Fiona Allen

Last updated

Fiona Allen
Born (1965-03-13) 13 March 1965 (age 58)
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian
Years active1988–present
SpouseMichael Parkinson
Children3
Relatives Harry Allen (grandfather)

Fiona Allen (born 13 March 1965) is an English comedian and actress, [1] most known for her work on Channel 4's Smack the Pony between 1999 and 2003.

Contents

Career

Allen has appeared in many sketch shows, including We Know Where You Live (Channel 5), Smack the Pony (Channel 4), [2] Goodness Gracious Me and The All Star Comedy Show . She has also appeared in many television dramas including Dalziel and Pascoe and Coronation Street , [3] as well as the sitcom Happiness alongside Paul Whitehouse. [2] Subsequently, she appeared as Sandra, in the film version [3] of the Viz comic strip The Fat Slags , and as a panelist on one episode of Mock the Week . [3]

Allen appeared in the first episode of the second series of the E4 teenage drama Skins , playing Maxxie's mum Jackie Oliver. [3] She also appeared in BBC drama Waterloo Road as Georgia Stevenson, playing the former lover of Tom Clarkson. [3] From 2019 to 2020, she portrayed Michaela Turnbull in the BBC soap opera EastEnders . [4]

Allen performed her debut stand up show, On The Run, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023. [5]

Personal life

Her mother was born in Spain. Allen is married to the son of TV chat show host Michael Parkinson, also named Michael. [2] Together they have three daughters, with one being named Felix.

In the late 1980s she worked as the box office manager at the Manchester nightclub the Haçienda, ran the Area (Factory Records' shop) at Affleck's Palace and makes a brief appearance playing herself in the film 24 Hour Party People . [6]

In 2022, Allen returned to performing live stand-up comedy at The Stand-Up Club in Piccadilly, London. [7]

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References

  1. Thompson, Ben (6 May 2010). Sunshine on Putty: The Golden Age of British Comedy from Vic Reeves to The Office. HarperCollins UK. pp. 490–. ISBN   9780007375530 . Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fiona Allen: Why I want to dump my husband". The Independent . 12 January 2003. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Comedians: Fiona Allen". emptagehallett.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  4. "EastEnders' Whitney gets a harrowing blast from the past in Albert Square returnee". Radio Times . Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. "'It's just nice not to pick up my husband's socks' - Smack The Pony escapes to Fringe". The Herald . 20 July 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  6. "Factory records: Fiona Allen". factoryrecords.org. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  7. "Comedians: Fiona Allen". thestandupclub.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2023.