Nicola Walker
Encyclopedia
Nicola Walker is an English
actress, best known for her starring roles in various British television
programmes from the 1990s onwards, particularly as Ruth Evershed
in the spy drama Spooks
. She has also worked in theatre, radio and film.
in the East End of London
, she has an older brother. Walker attended Forest School, Walthamstow
, and undertook acting classes from aged 12 to speak to boys. Walker then attended New Hall, Cambridge
, where she started her acting career with the Cambridge Footlights. Her contemporaries included Spooks writer David Wolstencroft
and comedian Sue Perkins
, who were all part of the 1990 national tour.
, on graduation from Cambridge she already had some roles and an agent, so decided to persue her career. Based in London, she shared a flat with Perkins, Sarah Phelps
and Emma Kennedy
, acting at the Edinburgh Festival
and the London Festival Fringe
.
Her first major television roles were in 1997, as Gypsy Jones in Channel 4's adaptation of A Dance To The Music Of Time
, and as English teacher Suzy Travis in two series of Steven Moffat
's school-based sitcom Chalk
. She has also appeared in guest roles in episodes of series such as Dalziel and Pascoe
, Jonathan Creek
, Pie in the Sky and Broken News
.
She got the leading part of DI Susan Taylor in the ITV
thriller serial Touching Evil
in 1997, co-starring opposite Robson Green
. She also appeared in its two sequel serials in 1998 and 1999. Also in 1999, she took the lead role in the post-apocalyptic drama serial The Last Train
, also screened on ITV (and written by future Spooks writer Matthew Graham
). Also in 2003, Walker played Molly
in the BBC Radio adaptation of Neuromancer
by William Gibson
.
In 2003, with the production team of Kudos Television
looking to replace the character of Jenny Agutter
from Series1 of Spooks, the part of Ruth Evershed
was specially written for her from Series2. She remained with the show until the fifth series, during the production of which it was announced she was expecting her first child and would be leaving. She returned in 2009, and continued until the series ended in 2011.
In 2007 she had a prominent supporting role as a child snatcher in the ITV1 drama serial Torn
and appeared in the BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist.
In film
, her roles have tended to be smaller supporting parts. Her most prominent role has been as the irritating folk singer in Four Weddings and a Funeral
(1994), who sings "Can't Smile Without You
" at the first wedding. She also appeared in the feature film adaptation of the classic television series Thunderbirds
(2004).
In 2008 she appeared in Gethsemane, a new play by David Hare
at the National Theatre
.
In 2009 she appeared as a maid in a new BBC adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of The Screw", which also starred Michelle Dockery and Sue Johnston. In 2010 she appeared as a beleaguered wife (Linda Shand) of a murderer in an episode of the BBC1 crime thriller Luther
.
From December 2010 to March 2011 she played Rachel in Alan Ayckbourn
's Season's Greetings at the National Theatre
.
In February 2011, she appeared as nervous social worker Wendy in the BBC TV series "Being Human
". From October to November 2011, she played Viv in Amelia Bullmore
's new play "Di, Viv, and Rose" in the Hampstead Theatre
's smaller studio theatre, as part of the Hampstead Downstairs scheme.
. The couple have a son Harry (born 2006), who is named after Harry Pearce
, the character of her co-star Peter Firth
in Spooks.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress, best known for her starring roles in various British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
programmes from the 1990s onwards, particularly as Ruth Evershed
Ruth Evershed
Ruth Evershed was a fictional Senior Intelligence Analyst seconded from GCHQ to MI5, featured in the British Television Series Spooks, also known as MI-5 in the United States. Ruth was played by Nicola Walker from the time the character joined the show in 2003, until Walker left to have a baby in...
in the spy drama 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...
. She has also worked in theatre, radio and film.
Early life
Born in StepneyStepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
, she has an older brother. Walker attended Forest School, Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
, and undertook acting classes from aged 12 to speak to boys. Walker then attended New Hall, Cambridge
New Hall, Cambridge
Murray Edwards College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It was founded as "New Hall" in 1954, at a time when Cambridge had the lowest proportion of women undergraduates of any university in the United Kingdom, and when only two other colleges admitted women...
, where she started her acting career with the Cambridge Footlights. Her contemporaries included Spooks writer David Wolstencroft
David Wolstencroft
David Wolstencroft is a Scottish television writer and author. He is best known as creator of the BAFTA award-winning TV spy drama Spooks and its spin-off series, Spooks: Code 9. Wolstencroft was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1969 and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, later going on to read history at...
and comedian Sue Perkins
Sue Perkins
Sue Perkins is an English comedienne, broadcaster, actress, and writer.-Education:Perkins was educated at Croham Hurst School, an independent school for girls in Croydon in South London, at the same time as the BBC Breakfast News presenter Susanna Reid...
, who were all part of the 1990 national tour.
Career
Offered a place at RADARada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
, on graduation from Cambridge she already had some roles and an agent, so decided to persue her career. Based in London, she shared a flat with Perkins, Sarah Phelps
Sarah Phelps
Sarah Phelps is a British television, radio, film and freelance playwright who was working for the Royal Shakespeare Company when she took part in a BBC initiative to find new writers...
and Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy is an English actress, writer and television presenter....
, acting at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
and the London Festival Fringe
London Festival Fringe
The London Fringe Festival is a fringe festival that promotes art and theatre in London, England. In addition to helping artists and performers stage their work, the festival runs a series of awards in Jazz Music, Theatre , Comedy and Film.-Origins:...
