Julia Davis
English actress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julia Davis (born 25 August 1966) is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She wrote and starred in comedies including Human Remains (2000), Nighty Night (2004–2005), Hunderby (2012–2015), Camping (2016), and Sally4Ever (2018). She is known for her dark or black comedy.
- Actress
- comedian
- director
- writer
- Nighty Night (2004–5)
- Hunderby (2012–15)
- Camping (2016)
- Sally4Ever (2018)
Julia Davis | |
|---|---|
Davis in 2019 | |
| Born | August 25, 1966 England |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Known for |
|
| Partner | Julian Barratt (2000–present) |
| Children | 2 |
She is a nine-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won Best Comedy Writing for Hunderby in 2013 and the 2018 British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy for Sally4Ever. She has also received two RTS Awards and three British Comedy Awards. In addition to acting in her own works, she has appeared in a variety of other British television comedies, most notably portraying Dawn Sutcliffe in Gavin & Stacey (2007–2009, 2019, 2024). Her film roles include Love Actually (2003), Cemetery Junction (2010), Four Lions (2010), Phantom Thread (2017), and The Toxic Avenger (2023).
Early life and education
Julia Davis was born in England[a] in 25 August 1966.[5][1] She was born in South London, grew up in Guildford, before moving to Bath, Somerset.[6] Her mother was a secretary, and her father a civil servant.[2] She was raised in the Church of England.[7] She describes her childhood as "normal" and "quite suburban".[8] However, she has also said she had quite an "extreme mother", which means she grew up feeling quite insecure.[6] Growing up, she thought she would become a teacher, although she hated school.[9]
Davis sang in various folk bands as a teenager.[3] Her first band was called "Hand-Knitted Air Rifles".
After studying for a degree in English and Drama at the College of Ripon and York St John, she returned to Bath because she became ill ("something between glandular fever and ME...some unknown viral...").[6] She began working "dead-end jobs",[2] including teaching, nannying, bartending, cleaning and selling "massive mobile phones".[10][11]
Career
1998–2000: Career beginnings
Davis decided to become a comedian after her long illness.[1] Davis also cites Julie Walters as giving her the confidence to pursue a career in comedy.[12]
She joined a local drama group in Bath, where she met Jane Roth.[6] Davis and Roth left the group and they started a comedy double-act The Sisters of Percy.[2] They did around six shows around Bath and Glastonbury.[6] When Davis was around 25/26, her and Roth both joined an improv troupe, which included Welsh radio DJ (now actor and comedian) Rob Brydon and comedian and actress Ruth Jones.[2][13] The group also included actor Toby Longworth and his then-girlfriend radio producer Liz Ansty.[6] Ansty was making a show called Five Squeezy Pieces for BBC Radio 4,[14] which she got Davis involved with.[6] The series was an all-female sketch comedy show, with Meera Syal, Arabella Weir, Maria McErlane, and Claire Calman.[7][15][16][2]
Davis first appeared on television in the BBC sketch show Comedy Nation (1998).[1] Arabella Weir introduced Davis to Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan who placed her as a regular cast member in the television sketch show Big Train (1998) with Chris Morris.[15][17][18] Chris Morris then cast her for his 1997–1999 radio series Blue Jam, its successor March–April 2000 TV show Jam, and Brass Eye.[2] As a result of her introductions to various people in television and sending videotapes of her sketches to the BBC,[11] in 1998, her agent sent a tape of various characters to Steve Coogan, he invited her to write for and participate in his shows during his 1998 national tour.[2][10][6]
Davis went on to appear in many comedy television shows including Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible (2001), I'm Alan Partridge (2002), I Am Not an Animal (2004), Ideal (2005) and Nathan Barley (2005).[19][20]
Human Remains (2000)
In November 2000, Human Remains, a dark comedy television series produced by Steve Coogan's production company Baby Cow[1], co-written by and co-starring Rob Brydon and Davis, debuted on BBC Two.[citation needed] It was produced by Alison MacPhail.[21]
The series consisted of six fake documentaries (across six episodes),[21] where Brydon and Davis played six different couples talking to camera about their unusual relationships.[18] The scripts were mostly written through improvisation.[10]
Davis won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Performance for the series.[20]
Nighty Night (2004–2005)
Henry Normal from Baby Cow suggested to Davis that she write something on her own, and write a half-hour pilot.[10][21] In 2004 and 2005, Davis wrote and starred in two series of the BBC Three dark comedy Nighty Night. The show is centred on her character of peroxide "blonde" sociopathic beauty therapist Jill Tyrell.[1] The show came out of a lot of improvisation work between Davis and Jane Stannis.[10]
The character of Jill was inspired by a mixture of things, including: the character Beverly from Human Remains;[21] and Davis' job in the Finance department of Bath University.[10] She said that "Most of Jill is an amalgam of women I've seen or worked with in the West Country".[7] Ruth Jones' character, Linda, was also a development of one of her characters in Human Remains.[21] The character of Don was originally offered to Colin Firth, who did not respond to the offer.
