Sheridan Smith
Encyclopedia
Sheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
, Gavin & Stacey
and Benidorm
. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre
, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors
, Legally Blonde
and the 2011 revival of Flare Path. She won the 2011 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in Legally Blonde and the 2011 Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress for her work in Flare Path.
She also trained in movement and dance with Kay Traviss (who currently still teaches as part of Kay Traviss youth group and annually produces and directs a youth dance performance at The Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe) . She attended South Axholme Community College where she studied performing arts. She was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre
from 1995–2001, performing a number of lead roles in productions such as Bugsy Malone
and Into the Woods
.
) in The Royle Family
, but has not appeared in later episodes; she has also played Janet in the long running series Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
, the girlfriend, then wife, then widow of Johnny (also portrayed by Ralf Little) from 2001 until her departure from the show in 2009.
In 2004, she made a one-episode appearance in Mile High
as Suzy, an airport cleaner who was so desperate to become cabin crew, she impersonated a flight attendant. She also featured in The Comic Strip
's 2005 episode "Sex Actually" as Angie.
Smith played Cleo Martin in Love Soup
and also appeared as Michelle, a hypocritical nutritionist, in the sitcom Grownups. The first series aired on BBC Three
on 7 May 2006, followed by a second series that started on 5 August 2007 and the third series began filming in October 2008. She has also appeared on The Lenny Henry Show
as M.E. Westmocott, a role spoofing the various medical examiners on CSI
. In the 2009 Two Pints of Lager Comic Relief
special, which crossed over with Grownups, Smith played her characters from both series.
Smith has also starred in a number of other shows including the BBC's Eyes Down
alongside Paul O'Grady
in which she played the part of Sandy, and smaller parts in shows such as The Bill
and Fat Friends
. She featured in the second and third series of another BBC Three
sitcom, Gavin & Stacey
, co-written by James Corden
, as his character Smithy's sister Rudi (also known as Smithy).
Smith guest-starred in the Christmas 2008 episode of Lark Rise to Candleford
and appeared on New Year's Day 2009 in "The Grinning Man
", a special episode of Jonathan Creek
, alongside Alan Davies
. She also appeared in The Judas Tree, an Easter special aired on 4 April 2010, playing the same character.
She was a regular in Benidorm series three
playing the Liverpudlian, Brandy in 2009.
During 2010 Smith acted as a mentor to the contestants of the BBC show Over the Rainbow
. She appeared as a guest on the BBC show The One Show
on 3 August 2010.
Sky Arts' Chekhov Comedy Shorts also featured Smith in 2010 when she starred in The Proposal, as Natasha (re-uniting her with Gavin and Stacey
actor Mathew Horne
). The programme was first shown on 28 November 2010.
Sheridan will make an appearance in the forthcoming movie Hysteria, which is due to be released in Autumn 2011. Her role will see her taking part in a three-and-a-half-minute orgasm scene. Sheridan is slated for a role in A Fantastic Fear of Everything
, an upcoming film starring Simon Pegg
.
With the return of Bizarre ER
Sheridan does the voice overs taking over from Freema Agyeman
.
Smith has been named as part of the cast of the ITV1 film adaption of Daphne du Maurier's
novel The Scapegoat
.
alongside Paul McGann
's Eighth Doctor
in a radio series of Doctor Who
, produced by Big Finish
and transmitted on BBC 7
from New Year's Eve 2006; the plays returned in a second series released on CD and scheduled for BBC7 broadcast. A third series of adventures for Lucie and the Doctor is coming in March 2009, as weekly half-hour downloads followed by a Christmas Special. She also appeared as Ruby Ruggles in the 2008 radio serial The Way We Live Right Now
, and took over the role of Tamsin Trelawny in series 2 of Elephants To Catch Eels
on BBC Radio4.
, and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
.
She also played Audrey in the stage production of Little Shop of Horrors
at The Menier Chocolate Factory
, London
, from November 2006 which then moved to The Duke Of York's Theatre in March 2007, and due to a very successful run moved again at the end of June 2007 to The New Ambassadors Theatre, its run ended in September 2007. Smith received a nomination for the 2008 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, for her performance in the show.
Smith appeared as Vanessa in Tinderbox: a Revenge Comedy by Lucy Kirkwood
at the Bush Theatre
, Shepherd's Bush
, in April 2008.
Smith originated the role of Elle Woods in the musical version of Legally Blonde
in its transfer from Broadway to London's West End in December 2009. Ex-Blue boyband member Duncan James
played opposite Smith until June 2010, when he was replaced by Richard Fleeshman
. Other cast members Sheridan has performed alongside include Aoife Mulholland
as Brooke, Denise Van Outen
as Paulette, Peter Davison
as Professor Callahan. Her performance was well received, the Daily Telegraph describing her as
Smith was originally supposed to leave Legally Blonde on 23 October 2010, but she extended her run to 8 January 2011, when Susan McFadden
took over the role.
