Miranda Raison
Encyclopedia
Early life
Born in Burnham ThorpeBurnham Thorpe
Burnham Thorpe is a small village and civil parish on the River Burn and near the coast of Norfolk in the United Kingdom. It is famous for being the birthplace of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, victor at the Battle of Trafalgar and one of Britain's greatest heroes...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, her father Nick Raison is a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and artist, while her mother Caroline read the news for Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
. She has two brothers and two sisters: Ed (who is a member of the Lost Levels), Rosie, Sam and May. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, and her father remarried and lives in Suffolk. She attended Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Felixstowe College and Stowe School
Stowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
.
Raison trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
.
TV and theatre
She is best known for her role as Jo PortmanJo Portman
Joanna "Jo" Portman was a fictional Field Operative in the Counter-Terrorism department at MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks, also known as MI5 in the United States. She was played by Miranda Raison...
in the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
television drama series Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
in which she appeared between 2005 and 2010.
In 2005 she appeared in the four-part BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy series Deep Trouble as Petty Officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
Lucy Radcliffe.
In April 2007, she appeared in two episodes 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...
, "Daleks in Manhattan
Daleks in Manhattan
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...
" and "Evolution of the Daleks
Evolution of the Daleks
"Evolution of the Daleks" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 April 2007, and is the fifth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is the conclusion of the two-part story begun in "Daleks in...
". Her character Tallulah was a show girl, whose opening scene was on stage dancing and singing to a musical number—her father, Nick Raison, played the piano background as part of the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra. She was a guest on the second series of Totally Doctor Who
Totally Doctor Who
Totally Doctor Who is a children's television series produced by the BBC that was originally broadcast between 13 April 2006 and 29 June 2007, accompanying the second and third revived series of Doctor Who. No episodes have been produced following the third series...
in episode 4. She has also voice acted in two Big Finish
Big Finish
Big Finish may refer to:* Big Finish Productions, a British company that produces books and audio plays based on science fiction properties* Big Finish Games, the production company behind the Three Cards to Midnight adventure game...
Doctor Who Audios titled: "The Davros Mission
The Davros Mission
The Davros Mission is a Doctor Who audio play written and directed by Nicholas Briggs exclusive to the Complete Davros Collection DVD box set released on 26 November 2007. It is set between the Sixth Doctor audio play The Juggernauts and the Seventh Doctor television story Remembrance of the...
" and "The Wreck of the Titan (audio drama)
The Wreck of the Titan (audio drama)
The Wreck of the Titan is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:...
".
In 2007 she appeared in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
series Comedy Showcase
Comedy Showcase
Comedy Showcase is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier Comedy Playhouse....
of six episodes of "Plus One
Plus One (TV series)
Plus One is a British sitcom written and created by Tim Allsop & Stewart Williams and made by Kudos for Channel 4. A pilot was originally transmitted in 2007 as part of Channel 4's Comedy Showcase, while a full series of 5 episodes began transmitting in January 2009;The programme centres itself...
", alongside 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:...
, Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
and Nigel Harman
Nigel Harman
Nigel Derek Harman is an English actor, most famous for his role as Dennis Rickman in the UK soap opera EastEnders. He has worked extensively in theatre, with the stage being described as his "first love"...
.
In 2010 she starred in the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
Married Single Other
Married Single Other
Married Single Other is a British television drama created and written by Peter Souter. The series is based on the lives of group of people who are either married, single or "other", other being defined as in a relationship. It began airing on Monday 22 February 2010 at on ITV1 and UTV...
. Raison played the title role in Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (play)
Anne Boleyn is a 2010 play on the life of Anne Boleyn by the English author Howard Brenton, which premiered at the Shakespeare's Globe from 24 July to 21 August 2010 in a production directed by John Dove and with the title role played by Miranda Raison...
, a new play by Howard Brenton which premiered at Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
on July 24, 2010, to much critical acclaim.
She returned to the BBC1 in "Sugartown", a three part comedy/drama, aired on BBC1 in 2011, and again in crime comedy-drama Death in Paradise
Death in Paradise (TV series)
Death in Paradise is a crime drama/comedy joint UK/French television programme filmed in Guadeloupe, the first overseas region of France, starring Ben Miller and Sara Martins.-Synopsis:...
.
She returned to Shakespeare's Globe to re-appear in the title role of the award-winning Anne Boleyn by Howard Brenton (see above) through July and August 2011 following the sell-out performances of 2010.
She will play the role of Isolde in fourth series the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama "Merlin (TV Series)
Merlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
, which will begin airing in October 2011.
Film
Raison starred alongside Scarlett JohanssonScarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's film Match Point
Match Point
Match Point is a 2005 dramatic thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton....
in 2005 and appeared in Land of the Blind with Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
in 2006.
Since leaving Webber Douglas Academy, she has not worked outside acting.
Personal life
Raison married fellow SpooksSpooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
actor Raza Jaffrey
Raza Jaffrey
Raza Jaffrey is a British actor, most notable for playing the character of Zafar Younis in the BBC1 television spy drama Spooks / MI-5.-Early life:...
in Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
in September 2007, shortly after he left the show. In July 2009, they announced they had separated and were seeking a divorce.
External links
- Miranda Raison at the bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
official SpooksSpooksSpooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
website.