The show was produced by Alison MacPhail, who had also produced Human Remains.[21] The first series took three years to write. Davis' approach to writing is to writing scenes, rather than an overarching story. Jill's costume was created by Claire Finlay.
Davis was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance, and a British Comedy Award for Best Actress, and won a Royal Society of Television Award for Best Comedy Writer.[1][11][20]
Davis was not happy with the second series, saying that "it was too ridiculous".[3] However, she has said she has had ideas for a third series.[22]
Davis has said that commissioning has changed significantly since Nighty Night, and she doubts it would have been commissioned in today's climate.[23]
2007–2010: Gavin & Stacey and other
From 2007 to 2009, she played Dawn Sutcliffe in Gavin & Stacey, a role which she reprised in 2019 for a Christmas special and in 2024 in the finale.[citation needed] She also featured in a behind-the-scenes documentary about the finale.[24] When the first series was filmed, Davis was six weeks pregnant with twins.
In 2006, Davis appeared on Little Britain Abroad as a sexy Russian mail-order bride called Ivanka.[citation needed]
In 2009, Davis appeared, in the guise of Steve Coogan's personal assistant Debbie Bidwoden, in the TV film Steve Coogan – The Inside Story.[25][26]
In 2009, Davis starred in a short film with Richard Ayoade for See Africa Differently, a campaign to showcase the under-reported progress from Africa.[27]
Lizzie & Sarah (2010)
In 2010, she co-wrote and co-starred in Lizzie and Sarah with Jessica Hynes.[3][28][29] It came out an improvised show they did together for Resonance FM.[6] The pilot is about two middle-class housewives, who are treated badly by their husbands, who wreak revenge on all who have crossed them. The pilot aired on 20 March 2010 on BBC Two at 11:45pm. It was made by Baby Cow Productions, produced by Alison MacPhail, and directed by Elliot Hegarty.
The pilot received no publicity around its transmission, and, Vice says, the "BBC buried it in a graveyard slot".[3] It was considered even darker than Davis's previous work.[30] The Guardian described it as saying "it makes Nighty Night look like The Wind in the Willows and is perhaps the most challenging comedy Davis has written."[31] Despite a Facebook campaign, the BBC did not commission a series.[31][9] Davis was disappointed about this.[3] The Guardian said that the pilot was "beautifully observed", "brave and hilarious" and its "familiarity...makes it both so painful and so funny".[29]
In 2010, Julia Davis and Jessica Hynes performed as their characters from Lizzie and Sarah for the "Angina Monologues", a British comedy show featuring Victoria Wood about women's heart disease.[32][33]
2011–2015: Psychobitches, Morning Has Broken
Davis starred in productions such as: the short film For the Love of God (2007);[34] The Alan Clark Diaries; and Persuasion, an adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.[35]
In 2006, Davis starred in the television film Fear of Fanny, in which she played the celebrity chef Fanny Cradock.[1] It was directed by Coky Giedroyc.[20] Davis was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor for her performance.