For her role in Legally Blonde Smith won the whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical
. She was also nominated for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress and was the winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Between March and June 2011, she appeared in Trevor Nunn
's production of Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket as Doris, a former barmaid married to a Polish count in the RAF. The production was part of the playwright Terence Rattigan
's centenary year celebrations and also starred Sienna Miller
and James Purefoy
. For this role she won the 2011 Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress.
As well as her role in Legally Blonde, Smith also performed the title role in the workshop productions of a new musical adaptation of Bridget Jones' Diary
. She has stated that the musical will not reach the stage until 2012, with Smith taking on the title role in what would be the original London cast.
, which ended in June 2009.
On 6 March 2010, in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Smith revealed that she and Scottish actor Ross McCall
had begun dating after a 10 year friendship. However she spoke to The Daily Telegraph
in August of the same year and revealed that they had split up due to the pressure of a long distance relationship.
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps was a BBC sitcom created and written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and initially revolves around the lives of five twenty-somethings, played by Ralf Little , Sheridan Smith , Will Mellor , Natalie Casey and...
, Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
and Benidorm
Benidorm (TV series)
Benidorm is an award-winning British television comedy-drama that is produced by Tiger Aspect for ITV and written by Derren Litten, co-writer of The Catherine Tate Show, exploiting the working-class stereotype of this popular tourist destination....
. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
, Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...
and the 2011 revival of Flare Path. She won the 2011 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in Legally Blonde and the 2011 Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress for her work in Flare Path.
Early life and career
Smith was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire and from an early age studied dance with the Joyce Mason School of Dancing in ScunthorpeScunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
She also trained in movement and dance with Kay Traviss (who currently still teaches as part of Kay Traviss youth group and annually produces and directs a youth dance performance at The Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe) . She attended South Axholme Community College where she studied performing arts. She was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre
National Youth Music Theatre
The National Youth Music Theatre or NYMT is a UK organisation for young people in the field of musical theatre, based in London. It runs acting auditions, workshops, and musical theatre productions...
from 1995–2001, performing a number of lead roles in productions such as Bugsy Malone
Bugsy Malone
Bugsy Malone is a 1976 musical film, very loosely based on events in New York City in the Prohibition era, specifically the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, as dramatized in cinema...
and Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
.
Television and Film
From 1999 to 2000, Smith played Emma, the girlfriend of Antony (Ralf LittleRalf Little
Ralf Alistair J. B. Little is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.-Early life and work...
) in The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
, but has not appeared in later episodes; she has also played Janet in the long running series Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps was a BBC sitcom created and written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and initially revolves around the lives of five twenty-somethings, played by Ralf Little , Sheridan Smith , Will Mellor , Natalie Casey and...
, the girlfriend, then wife, then widow of Johnny (also portrayed by Ralf Little) from 2001 until her departure from the show in 2009.
In 2004, she made a one-episode appearance in Mile High
Mile High
Mile High is a British television drama based on the lives of the cabin crew members of "fresh!", a budget airline based in London. The name of the show comes from the "Mile High Club". The show was broadcast on Sky1 from 2003 to 2005.-Background:...
as Suzy, an airport cleaner who was so desperate to become cabin crew, she impersonated a flight attendant. She also featured in The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and...
's 2005 episode "Sex Actually" as Angie.
Smith played Cleo Martin in Love Soup
Love Soup
Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert...
and also appeared as Michelle, a hypocritical nutritionist, in the sitcom Grownups. The first series aired on BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
on 7 May 2006, followed by a second series that started on 5 August 2007 and the third series began filming in October 2008. She has also appeared on The Lenny Henry Show
The Lenny Henry Show
The Lenny Henry Show is a comedy sketch show featuring Lenny Henry. In its first incarnation it ran for two seasons on BBC 1, in 1984 and 1985. Each season had six episodes. A 40-minute special was aired in December 1987...
as M.E. Westmocott, a role spoofing the various medical examiners on CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
. In the 2009 Two Pints of Lager Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
special, which crossed over with Grownups, Smith played her characters from both series.
