Ronni Ancona

1992–2005: Early work and The Big Impression

Ancona's first Edinburgh Festival appearance was in 1992, during which she performed in two shows: The Inexplicable World of Lionel Nimrod with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, and a stand-up show with Alistair McGowan.^[24] Her first theatre role was in Miss Conceptions in 1996, a comedy play she co-wrote with Alan Francis, directed by Anthony Nielson.^[25][23]

Ancona worked in radio and appeared on television shows such as Fist of Fun,^[26] as well as performing stand-up comedy. She co-wrote and performed in the shows Comedy Nation, Pulp Video, and The Sketch Show alongside Lee Mack.^[27][7] Her first feature film role was in 1999 when she appeared in The Debt Collector alongside Billy Connolly.^[28] In 2000, she teamed up with Alistair McGowan, with whom she had previously worked on The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand De Bargos and Standing Room Only,^[29] to create The Big Impression.^[30] The show was one of BBC One's top-rating comedy programmes during its run between 1999 and 2003,^[30][4] and won both a Variety Club Comedy Award and a BAFTA.^[5][31] In 2003, she won "Best Actress" at the British Comedy Awards.^[32] From 1996 to 2000, she also voiced Pennyghent on the CITV children's comedy series "Roger and the Rottentrolls". In 2003, she starred in the BBC One historical drama The Key.^[33]

In 2004, Ancona was cast in Singin' in the Rain, the first production with Adam Cooper. She played Lina Lamont, the silent-movie starlet, in the Sadler's Wells production.^[34] The same year, she played Pat Connelly in The Calcium Kid.^[35] In 2005, she played Barbara in Stephen Poliakoff's Gideon's Daughter on BBC One.^[28] She also appeared in Stella Street: The Movie, playing numerous female celebrities including Madonna and Victoria Beckham.^[36] In 2005, Ancona played Anita in Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story.^[37] She then played the gold-digging temptress Belline in Richard Bean's 2005 production of Molière's The Hypochondriac, alongside Carey Mulligan and Henry Goodman.^[22] The play received favourable reviews, with Michael Billington for The Guardian giving it four stars out of five and describing it as a "hilarious new version".^[38]

2006–present: Stage and screen work

Ancona has appeared several times on the BBC celebrity panel show QI.^{[39][40][41][42]} In November 2006, she was a guest presenter on Have I Got News for You.^[43] She also appeared on the Channel 4 comedy show TV Heaven, Telly Hell discussing her preferences in television shows.^[44]

She had a cameo role in the 2006 fantasy romantic comedy Penelope.^[45] In 2007, her three-episode comedy sketch series Ronni Ancona & Co was broadcast on BBC One.^[46]

In 2009, A Matter of Life and Death: How to Wean a Man Off Football, by Ancona and Alistair McGowan, was published by Faber & Faber.^[47] She appeared as the mother of Katie and Emily Fitch in the third (2009) and fourth (2010) series of Skins.^[48] In 2009, she had a leading role in the BBC comedy drama Hope Springs.^[49] As part of the BBC's The Big Read, she promoted The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.^[50] In April 2010, she appeared on A Comedy Roast, celebrating Sharon Osbourne's life.^[51] She appeared on the 2010 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special where she was paired with Anton Du Beke.^[52]

Ancona also took part in Comic Relief's Desert Trek 2011 alongside Craig David, Olly Murs, Dermot O'Leary, Scott Mills and Lorraine Kelly.^[53] In 2012, she appeared in Last Tango in Halifax.^[8] In 2013, she was cast as Mrs Spencer in The Devil Went Down to Islington, a horror film following two hapless Londoners who sell their souls to Satan.^[54] She played Donna, Rob Brydon's agent, in the 2014 film The Trip to Italy.^[55] Ancona returned to the Almeida to perform in Little Revolution, set during and after the 2011 London riots, alongside Lucian Msamati and Imogen Stubbs.^[56]

In January 2015, she was a guest on Room 101.^[57] In June 2015, she was cast to play Paula in the musical adaptation of Bend It Like Beckham at the West End's Phoenix Theatre. However, she had to pull out of the play for personal reasons before the premier.^[58] Later that year she appeared alongside Justin Fletcher in The Tale of Mr Tumble during the Manchester International Festival.^[59] In 2016, she played Mrs Fletcher, the manager of a local care home, in the seventh series of the Scottish comedy Still Game.^[60] Later that year she made a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC television series Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, partnering with antiques expert James Braxton.^[61] In April 2017, she appeared as a guest on ITV's The Nightly Show, presented by Jason Manford, in which they each performed impersonations of famous people which the other had to identify.^[62]

In 2018, Ancona had a small role in the US comedy film Show Dogs^[63] and starred in Surviving Christmas with the Relatives.^[64] In 2019, she performed in the Edinburgh Fringe show Just Checking In, which she co-wrote with Kim Fuller and fellow cast member Lewis MacLeod.^[65] In December 2020, she appeared as a contestant on the Christmas special of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Celebrity Special.^[66] She won Pointless Celebrities in January 2021 with Jan Ravens.^[67]

In January 2026, Ancona joined the cast of the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Bea Pollard.^[68] Her character was introduced as an old classmate of Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), and subsequently befriends Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton).^[69][70]

Film

Television

Radio

Theatre