In December 2011, Davis appeared in "Fifteen Million Merits", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror, as Judge Charity on the fictional talent show Hot Shot.[36]
On 22 December 2011, she appeared as Anne Yeaman in the Christmas special and finale of the BBC Three comedy How Not to Live Your Life.[37]
On 26 August 2012, Davis appeared in the pilot episode of Bad Sugar on Channel 4.[38] A full series was set to air in 2013, but was cancelled due to availability of the cast and writers.[39]
In 2013, Davis played various characters in BBC sketch show It's Kevin and in Psychobitches (Part of Playhouse Presents) on Sky Arts.[citation needed] She appeared in the Inside No. 9 episode "The Understudy" (Series 1; Episode 5) as a stage manager.[40]
In 2014, Davis starred as an eccentric mother alongside Al Roberts (Stath Lets Flats) in the comedy short film The Bird, co-directed by Ben Target and Joe Parham.[41]
In 2014, Davis co-wrote (with Nick Mohammed) and starred in a pilot for Channel 4 called Morning Has Broken, about a self-centred daytime TV host.[42] It was inspired by daytime TV, particularly Lorraine Kelly's presenting.[43] The pilot starred, alongside Davis and Mohammed: Georgie Glen, Seb Cardinal (Cardinal Burns), Jamie Demetriou and Asim Chaudhry.[42] A full series of Morning Has Broken was commissioned but was not made. It was meant to star David Schwimmer as a US producer, alongside Davis.[43]
In 2015, Davis and Marc Wootton created and starred in BBC Radio 4 comedy series Couples, about couples in therapy.
Hunderby (2012, 2015)
Davis created, wrote and starred in Hunderby, which aired for two series on Sky Atlantic in 2012 and 2015.[8][citation needed] Davis described the show as "Downton Abbey meets Geordie Shore".[43] It was influenced by Rebecca, as well as Tess of the d'Urbervilles.[44] The series is a black comedy set in the 1830s.[45] She worked on the programme with Lucy Lumsden and Stuart Murphy, who were also behind Nighty Night at the BBC.[8]
The work was scripted, not improvised.[46] When talking about Hunderby and Sally4Ever, Alex Macqueen said that, for Davis, "if you're not on the verge of corpsing, it's not good enough".[46]
For Hunderby, Davis won the BAFTA TV Craft Award for Writing – Comedy.[47] The series was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy at the 2013 BAFTA TV Awards and Davis was nominated for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme.[48] It won the awards for Best New Comedy and Best Sitcom at the 2012 British Comedy Awards.[49][50]
Camping (2016)
It was reported in 2015 that Davis had been commissioned for a new series, Robin's Test, which was later renamed Camping.[51] In 2016, Davis created, wrote and directed the series for Sky Atlantic.[3][52] She also starred in it as shallow nymphomaniac, Fay.[53] This was her first series as a director,[45] with her only previous directing credit being an episode of Sky's "Little Crackers" in 2010.[52]
The series is a dark comedy about a group of couples who go camping for someone's 50th birthday, and, Davis says, "One guy unexpectedly arrives with his new girlfriend, which messes up the whole holiday and it descends into a nightmare by the end."[45]
At the 2017 BAFTA TV Awards, Camping was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy[54] and Davis for Best Comedy Writer.[53] The Guardian described it as "craftily observed, beautifully performed, as well as typically, gloriously, boldly bleak."[55]
In 2018, the series was adapted for American audiences to create a series of the same name by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner.[53][56] It was originally released on HBO in America, and subsequently on Sky Atlantic in the UK. However, it did not receive good reviews either in the US or UK.[57] The Guardian said that, whilst some of the performances were good, "The reworking deviates from the darkness and dread that made the original black comedy so perfect".[57]
