# Frances Grey (actress)

Frances Grey (born 1970 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish actress, perhaps most well known for her portrayal of D.S. Kate Beauchamp in the BBC television series Messiah (2001). The original production was based on a novel by Boris Starling. Grey also starred in the subsequent installments Messiah 2: Vengeance is Mine (2003) and Messiah 3: the Promise (2004) which were written directly for television.

## Early life

She attended The Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh, graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London with a degree in English and drama. Frances then went on to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

## Career

Some of her earlier roles were as Jane in the film Crimetime (1996), as Jenny Roach in the TV series Accused (1996), as Dr. Davies in the TV documentary series Living Proof (1997), as Amelia Sedley in the 1998 BBC adaptation of Vanity Fair. as Violet in the film Janice Beard 45 WPM,.(1999) as Jackie Brett in the TV series Reach for the Moon (2000) and as Elaine in the TV series The Secret World of Michael Fry (2000).
She also played as Lucy Slater in the TV series Murder in Mind (2002), as Jessie in the TV series The Key (2003), as Ellie Peters in the TV series The Bill (2005), as Caroline Jensen in the TV series Sea of Souls (2006), as Hannah in the TV series Where the Heart is (2006), as Suzanne in the play Monks by Des Dillon in Edinburgh in 2007, as Louise Whately and Liz Beamish in the TV soap Casualty (2005 and 2008), as Janice Hylton in the TV series Foyle's War (2008) as Caroline Page and Rhona Campbell in the Scottish TV series Taggart (1997 and 2008) and as prison psychiatrist Marianne McKee in BBC Scotland's TV soap-opera River City (2009).
Grey played as Mary Place in the TV series Garrow's Law (2009), as Samantha Jackson in the short film Downturn (2010), as Sonia Thomas and Natalie Layfield in the TV series Doctors (2007 and 2011), as Janice in the TV film in three parts The Widower (2014), as Jess Collins in the TV detective series Shetland (2014), as Slan Gleeson in the TV medical soap Holby City (2014) and as Al Ferguson in the short film Perfect State (2014). In 2014 she was filming the TV series Home Fires. In 2021 she played Hilary Rhodes in one episode of Sister Boniface Mysteries

## Personal life

She was married to Nick Powell from 2005 to 2011. She has one child with playwright John Donnelly.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Crimetime | Jane | |
| 1999 | Janice Beard | Violet | |
| 2010 | Downturn | Samantha Jackson | Short film |
| 2014 | Perfect State | Ali Ferguson | Short film |
| 2022 | The Road Dance | Aileen MacAuley | |
| 2022 | When She Was Good | Florence | Short film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Accused | Jenny Roach | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 1997 | Q.E.D. | Dr. Davies | Episode: "Cause of Death" |
| 1997 | Taggart | Caroline Page | Episode: "Babushka Part One" |
| 1998 | Vanity Fair | Amelia Sedley | Series regular; 6 episodes |
| 2000 | Reach for the Moon | Jackie Brett | Series regular; 6 episodes |
| 2000 | The Secret World of Michael Fry | Elaine | Mini-series |
| 2001-2004 | Messiah | Kate Beauchamp | Recurring role; 6 episodes |
| 2002 | Murder in Mind | Lucy Slater | Episode: "Victim" |
| 2003 | The Key | Jessie | Mini-series |
| 2005 | The Bill | Ellie Peters | Episode: "A Social Decision" |
| 2005 | Casualty | Louise Whatley | Episode: "For Better or Worse" |
| 2006 | Sea of Souls | Caroline Jenson | Episode: "Insiders" |
| 2006 | Where the Heart Is | Hannah | Episode: "Don't Look Back in Anger" |
| 2007 | Doctors | Sonia Thomas | Episode: "A Secure Relationship" |
| 2008 | Foyle's War | Janice Hylton | Episode: "All Clear" |
| 2008 | Taggart | Rhona Campbell | Episode: "A Study in Murder" |
| 2008 | Casualty | Liz Beamish | Episode: "Face the World" |
| 2009 | River City | Marianne McKee | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Garrow's Law | Mary Pace | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Case Histories | Michelle Fletcher | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Doctors | Natalie Layfield | Episode: "The Cradle Rocks" |
| 2014 | The Widower | Janice | Mini-series |
| 2014 | Shetland | Jess Collins | Episode: "Raven Black" |
| 2014 | Holby City | Sian Gleeson | Episode: "Collateral" |
| 2015-2016 | Home Fires | Erica Campbell | Series regular; 12 episodes |
| 2016 | Casualty | Gaynor Lockford | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Midsomer Murders | Cilia Troughton | Episode: "Last Man Out" |
| 2018 | Doctors | Hayley Brown | Episode: "Hello Darkness, My Old Friend" |
| 2018 | Ordeal by Innocence | Lydia Gould | Mini-series |
| 2019 | 15 Days | Moira | Mini-series |
| 2019 | Traces | DCI Catherine Attwood | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Van der Valk | Claudia Oosterhuis | Episode: "Love in Amsterdam" |
| 2020 | Unprecedented | Siobhan | 1 episode |
| 2022 | Vera | Olivia Parmer | Episode: "Vital Signs" |
| 2022 | Sister Boniface Mysteries | Hilary Rhodes | Episode: "Queen of the Kitchen" |
| 2022 | Bloods | Clare | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Six Four | Pauline Wallace | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Tom Jones | Mrs. Miller | Miniseries; 2 episodes |

## Radio

| Date | Title | Role | Director | Station |
| 31 October 1999 | Moliere, or the League of Hypocrites | Armande | Don Taylor | BBC Radio 4 |
| 11 June 2004 | Soft Fall the Sounds of Eden | Susan | Gaynor Macfarlane | BBC Radio 4 Friday Play |
| 1 April 2006 | Look Back in Anger | Helena Charles | | BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play |
| 20 October 2006 | 3 Days that Shook the World | Irina | John Dryden | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 4 April 2011 | My Life is a Series of People Saying Goodbye | Sarah | Polly Thomas | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 13 August 2012 – 17 August 2012 | The Other One | Mum | Kirsty Williams | BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama |

## Theatre credits

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1995 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Cecily Cardew | The Old Vic, London |
| 1997 | Rebecca | Second Mrs de Winter | Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 2001 | Platonov | Sasha Ivanovna | Almeida Theatre, London |
| 2003 | Playhouse Creatures | Mrs. Marshall | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds |
| 2003 | Dark Earth | Valerie | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 2005 | Pyrenees | Anna | Tron Theatre, Glasgow & Menier Chocolate Factory, London |
| 2007 | Monks | Suzanne | Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 2008 | Relocated | Wife | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 2008 | Twilight of the Gods | Jane | Paines Plough at Village Unerground, London |
| 2010 | The Furies | Jamie | UK Tour |
| 2010 | Land of the Dead/Helter Skelter | Woman | UK Tour |
| 2010 | Caledonia | Mrs. Paterson | Eden Court Theatre, Inverness & King's Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 2011 | Somersaults | Alison | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh & Citizens Theatre, Glasgow |
| 2011 | Dear Uncle | Helena | Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough & International Tour |
| 2011 | Neighbourhood Watch | Amy | Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough & UK Tour |
| 2017 | The Winter's Tale | Hermione | Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 2018 | Old Fools | Vivienne | Southwark Playhouse, London |
| 2022–2023 | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | Ginny Potter | Palace Theatre |