# Jessica Regan

Jessica Regan (born 24 February 1982) is an Irish actress, known for portraying the role of Niamh Donoghue in the BBC soap opera Doctors. For her portrayal of the role, she won the award for Best Female Acting Performance at the 2014 RTS Midlands Awards, as well as the award for Best Newcomer at the 2015 British Soap Awards. Following her departure from Doctors, she starred in the BBC series Ill Behaviour. Regan also has numerous stage credits, having starred in productions including Blood and Gifts and Long Day's Journey into Night.

## Life and career

Regan was born on 24 February 1982 in Kilkenny, and grew up in County Tipperary. She attended University College Cork (UCC), since the majority of her family live in Cork. At UCC, she studied English and History. In 2004, at the age of 22, Regan made her stage debut as Charlotte in a one-woman production of The Yellow Wallpaper. She described the show as the "catalyst" for her motivation to begin acting professionally, stating: "I wasn't sure if I had the ability or the stomach for acting and The Yellow Wallpaper helped me to figure that out". Afterwards, she told her parents that she wanted to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, to which she stated that they were "not surprised". She then borrowed the money for the train fare to Dublin from her parents in order to audition for a place at RADA, to which she was accepted.
Regan made her television debut in the Channel 4 television film Ladies and Gentlemen in 2007, after graduating from RADA. In 2007, she made a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC daytime soap opera Doctors. Then in 2008, she appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Laura. In 2013, she appeared in another episode of Doctors. The following year, she was cast as a regular character in the soap, Dr. Niamh Donoghue. On the casting process, Regan expressed her shock at the casting call, since they wanted an Irish actress aged 30 to 33, which she found to be rare in her experience, especially with the role being regular. For her portrayal of the role, she won the award for the Best Female Acting Performance at the 2014 RTS Midlands Awards, as well as the award for Best Newcomer at the 2015 British Soap Awards. Her other nominations include the British Soap Award for Best Actress and Best On-Screen Partnership, alongside co-star Ian Midlane. In 2016, after two years on the soap, Regan announced her departure from the role. She confirmed that the decision was her own, and her character departed from the series in April 2016 after being fired from her job. In 2017, she starred in the BBC comedy-drama series Ill Behaviour, and appeared in an episode of the BBC drama Casualty the following year.

## Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 2004–2005 | The Yellow Wallpaper | Charlotte | Mall Arts Centre |
| 2009 | The Flags | Ursula | Royal Court |
| 2010 | Blood and Gifts | Cal Foster | National Theatre |
| 2011 | The Cherry Orchard | Ensemble | National Theatre |
| 2012 | The Kitchen | Cynthia | National Theatre |
| 2012 | Stars in the Morning Sky | Anna | Belgrade Theatre |
| 2012 | Coalition | Claudia Hood | Pleasance |
| 2013 | Liolà | Tuzza Azzara | National Theatre |
| 2016 | Henry V | Montjoy | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre |
| 2017 | Long Day's Journey into Night | Cathleen | Wyndham's Theatre |
| 2019 | The Sweet Science of Bruising | Matilda Blackwell | Southwark Playhouse |
| 2020 | The Year of the Monkey | Various | Chelsea Physic Garden |

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Ladies and Gentlemen | Susanna | Television film |
| 2007 | Doctors | Lisa Geary | Episode: "Post Mortem" |
| 2008 | Peep Show | Actress in Play | Episode: "Burgling" |
| 2008 | EastEnders | Laura | 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Wrong Door | Various | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | No Signal! | | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Silent Witness | PC Justine Gould | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Execution | Molly Childers | |
| 2013 | Doctors | Philomena Caffrey | Episode: "Child Proof" |
| 2014–2016 | Doctors | Niamh Donoghue | Series regular |
| 2014 | This Morning | Herself | Guest |
| 2017 | Call the Midwife | Nurse Leonard | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Halloween Comedy Shorts | Caroline | Episode: "It Should Have Been Me" |
| 2017 | Nowhere Fast | Yvonne | Main role |
| 2017 | Ill Behaviour | Tess | Main role |
| 2018 | Celebrity Mastermind | Herself | Contestant |
| 2018 | Casualty | Maxine O'Boyle | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Ma'am | Queen Victoria | Short film |

## Audio

| Year | Title | Role | Platform |
| 2010 | The Cider Queens | Martina Beausang | RTÉ Radio 1 |
| 2011 | A Time to Dance | Jill Gladstone | BBC Radio 4 |
| 2013 | Soul Sacrifice | Various | Video game |
| 2016 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine | Sarah Godley | Video game |
| 2017 | Nioh | Saoirse | Video game |
| 2017 | The Guilty Feminist | Herself | Podcast |
| 2020 | Assassin's Creed Valhalla | Various | Video game |
| 2023 | No One Saw A Thing | Various | Audio Book |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2014 | RTS Midlands Awards | Best Acting Performance – Female | Doctors | Won |
| 2015 | The British Soap Awards | Best Actress | Doctors | Longlisted |
| 2015 | The British Soap Awards | Best Newcomer | Doctors | Won |
| 2015 | The British Soap Awards | Best On-Screen Partnership (with Ian Midlane) | Doctors | Nominated |
| 2015 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Daytime Star | Doctors | Longlisted |