Sally4Ever (2018)
In 2018, Davis wrote, directed and starred in the comedy television series Sally4Ever on Sky Atlantic (in collaboration with HBO)[58].[59] It came out of a short film she was writing with her and Catherine Shepherd, who went on to play Sally in the series.[60] Davis plays the character of Emma, a very manipulative woman has a chaotic affair with the "too-nice" Sally.[59]
At the 2019 BAFTA awards Sally4Ever won the award for Best Scripted Comedy and Davis was nominated for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme.[61]
Dear Joan and Jericha (2018–2025)
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Davis launched the podcast comedy Dear Joan And Jericha with comedian Vicki Pepperdine[62] in 2018. The series has 29 episodes as of March 2025.[63]
Davis and Pepperdine published a book on the back of the podcast, Why He Turns Away: Dos and Don'ts From Dating to Death.[64]
2021–Present
Davis played socialite Maureen, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, in BBC One historical drama A Very British Scandal, which premiered on BBC One on Boxing Day 2021.[65]
In 2022, Davis appeared in two episodes of The Outlaws, as Rita.[66]
Writing
Davis is known for her dark comedy.[3] Her work tends to depict desperately unhappy couples. She has said she enjoys playing the dark characters because it is more fun,[8] and she finds "manipulation and power struggles endlessly fascinating".[59] She has also said that "Most things I do come from something that makes me angry".[9] She is not interested in writing for a mainstream audience, rather something cult for "people who like the same things as I do, who find the same things funny".[31]
Davis has said she always starts writing with the characters, rather than the plot.[67] She said that "I always try to plan the overall story of a series first, but usually I get impatient and have to start writing scenes to reassure myself that there is something tangible that’s going to work, as for me the comedy tends to come from characters more than situations."[59] She also uses improvisation as a tool for writing.[67]
Davis is known by her fellow actors for regularly corpsing on set.[67] Although, she says Catherine Shepherd is worse than her.
Davis is influenced by Harold Pinter.[31] She also says she loves the film Force Majeure, the Danish series Klovn, the work of filmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (particularly Phantom Thread, which she stars in), all of the work in the Dogme movement, and the work of director Yorgos Lanthimos (particularly Dogtooth).[59] In terms of comedy, she loves the films Bridesmaids and Step Brothers; the series One Mississippi, Flight of the Conchords, Eastbound & Down, Strangers with Candy and "anything with Jennifer Saunders or Dawn French."[59] She also loves comedians Jamie Demetriou, Ellie White, Katy Wix and Cardinal Burns.
Reception
In her book Reclaiming Female Authorship in Contemporary UK Television Comedy (2024) Laura Minor, lecturer in television studies at University of Salford, notes that Davis is known for creating boundary-pushing black comedy that centres female anti-hero characters.[68] Eva Wiseman, of The Guardian, similarly said that she finds Davis' "portrayals of monstrous women...wildly liberating".[56]
The Gentlewoman said that: "Davis’s strand of funny is demented, lunatic and unhinged, one that repeatedly kicks at the shins of received suburban manners. She often deals in the tricky currency of female cruelty and appears to have identified a new microcosm of the British class system somewhere between working and middle that is in a permanent argument with itself about why life looks the way it does"[9]
