | Series 10; 12 episodes |
| 2016 | Father Brown | Ruth Moore | Episode: "The Resurrectionists" |
| 2016 | Pride and Prejudice and Zombies | Mrs. Phillips | Feature film |
| 2016–2020 | The A Word | Louise Wilson | All 18 episodes |
| 2016 | The Living and the Dead | Agnes Thatcher | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Class | Headmistress Dorothea Ames | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Tommies | Vera Bliss (voice) | Episode: "17th April 1917" |
| 2017 | W1A | Fiona Craig | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2017 | The Wright Stuff | Guest panelist | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Kiss Me First | Marion | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2018 | The Queen and I | Delia Manson | Television film |
| 2019 | The Victim | Mo Buckley | Miniseries; all 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Ransom | Olga | Episode: "Prima" |
| 2020 | Two Weeks to Live | Mandy | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Ladhood | Maria Pearce | Episode: "Mary" |
| 2021 | Wolfe | Maxine | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Riding Liberty | Sue | Short film |
| 2021 | The Trick | Stella Acton | Television film |
| 2022 | The Chelsea Detective | Julia Romano | Episode: "Mrs. Romano" |
| 2022 | Ralph & Katie | Louise Wilson | All 6 episodes |
| 2022 | The Confessions of Frannie Langton | Linux | |
| 2023 | Beyond Paradise | Louise Fitzallan | Series 1: Episode 3 |
| 2024 | Moonflower Murders | Maureen Gardner | All 6 episodes |

### Stage

| Year | Production | Role | Theatre |
| 1991 | Sweet Sessions | The Dark Lady | Old Fire Station, Oxford |
| 1993 | Don't Fool with Love | Peasant Girl | National tour |
| 1993 | A Month in the Country | Verochka | Salisbury Playhouse |
| 1993 | Billy Liar | Rita | Salisbury Playhouse |
| 1995 | Racine's Andromache, adapted by Craig Raine | Annette LeSkye | Almeida Theatre |
| 1997 | Jane Eyre | Bertha | Shared Experience theatre company at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, Young Vic Theatre, London, and touring |
| 1998 | Anna Karenina | Kitty and Seriozha | Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theater, Lyric Hammersmith |
| 2003 | Present Laughter | Monica | Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, King's Theatre, Glasgow |
| 2004 | Loot | Fay | Bristol Old Vic |
| 2005 | Romeo and Juliet | Lady Capulet | Royal Exchange Theatre |
| 2005 | Sitting Pretty | Unknown | New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich |
| 2008 | Perséphone | Persephone | City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2015 | Bloodborne | Arianna Lady of the Night, Yharnamite, Female Protagonist Voice |
| 2016 | Dark Souls III | Yuria of Londor, Birch Woman(Ashes of Ariandel DLC) |
| 2020 | Watch Dogs: Legion | Mary Kelley |