# Katherine Parkinson

Katherine Parkinson is an English actress. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd as Jen Barber, for which she received a British Comedy Best TV Actress Award in 2009 and 2014, and was nominated twice for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance, winning in 2014.
Parkinson studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and has appeared on stage in the plays The Seagull (2007), Cock (2009), and Home, I'm Darling (2018), for which she was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Parkinson was also a main cast member of the series Doc Martin for three series (2005–2009). She co-starred in all three series of Humans, a science-fiction drama on AMC/Channel 4, which aired from 2015 until 2018. She has also appeared in the films The Boat That Rocked (2009) and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018).

## Early life

Parkinson was born in Hounslow, London, to an English mother, Janet Parkinson, and Northern Irish father, the historian Alan Parkinson. She grew up in Tolworth and Surbiton, and studied at Tiffin Girls' School before reading classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She then studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, although she left before graduating in order to star in the play The Age of Consent, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2001.

## Career

From 2005 until 2009, Parkinson played Pauline Lamb, a doctor's receptionist and later phlebotomist, in series two to four of the long-running ITV comedy-drama series Doc Martin.
While working on Doc Martin, she was asked by a friend from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, comic actor Chris O'Dowd, to audition for the comedy series The IT Crowd as the show was having trouble casting a female lead. In an interview with The Independent, Parkinson said the show's creator Graham Linehan originally wanted Jen to be "likeable", but she added: "I know what he wanted now – he wanted her to be the more normal person people could relate to." The IT Crowd premiered in 2006 and ran for four series, ending in 2014. While the character served as a straight man to the two main male characters, Parkinson's performance was well received by critics and audiences, prompting a nomination for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2011. She went on to win the award in 2014.
In 2007 she appeared in a new production of Chekhov's The Seagull at London's Royal Court Theatre, alongside Kristin Scott Thomas and Mackenzie Crook, for which she received positive reviews.
She also contributed sketch characters to Katy Brand's ITV2 show Katy Brand's Big Ass Show (2007-2009), having been friends with Brand since their time at university. At the end of 2009, she appeared in the Olivier award winning play Cock at the Royal Court Theatre with Ben Whishaw and Andrew Scott.
She has performed several times on BBC Radio 4, including on Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking; Mouth Trap, which she also co-wrote with Brand; and The Odd Half Hour. She also featured in television advertisements for Maltesers alongside fellow actress and comedian Amanda Abbington.
Parkinson played Sophie, one of the lead roles along with Mark Heap in BBC Four's three-part comedy series The Great Outdoors (2010). In 2010 and 2011, she appeared in two plays: Season's Greetings at the National Theatre; and as Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal at the Barbican Centre. That same year, she appeared in The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, which premiered on BBC Two in 2011; and in 2012 she made a guest appearance as Kitty Riley in "The Reichenbach Fall", the second series finale of the series Sherlock.
In 2012 and 2013, she played the roles of Diana in Absent Friends at the Harold Pinter Theatre, and Laura in Before the Party at the Almeida Theatre, respectively. In 2014, Parkinson appeared in "Sardines", the first episode of the anthology series Inside No. 9, alongside Ben Willbond, as well as the miniseries The Honourable Woman, which aired in the UK on BBC Two and in the USA on SundanceTV.
In 2015, she starred in the BBC One comedy series The Kennedys, written by Emma Kennedy about growing up on a Stevenage estate in the 1970s. She also played one of the lead roles in all three series of the British-American science fiction series Humans, which aired on Channel 4 and AMC between 2015 and 2018.
In 2016, Parkinson performed in the stage play Dead Funny at the Vaudeville Theatre. In 2018 and 2019, she performed in Home, I'm Darling, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award, as well as in Defending the Guilty, a legal sitcom which aired for one series on BBC Two and was subsequently renewed for a second, before being cancelled due to coronavirus.
She played Emma Jeanne Desfosses in Marjane Satrapi's film adaptation of Lauren Redniss's Radioactive in 2019, detailing the life of Marie Curie.
In 2019, Parkinson's debut work as a playwright, Sitting, had its London premiere, following a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe. The play was well reviewed, with The Guardian writing "Parkinson delicately reveals connections that, by the end, give the play a wistful emotional weight." Parkinson adapted the play for BBC Four in early 2021.
Parkinson appeared in series 10 of Taskmaster in 2020. Parkinson won the second episode but was behind in total points for the majority of the series, and ended up in last place.
In 2022, Katherine played Nell Taylor in the film The Nan Movie and in 2024 she portrayed Lizzie Vereker in the Disney Plus adaptation of Jilly Cooper's Rivals (TV series) novel.

