Louise Breckon-Richards

Louise Breckon-Richards (born Louise Richards) is a Welsh actress. As an actress, she has worked extensively in film, TV, theatre and radio for over thirty years. She is also a playwright and award-winning screenwriter.
==Early life==
Breckon-Richards (born Louise Richards) was born in 1972 in Wrexham, North Wales. She was brought up in the village of Mynydd Isa. She studied acting for three years at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and lives in London.
==Career==
===Theatre===
Breckon-Richards debuted on the stage in 1993 in the non-profit Torch Theatre. Over the years, she performed in a variety of both touring and fringe productions of plays and musicals. Her notable roles include Eleonor in the Queen's Theatre 1997 production of Northanger Abbey, starring as Juliet in a 2000 touring production of Romeo & Juliet by the English Shakespeare Company.
In 2016, Breckon-Richards starred in a one-woman play at the Pleasance Theatre London called Can You Hear Me Running, which was co-produced by herself and is based on her experience losing her voice as a professional singer. Her performance was described as "courageous, honest and very physical" by the Theatre Things, "mesmerising" by Love London Love Culture, "perfect agony" by The Play's The Thing UK and having "moved to tears" the reviewer at Like the Wind Magazine. In 2019, Breckon-Richards played the role of Bet in The Wind of Heaven, performed at the Finborough Theatre in London.
Breckon-Richards also has a career as a playwright, and has produced multiple works for the stage. In 2017, she wrote Fire blight, which was selected for reading as part of the Arcola Theatre PlayWrought festival. In 2019, Breckon-Richards wrote and put on a play called Four O'Clock Flowers. The play was later adapted into a feature film by Breckon-Richards.
Breckon-Richard wrote and produced the play The Cloak of visibility which was performed in The Space in 2021.
===Television===
Breckon-Richards has portrayed a variety of minor and recurring roles in television. Her first television role was in 1996, where she played Lucy in an episode of The Bill, a British police serial. Breckon-Richards has had various roles in crime fiction, including the role of Angela in Mortimer's Law in 1998, Helen Castle in Midsomer Murders in 2006, Jennifer Wilson in Sherlock in 2010.
Her other work includes roles in medical dramas, soap opera and period dramas, such as her role as Louise Kavanagh in the BBC One Wales show Belonging between the years 2000 and 2001, her roles of Debra Kilbride and Ruth Unsworth in the BBC One series Casualty from 1999 to 2007, her roles of Rebecca and Julia Harrison in EastEnders from 2002 to 2011, 3 roles on the 2000 show Doctors. In 2023, her most recent television role is that of Beattie Jones on Call the Midwife.
===Film===
Breckon-Richards made her film debut in 1994 in a short student film titled Virigin Moon, directed by Peter Callow, for whom this film was a directorial debut. In 1996, she portrayed WDC Wendy James in Harpur and Iles. In 1999, Breckon-Richards took on the role of P.C. Edwards in the satirical comedy film Beautiful People, directed by Jasmin Dizdar. She also had a minor role in the 2003 English Civil War film titled To Kill a King, directed by Mike Barker. In the BBC One drama Dirty War directed by Daniel Percival and aired on the 26th September 2004, she played DC Vicky Loman.
From the years 2011 to 2021, Breckon-Richards played in various short films. In 2011, she played in the film Corvus,. In 2014, she played in the short titled Mike. The film was co-produced by the UK Film Festival after winning the 2012 short script competition, and went on to win an award for the best short film at the Berlin International Film Festival. In the 2021 science-fiction short film titled Best Self, she played Erica. The film was screened at the Bermondsey Project Space in December of that year.
In 2018, Breckon-Richard played the role of Joanne in the science-fiction film Time Will Tell. She then played the therapist in 2019 British romantic comedy film A Guide to Second Date Sex, alongside George MacKay and Alexandra Roach.
As of August 2023, she has acted in two shorts films, Sorry and Four Evil Deeds, that are yet to be released.
Breckon-Richards also ventured into film writing and production in 2022, with a screen adaptation of her 2019 play Four O'Clock Flowers. The film marked a reunion with director Peter Callow, with whom she had debuted her film career.
==Personal life==
Breckon-Richards lost her voice to a rare condition, but she recovered thanks to surgery. She has also run the London Marathon for Shelter UK. Breckon-Richards is married to Steven Grihault, a director and educator, and they have two children: Owen and Elliot Grihault.
