# Morven Christie

Morven Christie is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Hughes in the BBC drama The A Word, Amanda Hopkins in the ITV drama Grantchester, and Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong in ITV crime series The Bay.

## Early life and education

Christie was born in Helensburgh and raised in Glasgow. She left school at 15. She studied method acting at the Drama Centre London, under Reuven Adiv, an associate of Lee Strasberg. Her family spent holidays in Aviemore, where Christie learned to ski by the age of five.

## Career
### Theatre

Christie has multiple stage credits, spanning over a decade, including plays by Jack Thorne and Tom Stoppard alongside a classical canon. In 2006, Christie starred in the William Shakespeare plays Romeo & Juliet (as Juliet), Much Ado About Nothing (as Hero), and King John (as Blanche) for the Royal Shakespeare Company in their star-studded Complete Works season.
In 2009, Christie played Anya in the Anton Chekhov play The Cherry Orchard and Perdita in the Shakespeare play The Winter's Tale, for Sam Mendes' "Bridge Project", both at Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York and at The Old Vic, London, alongside Simon Russell Beale, Ethan Hawke and Rebecca Hall. She played Isa in the National Theatre, Glasgow, production of Men Should Weep, directed by Josie Rourke.

### Television and film

In 2014, Christie played Amanda Hopkins in the ITV drama Grantchester for its first three seasons with James Norton and Robson Green. In 2017, she played Ellen Rooney in the BBC drama The Replacement, alongside Vicky McClure, and Dougray Scott. This role gained Christie her first BAFTA Scotland nomination.
From 2016–2020, she played Alison Hughes, the mother of an autistic child, in the BBC drama The A Word, for which she was again nominated for a BAFTA Scotland Award. In 2018 she also played Kirsten Lindstrom in Sarah Phelps' production of Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence.
Christie starred as DS Lisa Armstrong, the lead role in the ITV crime drama series The Bay, filmed through the latter months of 2018, and aired on ITV from 20 March 2019. She received her third consecutive BAFTA Scotland nomination for her performance. It was announced on 16 February 2021 that Christie had quit the drama, which had just completed a second series.
She has since completed two independent films and the Joe Cornish eight-part drama Lockwood & Co. for Netflix.
In 2023, she led a six-part drama Payback, for Jed Mercurio’s HTM label, opposite Peter Mullan, airing on ITV and internationally.

## Personal life

Christie lives in Glasgow with her partner, musician Iain Cook.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | The Flying Scotsman | Katie | |
| 2009 | The Young Victoria | Watson | |
| 2011 | Gee Gee | Peaches | Short film |
| 2011 | Hollow | Alice | Short film |
| 2012 | Shell | Young Mother | |
| 2014 | Lilting | Margaret | |
| 2014 | Between Places | Liv | Short film |
| 2022 | The Road Dance | Mairi Macleod | |
| 2022 | Floodlights | Jean Woodward |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Quite Ugly One Morning | DS Jenny Dunlop | Television film |
| 2006 | The Family Man | Joanne | |
| 2007 | Oliver Twist | Rose Maylie | Miniseries |
| 2008 | Lost in Austen | Jane Bennet | Miniseries |
| 2009 | Monday Monday | Sally Newman | |
| 2010 | The Sinking of the Laconia | Laura Ferguson | |
| 2011 | Case Histories | Michelle Moore | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Twenty Twelve | Fi Healey | |
| 2012 | Hunted | Zoe | |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Elsie Clayton | Episode: "The Labours of Hercules" |
| 2014 | From There to Here | Louise | |
| 2014 | Death in Paradise | Sally Goodman | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Silent Witness | DS Sally Kirchner | 1 episode |
| 2014–2017 | Grantchester | Amanda Kendall | |
| 2015 | Doctor Who | O'Donnell | 2 episodes: "Under the Lake" and "Before the Flood" |
| 2016–2020 | The A Word | Alison Hughes | |
| 2017 | The Replacement | Ellen Rooney | |
| 2018 | Ordeal by Innocence | Kirsten Lindstrom | |
| 2019–2021 | The Bay | DS Lisa Armstrong | |
| 2023 | Lockwood & Co. | Penelope Fittes | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Payback | Lexie Noble | 6 episodes |

## Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Theatre Company |
| 2005 | Festen | Pia | Lyric Theatre, London |
| 2005 | When You Cure Me | Rachel | Bush Theatre, London |
| 2006 | Romeo & Juliet | Juliet | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2006–2007 | Much Ado About Nothing | Hero | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2006 | King John | Blanche | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2009 | The Cherry Orchard | Anya | New York, London and international tour |
| 2009 | The Winter's Tale | Perdita | |
| 2010–2011 | Men Should Weep | Isa Morrison | Royal National Theatre, London |
| 2015 | The Driver's Seat | Lise | National Theatre of Scotland |

## Audio
### Radio

* When You Cure Me (2006, radio play) as Rachel
* An Inspector Calls as Sheila Birling
* Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You as Molly Naylor
* A Farewell to Arms (2011, BBC Radio 4) as Catherine Barkley
* Austerlitz (December 2012, BBC Radio 3) as Agata

### Audiobooks

* Code Name Verity (2012)
* Burial Rites (2013)