## Personal life

Parkinson is married to actor Harry Peacock, and is the daughter-in-law of the late Trevor Peacock. She has two daughters.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Hard to Swallow | Katie | Short film |
| 2008 | Easy Virtue | Marion Whittaker | |
| 2008 | How to Lose Friends & Alienate People | PR Woman | |
| 2009 | The Boat That Rocked | Felicity | |
| 2009 | St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold | Physics Teacher | |
| 2010 | Cooked | Lucy (voice) | Short films |
| 2011 | The Bride of Vernon | Mary Mae (voice) | Short films |
| 2014 | Off the Page: Britain Isn't Eating | Marion / Sarah | Short films |
| 2016 | The Complete Walk: Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | Short films |
| 2018 | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | Isola Pribby | |
| 2019 | Radioactive | Emma Jeanne Desfosses | |
| 2019 | How to Fake a War | Kate Hemmings | |
| 2021 | Paul Dood's Deadly Lunch Break | Clemmie | |
| 2022 | The Nan Movie | Nell Taylor | |
| 2024 | That Christmas | Mrs. Forrest (voice) | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Ahead of the Class | Vicky Foley | Television film |
| 2005 | Casualty | Helen Gibbons | Episode: "The Long Goodbye" (uncredited role) |
| 2005 | Extras | Woman in Queue | Episode: "Ross Kemp & Vinnie Jones" |
| 2005–2009 | Doc Martin | Pauline Lamb | Series 2-4 & Christmas special, 24 episodes |
| 2006 | Comedy Lab | Various roles | Episode: "Slap" |
| 2006–2010, 2013 | The IT Crowd | Jen Barber | British Comedy Award for Best Television Comedy Actress Nominated – BAFTA for Best Female Comedy Performance Winner of BAFTA award Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme 2014 |
| 2007 | Fear, Stress & Anger | Gemma | 5 episodes |
| 2007 | Love Triangle | Patty (voice) | Television short film |
| 2007 | Christmas at the Riviera | Vanessa | Television film |
| 2007–2009 | Katy Brand's Big Ass Show | Various characters | 18 episodes |
| 2009 | Jonathan Creek | Nicola | Episode: "The Grinning Man" |
| 2009–2010 | The Old Guys | Amber | 8 episodes |
| 2010 | The Great Outdoors | Sophie | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Whites | Caroline | 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Psychoville | Fiona | Episode: "The Hunt" |
| 2011 | Comedy Showcase | Pip | Episode: "Coma Girl" |
| 2011–2012 | The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff | Conceptiva | 4 episodes |
| 2011, 2015 | Would I Lie to You? | Herself - Panellist | Series 5, Episode 3 Series 9, Episode 2 |
| 2012 | Sherlock | Kitty Riley | Episode: "The Reichenbach Fall" |
| 2013 | Love Matters | Jo Pepper | Episode: "Officially Special" |
| 2014 | Cardinal Burns | Super Computer (voice) | Series 2, Episode 4 |
| 2014 | The Honourable Woman | Rachel Stein | Mini-series; 8 episodes |
| 2014 | Inside No. 9 | Rebecca | Episode: "Sardines" |
| 2014 | Crackanory | Herself - Storyteller | Series 2, Episode 3: "The Crisis Plan" |
| 2014–2016 | In the Club | Kim Hall | 12 episodes |
| 2015 | Horizon | Herself - Narrator | Episode: "Which Universe Are We In?" |
| 2015 | The Kennedys | Brenda Kennedy | Lead role; 6 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | Humans | Laura Hawkins | Lead role; 24 episodes |
| 2017 | Urban Myths | Ange | Episode: "Bob Dylan: Knockin' on Dave's Door" |
| 2018 | Hang Ups | Karen Muller | 6 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Defending the Guilty | Caroline Bratt | Lead role; 7 episodes |
| 2020 | Unprecedented | Liz | Series 1, Episode 3 |
| 2020 | Taskmaster | Herself - Contestant | Series 10, 10 episodes |
| 2020 | Pandemonium | Rachel Jessop | One-off BBC One comedy (pilot episode of Here We Go) |
| 2021 | Sitting | Mary | TV adaption of Parkinson's 2018 stage play for BBC Four |
| 2021 | Spreadsheet | Lauren | Lead role; 8 episodes |
| 2021 | Hitmen | Kat Gaitskill | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | Travel Man | Herself | Travel documentary |
| 2022–present | Here We Go | Rachel Jessop | Lead role; 13 episodes |
| 2023 | Significant Other | Anna | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Inside No. 9 | Herself | Series 9, Episode: "Plodding On" |
| 2024 | Rivals | Lizzie Vereker | 8 episodes |
| TBA | The Dream Lands | Antonia | Filming |