Personal life
Davis is in a long term relationship with comedian Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh.[69][31][70] The couple are parents to twin sons (Walter and Arthur)[6][31], born in 2007.[44] They live in London.[6]
Davis has experienced depression in the past,[31] and describes herself as "riddled with anxiety".[8] She does not do many interviews as herself (rather than in character), because of her anxiety and not wanting to be in the limelight.[6][31] Whilst Davis writes dark comedy, it is commonly observed that she is shy, cautious and warm.[3][31][71]
Filmography
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Flush | Cleaner | Sean Grundy | Short film | [20] |
| 2001 | The Parole Officer | Insinuating Wife | John Duigan | [1] | |
| 2002 | Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself | Moira | Lone Scherfig | [3] | |
| 2003 | Hello Friend | (voice) | Graham Linehan | Short film | [72] |
| Love Actually | Nancy, the Caterer | Richard Curtis | Cameo | [73] | |
| 2004 | Shaun of the Dead | News Reporter (voice) | Edgar Wright | Uncredited role | [74] |
| Sex Lives of the Potato Men | Shelley | Andy Humphries | [1] | ||
| 2005 | Dating Ray Fenwick | Alison | Kitty Flanagan | Short film | [75] |
| Match Point | Julie | Woody Allen | [76] | ||
| 2006 | Confetti | Marriage counsellor | Debbie Isitt | [1] | |
| 2007 | For the Love of God | Mother (voice) | Joe Tucker | Short film | [34] |
| Persuasion | Elizabeth Elliot | Adrian Shergold | |||
| 2010 | Come on Eileen | Dee | Finola Geraghty | [77] | |
| The Lost Explorer | Vera Cleghorn | Tim Walker | Short film | [20] | |
| Cemetery Junction | Mrs Taylor | Ricky Gervais, | [20] | ||
| Four Lions | Alice | Chris Morris | [20] | ||
| 2011 | Arthur Christmas | UNFITA OPS (voice) | Sarah Smith | Animation | [20] |
| 2012 | David's Fine | Narrator | Matt Holt | Short film | |
| 2014 | The Bird | Mother | Ben Target,
Joe Parham |
Short film | [41] |
| 2016 | Brakes | Livy | Mercedes Grower | [78] | |
| 2017 | Phantom Thread | Lady Baltimore | Paul Thomas Anderson | [20][79] | |
| 2019 | Fighting with My Family | Daphne | Stephen Merchant | [80] | |
| 2021 | The Clearing | Deb | Dan Hope | Short film | [81] |
| Sing 2 | Linda Le Bon (voice) | Garth Jennings | |||
| 2022 | Nude Tuesday | Armağan Ballantyne | Writer | ||
| 2023 | Run Rabbit Run | Gail (Nightshift Nurse) | Daina Reid | [20] | |
| The Toxic Avenger | Kissy Sturnevan | Macon Blair | [20] | ||
| Sweat | Tracy | Duncan Loudon | Short film | [82] | |
| 2025 | The Fairy Moon | The Operator | Craig Williams | Short film | [83] |
| The Toxic Avenger Unrated | Kissy Sturnevan | Macon Blair | |||
| Or Something Like It (working title) † | Jamie Adams | [84] |
Television
| Year | Title | Channel | Role | Other Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Comedy Nation | BBC Two | Various (Episodes 1, 3, 4) | Writer (Episodes 3, 4) | Series 1 | [1][85] |
| 1999 | Steve Coogan: The Man Who Thinks He’s It | Recording of live performance at The Palace Theatre, Manchester | [86] | |||
| Coming Soon | Channel 4 | Kim | Television film | [20] | ||
| Harry Enfield Special: Songs of Praise From St. Albions | ITV1 | Jenny Phillips | [20] | |||
| 1998–2002 | Big Train | BBC Two | Various | Writer (Additional Material) | Series 1 & 2 (7 episodes) | [1][20] |
| 1999 | People Like Us | Lisa Bell | Series 1; Episode 1: "The Managing Director" | [1][20] | ||
| The Comedy Trail: A Shaggy Dog Story | Horse Jockey | Special | ||||
| 2000 | Jam | Channel 4 | Various | Mini-series; Episodes 1–6 | [1] | |