.
Her first major television roles were in 1997, as Gypsy Jones in Channel 4's adaptation of A Dance To The Music Of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim...
, and as English teacher Suzy Travis in two series of Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
's school-based sitcom Chalk
Chalk (TV series)
Chalk is a British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series, both written by Steven Moffat, were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997...
. She has also appeared in guest roles in episodes of series such as Dalziel and Pascoe
Dalziel and Pascoe (BBC TV series)
Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives...
, 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...
, Pie in the Sky and Broken News
Broken News
Broken News is a comedy programme shown on BBC Two in autumn 2005 and in Australia on SBS-TV from the 17 July 2006. The show poked fun at the world of 24-hour rolling news channels. The title of the show is a play on the phrase "Breaking News". It had six thirty-minute episodes...
.
She got the leading part of DI Susan Taylor in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
thriller serial Touching Evil
Touching Evil
Touching Evil is a British television drama serial, which began airing in 1997. It was produced by United Productions for Anglia Television, and screened on the ITV network. The first series consisted of six fifty-minute episodes. It was created by Paul Abbott, and written by Abbott with Russell T...
in 1997, co-starring opposite Robson Green
Robson Green
Robson Green is an English actor, singer–songwriter and presenter.-Biography:Robson Golightly Green was born in Hexham, Northumberland, and baptised in Bethel Chapel, , and named in Northeast tradition as first son after family surnames: Robson is his grandmother's maiden surname, while Golightly...
. She also appeared in its two sequel serials in 1998 and 1999. Also in 1999, she took the lead role in the post-apocalyptic drama serial The Last Train
The Last Train
The Last Train is a British six-part post-apocalyptic television drama serial first broadcast on the ITV network in 1999. It has since been repeated on ITV2 in 1999/2001 and on numerous occasions on the UK Sci-Fi Channel...
, also screened on ITV (and written by future Spooks writer Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
). Also in 2003, Walker played Molly
Molly Millions
Molly Millions is a recurring character in stories and novels written by William Gibson, particularly his Sprawl trilogy. She first appeared in Johnny Mnemonic, to which she makes an oblique reference in Neuromancer...
in the BBC Radio adaptation of Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
by William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
.
In 2003, with the production team of Kudos Television
Kudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
looking to replace the character of Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
from Series1 of Spooks, the part of Ruth Evershed
Ruth Evershed
Ruth Evershed was a fictional Senior Intelligence Analyst seconded from GCHQ to MI5, featured in the British Television Series Spooks, also known as MI-5 in the United States. Ruth was played by Nicola Walker from the time the character joined the show in 2003, until Walker left to have a baby in...
was specially written for her from Series2. She remained with the show until the fifth series, during the production of which it was announced she was expecting her first child and would be leaving. She returned in 2009, and continued until the series ended in 2011.
In 2007 she had a prominent supporting role as a child snatcher in the ITV1 drama serial Torn
Torn (TV series)
Torn was a three-part original television drama series, which was broadcast on ITV from 19 September 2007 to 3 October 2007. The drama has been subject to controversy due to the fact it claims to be based on actual events. It has been criticised because of its similarities to the disappearance of...
and appeared in the BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist.
In film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, her roles have tended to be smaller supporting parts. Her most prominent role has been as the irritating folk singer in Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
(1994), who sings "Can't Smile Without You
Can't Smile Without You
"Can't Smile Without You" is a song written by Christian Arnold, David Martin, and Geoff Morrow, best known in its rendition by Barry Manilow."Can't Smile Without You" was the first single to be released from Manilow's album Even Now in 1977...
" at the first wedding. She also appeared in the feature film adaptation of the classic television series Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
(2004).
In 2008 she appeared in Gethsemane, a new play by David Hare
David Hare (dramatist)
Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Early life:Hare was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Hare, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing, an independent school in West Sussex, and at Jesus College, Cambridge...
at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
.
In 2009 she appeared as a maid in a new BBC adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of The Screw", which also starred Michelle Dockery and Sue Johnston. In 2010 she appeared as a beleaguered wife (Linda Shand) of a murderer in an episode of the BBC1 crime thriller Luther
Luther (TV series)
Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as the title character Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. A first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC One from 4 May to 8 June 2010. The second series of four episodes was shown on BBC One in summer 2011...
.
From December 2010 to March 2011 she played Rachel in Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
's Season's Greetings at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
.
In February 2011, she appeared as nervous social worker Wendy in the BBC TV series "Being Human
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...
". From October to November 2011, she played Viv in Amelia Bullmore
Amelia Bullmore
Amelia Bullmore is an English actress and writer. She was born in London and studied drama at the University of Manchester. Bullmore started working as an actor but turned to writing in 1995...
's new play "Di, Viv, and Rose" in the Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
's smaller studio theatre, as part of the Hampstead Downstairs scheme.
Personal life
She is married to actor Barnaby KayBarnaby Kay
Barnaby Kay is a British actor noted for his roles in television, stage and film, and as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.Kay is the son of the actor Richard Kay , and the grandson of entertainer Arthur Kay...
. The couple have a son Harry (born 2006), who is named after Harry Pearce
Harry Pearce
Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce KBE is the fictional head of the Counter-Terrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks...
, the character of her co-star Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
in Spooks.
External links
- Nicola Walker profile on the 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 at 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...
. - Nicola Walker profile on the bbc.co.uk Drama Faces website.