Smith has also starred in a number of other shows including the BBC's Eyes Down
Eyes Down
Eyes Down is a comedy starring Paul O'Grady as Ray Temple, the manager of a bingo hall in Liverpool, England called The Rio, although the series was filmed in Rayners Lane in London. Although it had moderate ratings, the programme only lasted for two series until it was cancelled by the BBC in 2004...
alongside Paul O'Grady
Paul O'Grady
Paul James Michael O'Grady MBE is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio DJ. He is best known for presenting the daytime chat television series, The Paul O'Grady Show and, more recently, Paul O'Grady Live, as well as his drag queen comedic alter ego, Lily Savage, as...
in which she played the part of Sandy, and smaller parts in shows such as The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
and Fat Friends
Fat Friends
Fat Friends is an ITV drama , following a group of overweight people, their laughter and pain and addresses the absurdities of dieting in our modern age. The drama looks at people and how they relate to one another and use body weight as an excuse for all sorts of failings in their relationships,...
. She featured in the second and third series of another BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
sitcom, Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
, co-written by James Corden
James Corden
James Kimberley Corden is an English actor, television writer, producer and presenter. He is co-creator and star of BBC comedy shows Gavin & Stacey and Horne & Corden, and acted in the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers....
, as his character Smithy's sister Rudi (also known as Smithy).
Smith guest-starred in the Christmas 2008 episode of Lark Rise to Candleford
Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series)
Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the...
and appeared on New Year's Day 2009 in "The Grinning Man
The Grinning Man (Jonathan Creek)
"The Grinning Man" is a feature-length episode of the BBC crime drama series Jonathan Creek, first broadcast on 1 January 2009. The episode marked the series' return to television following a five year hiatus, and saw the return of Alan Davies as the show's titular sleuth...
", a special episode of Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
, alongside Alan Davies
Alan Davies
Alan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
. She also appeared in The Judas Tree, an Easter special aired on 4 April 2010, playing the same character.
She was a regular in Benidorm series three
Benidorm (TV series)
Benidorm is an award-winning British television comedy-drama that is produced by Tiger Aspect for ITV and written by Derren Litten, co-writer of The Catherine Tate Show, exploiting the working-class stereotype of this popular tourist destination....
playing the Liverpudlian, Brandy in 2009.
During 2010 Smith acted as a mentor to the contestants of the BBC show Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow (2010 TV series)
Over the Rainbow is a British television talent series which aired on BBC One from March to May 2010. It documents the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Dorothy in the forthcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and a...
. She appeared as a guest on the BBC show The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
on 3 August 2010.
Sky Arts' Chekhov Comedy Shorts also featured Smith in 2010 when she starred in The Proposal, as Natasha (re-uniting her with Gavin and Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
actor Mathew Horne
Mathew Horne
Mathew Frazer Horne is an English actor, stand-up comedian, television presenter and narrator best known for appearing on several BBC sketch shows and sitcoms, most notably Gavin & Stacey portraying Gavin Shipman, The Catherine Tate Show, Teachers and Horne and Corden.-Early life:Horne was born...
). The programme was first shown on 28 November 2010.
Sheridan will make an appearance in the forthcoming movie Hysteria, which is due to be released in Autumn 2011. Her role will see her taking part in a three-and-a-half-minute orgasm scene. Sheridan is slated for a role in A Fantastic Fear of Everything
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
A Fantastic Fear of Everything is an upcoming film starring Simon Pegg, written and directed by Crispian Mills with Chris Hopewell as co-director. It has been described as a low-budget British "semicomedy" about a children’s author-turned crime novelist who has become obsessed with murder and...
, an upcoming film starring Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
.
With the return of Bizarre ER
Bizarre ER
Bizarre ER is a BBC Three television show that deals with hospital mishaps. It was narrated by Freema Agyeman and is now narrated by Sheridan Smith from Series 4 onwards....
Sheridan does the voice overs taking over from Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman is a British actress who is best known for playing Martha Jones, former companion of the Tenth Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and itsspin-off series Torchwood...
.
Smith has been named as part of the cast of the ITV1 film adaption of Daphne du Maurier's
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
novel The Scapegoat
The Scapegoat (2012 film)
The Scapegoat is an upcoming film adaption of Daphne du Maurier's 1957 novel of the same name, commissioned by ITV1. The drama is written and directed by Charles Sturridge and stars Matthew Rhys as lookalike characters John Standing and Johnny Spence....
.
Radio
Smith played companion Lucie MillerLucie Miller
Lucie Miller is a character in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions for BBC7 based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
alongside Paul McGann
Paul McGann
Paul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
's Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
in a radio series of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, produced by Big Finish
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
and transmitted on BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
from New Year's Eve 2006; the plays returned in a second series released on CD and scheduled for BBC7 broadcast. A third series of adventures for Lucie and the Doctor is coming in March 2009, as weekly half-hour downloads followed by a Christmas Special. She also appeared as Ruby Ruggles in the 2008 radio serial The Way We Live Right Now
The Way We Live Right Now
The Way We Live Right Now was an adaptation of the Anthony Trollope novel The Way We Live Now, re-setting it in the present day. It was written by Jonathan Myerson for the Woman's Hour serial.-Cast:*Henry Goodman - Ghassan Mehmoud...
