Jessica Regan

Last updated

Jessica Regan
Born (1982-02-24) 24 February 1982 (age 41)
Kilkenny, Ireland
Education
OccupationActress
Years active2004–present
Television Doctors

Jessica Regan (born 24 February 1982) is an Irish actress, known for portraying the role of Niamh Donoghue in the BBC soap opera Doctors . For her portrayal of the role, she won the award for Best Female Acting Performance at the 2014 RTS Midlands Awards, as well as the award for Best Newcomer at the 2015 British Soap Awards. Following her departure from Doctors, she starred in the BBC series Ill Behaviour . Regan also has numerous stage credits, having starred in productions including Blood and Gifts and Long Day's Journey into Night .

Contents

Life and career

Regan was born on 24 February 1982 [1] in Kilkenny, and grew up in Tipperary. She attended University College Cork (UCC), since the majority of her family live in Cork. [2] At UCC, she studied English and History. [3] In 2004, at the age of 22, Regan made her stage debut as Charlotte in a one-woman production of The Yellow Wallpaper . She described the show as the "catalyst" for her motivation to begin acting professionally, stating: "I wasn't sure if I had the ability or the stomach for acting and The Yellow Wallpaper helped me to figure that out". [4] Afterwards, she told her parents that she wanted to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, to which she stated that they were "not surprised". [4] She then borrowed the money for the train fare to Dublin from her parents in order to audition for a place at RADA, to which she was accepted. [2]

Regan made her television debut in the Channel 4 television film Ladies and Gentlemen in 2007, after graduating from RADA. [5] In 2007, she made a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC daytime soap opera Doctors . [6] Then in 2008, she appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Laura. [4] In 2013, she appeared in another episode of Doctors. [7] The following year, she was cast as a regular character in the soap, Dr. Niamh Donoghue. [8] On the casting process, Regan expressed her shock at the casting call, since they wanted an Irish actress aged 30 to 33, which she found to be rare in her experience, especially with the role being regular. [2] For her portrayal of the role, she won the award for the Best Female Acting Performance at the 2014 RTS Midlands Awards, [9] as well as the award for Best Newcomer at the 2015 British Soap Awards. [10] Her other nominations include the British Soap Award for Best Actress and Best On-Screen Partnership, alongside co-star Ian Midlane. [11] In 2016, after two years on the soap, Regan announced her departure from the role. She confirmed that the decision was her own, and her character departed from the series in April 2016 after being fired from her job. [12] In 2017, she starred in the BBC comedy-drama series Ill Behaviour , [13] [14] and appeared in an episode of the BBC drama Casualty the following year. [15]

Stage

YearTitleRoleVenueRef.
2004–2005 The Yellow Wallpaper CharlotteMall Arts Centre [4]
2009The FlagsUrsula Royal Court [16]
2010 Blood and Gifts Cal Foster National Theatre [17]
2011 The Cherry Orchard EnsembleNational Theatre [18]
2012The KitchenCynthiaNational Theatre [5]
2012Stars in the Morning SkyAnna Belgrade Theatre [19]
2012CoalitionClaudia HoodPleasance [5]
2013 Liolà Tuzza AzzaraNational Theatre [20]
2016 Henry V Montjoy Regent's Park Open Air Theatre [21]
2017 Long Day's Journey into Night Cathleen Wyndham's Theatre [22]
2019The Sweet Science of BruisingMatilda Blackwell Southwark Playhouse [23]
2020The Year of the MonkeyVarious Chelsea Physic Garden [24]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007Ladies and GentlemenSusannaTelevision film
2007 Doctors Lisa GearyEpisode: "Post Mortem"
2008 Peep Show Actress in PlayEpisode: "Burgling"
2008 EastEnders Laura 1 episode
2009 The Wrong Door Various3 episodes
2009 No Signal! 3 episodes
2010 Silent Witness PC Justine Gould2 episodes
2012ExecutionMolly Childers
2013DoctorsPhilomena CaffreyEpisode: "Child Proof"
2014–2016Doctors Niamh Donoghue Series regular
2014 This Morning HerselfGuest
2017 Call the Midwife Nurse Leonard1 episode
2017Halloween Comedy ShortsCarolineEpisode: "It Should Have Been Me"
2017Nowhere FastYvonneMain role
2017 Ill Behaviour TessMain role
2018 Celebrity Mastermind HerselfContestant
2018 Casualty Maxine O'Boyle1 episode
2020Ma'am Queen Victoria Short film

Audio

YearTitleRolePlatform
2010The Cider QueensMartina Beausang RTÉ Radio 1
2011A Time to DanceJill Gladstone BBC Radio 4
2013 Soul Sacrifice VariousVideo game
2016 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine Sarah GodleyVideo game
2017 Nioh SaoirseVideo game
2017The Guilty FeministHerselfPodcast
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla VariousVideo game
2023 No One Saw A Thing VariousAudio Book

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2014 RTS Midlands Awards Best Acting Performance – FemaleDoctorsWon [9]
2015 The British Soap Awards Best Actress DoctorsLonglisted [25]
2015The British Soap Awards Best Newcomer DoctorsWon [26]
2015The British Soap AwardsBest On-Screen Partnership
(with Ian Midlane)
DoctorsNominated [26]
2015 Inside Soap Awards Best Daytime StarDoctorsLonglisted [27]

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