| Human Remains | BBC Two | Various | Co-creator, Writer | Mini-series; Episodes 1–6. Also | [1][20] | |
| 2001 | Brass Eye | Channel 4 | Ensemble Actor | Series 2; Episode: "Paedogeddon!" | [1] | |
| Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible | BBC Two | Stephanie Wise | Episode 4: "And Now the Fearing..." | [1] | ||
| 2002 | I'm Alan Partridge | Kate Fitzgerald | Series 2; Episode 6: "Alan Wide Shut" | [1] | ||
| Ella and the Mothers | BBC One | Nicola | Television film | [87] | ||
| 2003 | The Office | BBC Two | Gillian (voice) | Series 3; Episode 2: "Christmas Special: Part 2" (heard on the phone as the voice of a woman from a dating agency in conversation with David Brent) | [88] | |
| Appointment with Dr. Terrible | Herself | Documentary about the series | [89] | |||
| Dose | BBC One Wales | Mrs Harris | [90] | |||
| 2004 | The Alan Clark Diaries | BBC | Jenny Easterbrook | Episodes 1 & 2: "The March of the Grey Men" and "The Lady" | [20] | |
| I Am Not an Animal | BBC | Clair the Rat (voice) | Episodes 1–6 | [91] | ||
| AD/BC: A Rock Opera | BBC Three | Ruth | Television film | [20] | ||
| 2004–2005 | Nighty Night | Jill Tyrell | Creator, Writer, Associate Producer | Series 1 & 2 (all 12 episodes). | [20] | |
| 2005 | Nathan Barley (working title Box of Slice) | Channel 4 | Honda Poppet, weather girl | Episode 5 | [20] | |
| 2006 | Little Britain Abroad | BBC | Ivanka | Parts 1 & 2 | [20] | |
| Fear of Fanny | BBC Four | Fanny Cradock | Television film,
Dir. Coky Giedroyc |
[1] | ||
| Born Equal | BBC Films | Sally | Television film,
Dir. Dominic Savage |
[92] | ||
| The Secret Policeman’s Ball: The Ball in the Hall | Herself | Recording of a live performance at the Royal Albert Hall | [93] | |||
| 2007–2009, 2019, 2024 | Gavin & Stacey | BBC | Dawn Sutcliffe | Series 1–3 & 2 Specials (10 episodes) | ||
| 2008 | Ideal | BBC Three | Dawn | Series 4; Episode 8: "The Future" | ||
| 2009 | 10 Minute Tales | Sky TV | Overbearing Midwife | Episode 3: "Ding Dong" | [20] | |
| Steve Coogan: The Inside Story | BBC Two | Various | Writer | Spoof documentary about Steve Coogan | [94] | |
| 2010 | Lizzie and Sarah | Lizzie / Faith | Writer, Associate Producer, Composer | Pilot | [29][28] | |
| Chekkov: Comedy Shorts | Sky Arts 2 | Popova | Episode 2: "The Bear" | [20] | ||
| Little Crackers | Sky One | Susan Johnways | Writer, Director | Series 1; Episode 10: "Julia Davis's Little Cracker: The Kiss" | [52] | |
| The Mighty Boosh: Journey of the Childmen | Herself | Documentary | [95] | |||
| The Angina Monologues | Sky One | Lizzie / Faith, Herself | Film of the live performance | [96] | ||
| 2011 | Black Mirror | Channel 4 | Judge Charity | Series 1; Episode 2: "Fifteen Million Merits" | [20] | |
| How Not to Live Your Life | BBC Three | Anne Yeaman | Series 4; Episode: "It's a Don-derful Life" | |||
| Steve Coogan Lie: The Man Who Thinks He's It | Comedy Central | Ensemble Actor | Writer | [85] | ||
| 2012 | Uncle Wormsley's Christmas | Sky Atlantic | Mrs. Goodington | Television film | [97] | |
| Bad Sugar | Channel 4 | Daphne Cauldwell | Creator | Pilot | ||
| Alan Carr: Chatty Man | Herself | Series 9, Episode 9 | [85] | |||
| 2012–2015 | Hunderby | Sky One | Dorothy | Creator, Writer, Executive Producer | Series 1 & 2 (10 episodes) | [20] |
| 2013 | It's Kevin | BBC Two | Ensemble Actor | Episodes 1–4 | ||
| Psychobitches | Sky Arts | Writer (Episode 3) | Mini-series; Series 1; Episodes 1–5 | |||
| 2014 | Inside No. 9 | BBC Two | Felicity | Series 1; Episode 5: "The Understudy" | ||
| Morning Has Broken | Channel 4 | Gail Sinclair | Creator, Writer,
Director, Executive Producer|| Pilot |
[20] | ||
| 2015 | Alan Carr: Chatty Man | Channel 4 | Herself | Series 15, Episode 13 | [85] | |