, and took over the role of Tamsin Trelawny in series 2 of Elephants To Catch Eels
Elephants to Catch Eels
Elephants to Catch Eels was an historical situation comedy series broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003 and 2004. It was written by Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain and produced by Jan Ravens....
on BBC Radio4.
Theatre
Smith's theatre credits include the musical Into The Woods at London's Donmar WarehouseDonmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
, and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, in the City of Westminster, London, is a permanent venue with an annual sixteen-week summer season. It was founded in 1932 by Sydney Carroll and Robert Atkins.-The theatre:...
.
She also played Audrey in the stage production of Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
at The Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, from November 2006 which then moved to The Duke Of York's Theatre in March 2007, and due to a very successful run moved again at the end of June 2007 to The New Ambassadors Theatre, its run ended in September 2007. Smith received a nomination for the 2008 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, for her performance in the show.
Smith appeared as Vanessa in Tinderbox: a Revenge Comedy by Lucy Kirkwood
Lucy Kirkwood
Lucy Kirkwood is a British playwright. She is writer in residence at Clean Break Theatre Company.Kirkwood is from East London and has a degree in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh where she performed as part of the improvisational comedy troupe, The Improverts.-History:In 2005,...
at the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
, Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, in April 2008.
Smith originated the role of Elle Woods in the musical version of Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...
in its transfer from Broadway to London's West End in December 2009. Ex-Blue boyband member Duncan James
Duncan James
Duncan Matthew James Inglis is an English singer, actor and television presenter. He is best known as a member of the boyband Blue.-Early life:...
played opposite Smith until June 2010, when he was replaced by Richard Fleeshman
Richard Fleeshman
Richard Jonathan Fleeshman is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His television career began as a twelve year old, playing Craig Harris for four years in Coronation Street and most recently "All The Small Things"...
. Other cast members Sheridan has performed alongside include Aoife Mulholland
Aoife Mulholland
Aoife Mulholland is an Irish actress and musical theatre performer from Salthill, Galway. Aoife is a successful leading lady in London's West End...
as Brooke, Denise Van Outen
Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
as Paulette, Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
as Professor Callahan. Her performance was well received, the Daily Telegraph describing her as
Smith was originally supposed to leave Legally Blonde on 23 October 2010, but she extended her run to 8 January 2011, when Susan McFadden
Susan McFadden
Susan McFadden is an actress and singer born in Dublin, Ireland. She is known for playing the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical in London at the Savoy theatre.- Biography :...
took over the role.
For her role in Legally Blonde Smith won the whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical
Theatregoers' Choice Award
The Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards are organised by the theatre website Whatsonstage.com and recognise the performers and productions of British theatre with emphasis on London's West End. Nominations and eventual winners are selected by the theatre-going public....
. She was also nominated for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress and was the winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Between March and June 2011, she appeared in Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
's production of Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket as Doris, a former barmaid married to a Polish count in the RAF. The production was part of the playwright Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
's centenary year celebrations and also starred Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
and James Purefoy
James Purefoy
James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
. For this role she won the 2011 Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress.
As well as her role in Legally Blonde, Smith also performed the title role in the workshop productions of a new musical adaptation of Bridget Jones' Diary
Bridget Jones' Diary (musical)
Bridget Jones' Diary is a musical based on the award-winning book and film of the same name. The show is due to open in London's West End in 2012, although no date has been officially confirmed.-Development:...
. She has stated that the musical will not reach the stage until 2012, with Smith taking on the title role in what would be the original London cast.
Personal life
Smith was in a relationship with James CordenJames Corden
James Kimberley Corden is an English actor, television writer, producer and presenter. He is co-creator and star of BBC comedy shows Gavin & Stacey and Horne & Corden, and acted in the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers....
, which ended in June 2009.