==Filmography==
	Denotes works that have not yet been released
 Animation roles
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2014	Through The Hawthorn	Jessica/Mum	
 Film roles
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1994	Virigin Moon 	Sister Aliena 	Short
1996	Harpur and Iles 	WDC Wendy James	TV Movie
1999	Beautiful People 	P.C. Edwards 	
2003	To Kill a King 	Tom's maid 	
2004	Dirty War 	DC Vicky Loman 	TV Movie
2011	Corvus 	Jean 	Short
2014	Mike 	Mum 	Short
2018	Time Will Tell 	Joanne 	
2021	Best Self 	Erica 'The PA' 	Short
2019	A Guide to Second Date Sex	Therapist 	
2023	Sorry 	Emily 	Post-production
2023	Four Evil Deeds 	The Mum 	Pre-production
 Television roles
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1996 	The Bill 	Lucy 	Season 12 Episode 40 - "Party Pooper"
1997 	Underworld 	Sandra 	Season 1 Episode 3
1998 	The Life of Confucius	Chengzai, Woman 	
1998 	Mortimer's Law 	Angela 	Season 1 Episode 2, Season 1 Episode 4, Season 1 Episode 6
1999 	Holby City 	Ruth Unsworth 	Season 2 Episode 6 - "Tidings of Comfort and Joy"
2000-2001	Belonging 	Louise Kavanagh 	Season 1 Episode 1, Season 2 Episode 2, Season 2 Episode 4, Season 2 Episode 5
2001 	Baddiel's Syndrome 	Woman Cleaner 	Season 1 Episode 9 - "Calligrula"
2001 	Bedtime 	Melissa 	Season 1 Episode 4
2002 	Foyle's War 	Jane Holdsworth 	Season 1 Episode 4 - "Eagle Day"
2006 	Midsomer Murders 	Helen Castle 	Season 9 Episode 2 - "Dead Letters"
1999-2007	Casualty 	Ruth Unsworth, Debra Kilbride 	Season 14 Episode 17 - "Peace on Earth" (1999), Season 21 Episode 40 - "Communion" (2007)
2010 	Sherlock 	Jennifer Wilson 	Season 1 Episode 1 - "A Study in Pink"
2002-2011	EastEnders 	Rebecca, Julia Harrison 	Season 1 Episode 2400 (2002), two episodes aired in 2011
2012 	Cuckoo 	Kelly 	Season 1 Episode 2 - "Family Meeting"
2019 	Coronation Street 	Jacqui 	Season 1 Episode 9782
2019 	Temple 	Lorraine 	Season 1 Episode 1, uncredited. TV mini-series.
2001-2019	Doctors 	Alison Sutton, Karen Redland, Janey Webb	Season 2 Episode 91 - "Baby Be Mine" (2001), Season 8 Episode 85 - "Thicker Than Water" (2006), Season 21 Episode 30 - "Stakes" (2019)
2020 	We Hunt Together 	Denise 	Season 1 Episode 5 - 105
2023 	Call the Midwife 	Beattie Jones 	Season 12 Episode 6
==Theatre==
 Stage roles
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2019	The Wind of Heaven 	Bet 	Finborough Theatre, London
2016	Can You Hear Me Running	One Woman Show 	Pleasance Theatre London, London
2005	Haunted Hotel 	Evelyn Collier 	Mercury Theatre, Colchester
2002	The Merchant Of Venice 	Nerissa & Jessica 	Kiklos Teatro
2000	Romeo & Juliet 	Juliet 	English Shakespeare Company, Touring
1997	Happy Birthday Brecht 	Company member/Various Parts	Royal National Theatre, London. Play written by Di Trevis
1997	Northanger Abbey 	Eleanor 	Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch
1995	Under Milk Wood 	Gossamer Beynon 	Royal National Theatre, London
1995	A Little Night Music 	Osar/US Petra & Fredrika 	Royal National Theatre, London
1994	The Sound Of Music 	Liesl 	West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
1994	The Boys from Syracuse 	The Courtesan 	Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate
1993	Tom Jones 	Molly 	Mid Wales Touring
1993	Oz 	Wicked Witch/ Good Witch 	Torch Theatre, Milford Haven. Play written by Mike James
==Filmmaking credits==
Year	Title 	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
2023	Four O'Clock Flowers	 	 	 	
==Works==
===Plays===
Works written by Breckon-Richards:
==Awards and nominations==
Breckon-Richard's movie Four O'Clock Flowers received various accolades. The movie was nominated for the Best Feature Film awards both at the 2022 Wales International Film Festival, and at the 2002 British Urban Film Festival (BUFF). The movie's lead actress, Sophie Cartman, received the award for best actress at the BUFF. 
At the 14th edition of the Toronto Women Film Festival, the movie won the Best Film About Women award and the movie's composer, Mari Sainio, received the Best Female Composer award. Breckon-Richards won the award for Best Feature Film of 2022 at the UK Film Festival, an award which she shared with director Peter Callow. Breckon-Richards won the award for Best Produced Script at the 9th edition of the LA Independent Women Film Awards. Breckon-Richards and Callow shared the award for Best Drama at the Worldwide Women's Film Festival, and the cast won the award for Best Ensemble Cast at the same festival. In October 2023, the film also won the Best Feature Film award at the Worcester Film Festival.
==References==
Category:Living people
Category:Welsh television actresses
Category:Welsh producers
Category:1972 births
Category:People from Wrexham