| 2016 | Camping | Sky Atlantic | Fay | Creator, Writer, Director, Executive Producer | Mini-series; Episodes 1–6 | |
| 2017 | Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams | Sally Morris | Episode 4: "Crazy Diamond" | [20] | ||
| 2018 | Sally4Ever | Sky Atlantic | Emma | Creator, Writer, Director,
Executive Producer |
All episodes | [20] |
| 2020 | The Shivering Truth | Various | Series 2, Episode 6: "The Holeways" | |||
| 2021 | Stath Lets Flats | Channel 4 | Kris Collins | Series 3, Episode 3: "A Drink Because of Friendship" | [98][99] | |
| A Very British Scandal: The Duchess of Argyll | Amazon | Maureen Guinness | 3-part mini-series | [100] | ||
| Stand Up & Deliver | Channel 4 | Narrator | Episodes 1 and 2 | [101] | ||
| 2022 | The Outlaws | BBC | Rita | Series 2; Episode 2 | [20] | |
| My Massive C**k | Narrator | Documentary | [102] | |||
| Corpse Talk | YouTube | Mary Shelley (Voice) | Online animation; Halloween Special | [103] | ||
| 2023 | Love Me | Kel | Mini-series; Series 2, Episode 1: "Sluta håll med" | |||
| Safe Home | Caitlyn | Episode 3 | ||||
| 2024 | The Regime | HBO | Marina | Mini-series; Episode 5: "All Ye Faithful" | [20] | |
| Person of Interest | Channel 4 | Dr. Kate Shelley | Television short film | [20] | ||
| Gavin & Stacey: The Making of the Finale | BBC | Herself | Documentary | [104] | ||
| 2025 | Educators | Catherine | Recurring role. Series 4 | |||
| Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell | BBC | Herself | Documentary | [105] | ||
| 2026 | Living The Dream † | Netflix | Various (Voice) | Animation | [106] |
Radio
| Year | Title | Station | Role | Other Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997,
1998, 1999 |
Blue Jam | BBC Radio 1 | Ensemble actor | Writer (Additional Material) | Series 1-3;
by Chris Morris |
[107] |
| 1998 | The Very World Of Milton Jones | BBC Radio 4 | Ensemble actor | Series 1, Episode 6 | [88] | |
| 1998, 2000 | Five Squeezy Pieces | Ensemble actor (Series 1 and 2) | Writer (Series 1) | Series 1 and 2 | [108][109][110] | |
| 2008 | Nebulous | Dean Geraldine | Series 3, Episode 2 | [85] | ||
| 2008, 2011 | Down The Line | Old Lady who get very Upset;
Ensemble actor |
Series 3, Episode 1;
Series 4, Episode 7 |
[85] | ||
| 2012,
2014, 2017 |
Kevin Eldon Will See You Now | Ensemble actor | Series 1, 2, 3 | [85] | ||
| 2013 | Hard To Tell | Gillian | Series 2, Episodes 1-4 | [85] | ||
| 2015 | Sleepy Tigers | Sheila | Writer | [85] | ||
| Couples (pilot) | Various | Writer | [85] | |||
| 2016 | Couples | |||||
| 2020 | Edith Sitwell in Scarborough | Lady Ida | [111][112] | |||
| Now Wash Your Hands | Joan Damry | Episode 6 | [85] | |||
| 2022 | 'Whatever Next?' With Miles Jupp | Various | Episodes 1-4 | [113] |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Venue | Role | Other Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90s | The Sister of Percy | Performer | Co-writer | Comedy revue show | ||
| 1998 | Steve Coogan: The Man Who Thinks He's It | Tour - West End, Lyceum Theatre | ||||
| Contractions | Royal Court | [20] | ||||
| Jackpot | Bath Fringe Festival | Performer | Producer | |||
| Me Me Me | Co-writer | With Jane Roth | ||||
| Sisters | Bath Fringe Festival | Performer | Writer | |||
| More Fool Us | Performer | Live improvised comedy show | ||||
| Instant Wit | Live improvised comedy show | |||||
Voiceovers
Davis has also done several voiceovers for brands including Marks & Spencer, British Gas, Vodafone, Mastercard and Renault.[76]
Footnotes
- The BFI,[1] The Guardian, and Vice interviews say she was born in Bath, Somerset;[2][3] The Independent interview says that she grew up in Guildford, Surrey was schooled in the Home Counties, and her parents moved to Bath when she was 14.[4]