On 6 March 2010, in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Smith revealed that she and Scottish actor Ross McCall
Ross McCall
Ross McCall is a Scottish actor notable for his role as T-5. Joseph Liebgott in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.-Career:...
had begun dating after a 10 year friendship. However she spoke to The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
in August of the same year and revealed that they had split up due to the pressure of a long distance relationship.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Dark Ages Dark Ages (TV series) Dark Ages is a British television sitcom, first broadcast as five thirty-minute episodes on ITV in December 1999. It portrayed medieval English villagers fearful of the turn of the new millennium in the year 999 AD, and parodied contemporary fears at the turn of the third millennium in 1999... |
Matilda |
| 1999–2000 | The Royle Family The Royle Family The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards... |
Emma Kavanagh |
| 2001–2009 | Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps was a BBC sitcom created and written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and initially revolves around the lives of five twenty-somethings, played by Ralf Little , Sheridan Smith , Will Mellor , Natalie Casey and... |
Janet Keogh (née Smith) |
| 2003 | Eyes Down Eyes Down Eyes Down is a comedy starring Paul O'Grady as Ray Temple, the manager of a bingo hall in Liverpool, England called The Rio, although the series was filmed in Rayners Lane in London. Although it had moderate ratings, the programme only lasted for two series until it was cancelled by the BBC in 2004... |
Sandy Beech |
| 2004 | Mile High Mile High Mile High is a British television drama based on the lives of the cabin crew members of "fresh!", a budget airline based in London. The name of the show comes from the "Mile High Club". The show was broadcast on Sky1 from 2003 to 2005.-Background:... |
Suzie |
| 2005 | The Lenny Henry Show The Lenny Henry Show The Lenny Henry Show is a comedy sketch show featuring Lenny Henry. In its first incarnation it ran for two seasons on BBC 1, in 1984 and 1985. Each season had six episodes. A 40-minute special was aired in December 1987... |
M.E. Westmocott |
| 2005 | The Comic Strip The Comic Strip The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and... — "Sex Actually" |
Angie |
| 2005–2008 | Love Soup Love Soup Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert... |
Cleo Martin |
| 2006–2009 | Grownups | Michelle Booth |
| 2008–2010 | Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also... |
Ruth "Rudi" Smith |
| 2008 | Lark Rise to Candleford Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series) Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the... |
Cinderella Doe |
| 2009–present | Jonathan Creek Jonathan Creek Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches... (The Grinning Man & The Judas Tree) |
Joey Ross |
| 2009 | Benidorm Benidorm (TV series) Benidorm is an award-winning British television comedy-drama that is produced by Tiger Aspect for ITV and written by Derren Litten, co-writer of The Catherine Tate Show, exploiting the working-class stereotype of this popular tourist destination.... |
Brandy |
| 2010 | The Alan Titchmarsh Show The Alan Titchmarsh Show The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime TV chat show broadcast between 3 and 4pm weekdays on the ITV Network.-Format:The programme made its debut on ITV in 2007. It focused on the theme of "The Best of British" focusing on food, entertainment and celebrities in a mid-afternoon slot... |
Elle Woods & Herself |
| 2011 | The One Show The One Show The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday... |
Herself |
| 2011 | Bizarre ER Bizarre ER Bizarre ER is a BBC Three television show that deals with hospital mishaps. It was narrated by Freema Agyeman and is now narrated by Sheridan Smith from Series 4 onwards.... |
Narrator |
| 2011 | Hysteria Hysteria (2011 film) Hysteria is a British romantic comedy film directed by Tanya Wexler. It stars Felicity Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy. The film, set in the Victorian era, is about the invention of the vibrator... |
Molly "the Lolly" |
| 2011 | How To Stop Being A Loser How to Stop Being a Loser How To Stop Being a Loser is a British independent comedy starring Billy Murray, Richard E. Grant, Simon Phillips, Colin Salmon, and Gemma Atkinson.-Plot:James is useless with women, but his luck changes under the tutelage of pick-up artist, Ampersand... |
Lisa |
| 2012 | The Scapegoat The Scapegoat (2012 film) The Scapegoat is an upcoming film adaption of Daphne du Maurier's 1957 novel of the same name, commissioned by ITV1. The drama is written and directed by Charles Sturridge and stars Matthew Rhys as lookalike characters John Standing and Johnny Spence.... |
Awards
- 2009 - Laurence Olivier AwardsLaurence Olivier AwardsThe Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
: Best Actress in a Musical - Audrey, Little Shop of Horrors (Nomination) - 2010 - Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress - Elle Woods, Legally Blonde (Nomination)
- 2011 - Laurence Olivier AwardsLaurence Olivier AwardsThe Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
: Best Actress in a Musical - Elle Woods, Legally Blonde (WINNER) - 2011 - Theatregoers' Choice AwardTheatregoers' Choice AwardThe Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards are organised by the theatre website Whatsonstage.com and recognise the performers and productions of British theatre with emphasis on London's West End. Nominations and eventual winners are selected by the theatre-going public....
: Best Actress in a Musical - Elle Woods, Legally Blonde (WINNER) - 2011 - Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress - Doris, Flare Path (WINNER)