# Kia Pegg

Kia May Pegg (born 29 June 2000) is an English actress and television presenter. She portrayed Jody Jackson in the British children's drama show Tracy Beaker Returns (2012), as well as the spin-off series The Dumping Ground (2013–2022). Then from 2022 to 2024, Pegg appeared in the BBC soap opera Doctors as receptionist Scarlett Kiernan, for which she received award nominations at the RTS Midlands Awards, the British Soap Awards and the Inside Soap Awards. She also began occasionally presenting episodes of Saturday Mash-Up! for CBBC in 2022.

## Life and career

Pegg was born in Birmingham on 29 June 2000 to boxing trainer and promoter, Jonathan and Rachel Pegg and has two younger brothers. Pegg began training at Birmingham Stage School Showbiz and the Television Workshop. Her first acting appearance was in an advertisement showing how to perform swine flu protocols. In 2008, she made an appearance on The Legend of Dick and Dom, followed by a role in the 2010 film Toast. She then appeared in Horrid Henry: The Movie, in the role of Vicious Vicky. Then in 2012, she portrayed Jody Jackson in the CBBC drama Tracy Beaker Returns, later reprising her role in the follow-up series The Dumping Ground that premiered in 2013. In 2014, Pegg was nominated for a BAFTA for her role as Jody in the second series of The Dumping Ground. After eleven years on The Dumping Ground, Pegg was told that she was set to be written out of the series. She made her final appearance in 2022.
In 2017, Pegg appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors as Zoe McCluskey. Later that year, she played Peewee in the film The Quiet One. For her portrayal, she won the award for Best Young Actor at the Birmingham Film Festival. She then made various film appearances; A Bullet Wasted (2019), Leap (2020), SeaView (2021) and Making Friends as the World Ends (2022). In March 2022, it was announced that she had been cast as receptionist Scarlett Kiernan in the BBC soap opera Doctors. She made her first appearance on 7 April 2022. For her role as Scarlett, she received a nomination in the Breakthrough category at the 2022 RTS Midlands Awards. Also in 2022, in-between filming for Doctors, Pegg began making recurring presenting appearances on CBBC's Saturday Mash-Up!. In October 2023, it was announced that BBC had cancelled Doctors. Pegg portrayed Scarlett until its final episode, which aired on 14 November 2024.

## Filmography

Television and film roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | The Legend of Dick and Dom | Barbra | Episode: "Hag Puss" |
| 2010 | Toast | Milk Girl | Film |
| 2011 | Horrid Henry: The Movie | Vicious Vicky | Film |
| 2011 | Internalised | Little Girl | Short film |
| 2012 | Tracy Beaker Returns | Jody Jackson | 3 episodes |
| 2013–2022 | The Dumping Ground | Jody Jackson | Main role |
| 2014 | The Dumping Ground Survival Files | Jody Jackson | Main role |
| 2015 | Hacker Time | Herself | Guest appearance |
| 2016 | The Dumping Ground: I'm... | Jody Jackson | Main role |
| 2017 | Doctors | Zoe McCluskey | Episode: "Twisted" |
| 2017 | The Quiet One | Peewee | Film |
| 2019 | A Bullet Wasted | The Daughter | Short film |
| 2020 | Leap | Jess | Short film |
| 2021 | SeaView | She | Film |
| 2022 | Making Friends as the World Ends | Billie | Film |
| 2022–2024 | Doctors | Scarlett Kiernan | Regular role |
| 2022–present | Saturday Mash-Up! | Presenter | Various appearances |
| 2024 | Bargain Hunt | Herself | Contestant |
Video games :
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2013–2014 | The Dumping Ground Game | Jody Jackson |
| 2015 | The Dumping Ground: You're the Boss | Jody Jackson |
| 2016 | The Dumping Ground: On a Mission | Jody Jackson |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2014 | BAFTA Children's Awards | Best Performer | Jody Jackson (The Dumping Ground) | Nominated |
| 2017 | Birmingham Film Festival | Best Young Actor | Peewee (The Quiet One) | Won |
| 2019 | RTS North East and Border Awards | Drama Performance | Jody Jackson (The Dumping Ground) | Won |
| 2022 | RTS Midlands Awards | Breakthrough (on screen) | Scarlett Kiernan (Doctors) | Nominated |
| 2023 | British Soap Awards | Best Newcomer | Scarlett Kiernan (Doctors) | Nominated |
| 2023 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Daytime Star | Scarlett Kiernan (Doctors) | Nominated |
| 2024 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Daytime Star | Scarlett Kiernan (Doctors) | Nominated |