### Radio

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2004 | A Certain Smile | Catherine |
| | Good Times Role | Patient |
| 2008 | The Odd Half Hour | |
| 2008 | Mouth Trap | Writer, performer |
| 2010 | Sarah Millican's Support Group | Kim |
| 2011 | The Lost Weekend | |
| 2011 | The Drover of Clissold Common | |
| 2011 | The One and Only | Layla |
| | Souvenirs | Samantha |
| 2011–2015 | Don't Start | Kim |
| 2012 | Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully | Katrina |
| 2012 | Diary of a Nobody | Carrie Pooter |
| 2012 | The Bat Man | Colette |
| | The Lady from the Sea | Bolette |
| 2013 | Start/Stop | Alice |
| 2019 | Date Night | Maddy |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | The Age of Consent | Stephanie | Pleasance Edinburgh Edinburgh Festival |
| 2002 | The Age of Consent | Stephanie | Bush Theatre |
| 2002 | Frame 312 | Maggie / Doris / Marie | Donmar Warehouse |
| 2002 | Deep Throat Live on Stage | Linda Lovelace | Assembly Rooms Edinburgh Festival Fat Bloke Productions |
| 2003 | Camille | Olympe | Lyric Hammersmith |
| 2003 | The Increased Difficulty of Concentration | Anna Balcar | The Gate (London) |
| 2003 | The Riot Act | Antigone | The Gate (London) |
| 2004 | The Unthinkable | Fran | Sheffield Crucible |
| 2004 | Cigarettes and Chocolate | Gail | King's Head Theatre |
| 2004 | Flush | Lily | Soho Theatre |
| 2006 | Other Hands | Lydia | Soho Theatre |
| 2006–2007 | The Lightning Play | Imogen Cumberbatch | Almeida Theatre |
| 2007 | The Seagull | Masha | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2009 | Cock | W | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2010 | Season's Greetings | Pattie | Royal National Theatre |
| 2011 | The School for Scandal | Lady Teazle | Barbican Theatre |
| 2011 | 66 Books | Jo | Bush Theatre |
| 2012 | Absent Friends | Diana | Harold Pinter Theatre |
| 2013 | Before the Party | Laura | Almeida Theatre |
| 2016–2017 | Dead Funny | Eleanor | Vaudeville Theatre |
| 2018–2019 | Home, I'm Darling | Judy | Theatr Clwyd and Royal National Theatre Co-Production Nominated – Olivier Award for Best Actress |
| 2019 | Uncle Vanya | Sonya | Theatre Royal Bath |
| 2020 | Shoe Lady | Viv | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2022 | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | Lyttelton Theatre |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Worms Clan Wars | Ms. Tara Pinkle | Narrator |
| 2014 | Worms Battlegrounds | Ms. Tara Pinkle | Narrator |