
Acting
Jan 6, 1961
Manchester, England, UK
Lorraine Ashbourne
Acting
Biography
Lorraine Ashbourne (born 1961 in Manchester) is an English stage, film and television actress. She attended Wilbraham High School, when living in Fallowfield. She joined Stretford Children's Theatre. She took part in the University of Manchester Stage Society and Manchester Youth Theatre. She joined the Webber Drama School on 19 April 1982. Ashbourne has appeared on British series and television films, including: Playing the Field (1998), Unforgotten (2017), Grantchester (2017), Maigret in Montmartre (2017), Midsomer Murders (2018), The Street, and Jericho. As a stage actor, Lorraine regularly appeared at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, portraying roles such as Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer and Emilia in Othello, acting in both of these alongside her husband Andy Serkis. In 2019, she starred as Barbara Castle in The Crown (2019), and from 2020, she starred as Mrs. Varley in Bridgerton. She played Joan Nuthall in Alma's Not Normal (2020), and was Daphne Sparrow in Sherwood (2022). She played Karen in I Hate Suzie (2024), and appeared in After the Flood (2024)
Feature Films (35)

When news of the closure of a small hospital's geriatric ward begins to reach the community, the hospital invites a local news crew to document their planning of a concert in honor of the hospital's most celebrated nurse. But there might be something more threatening to the hospital itself, more deadly than the politicians ready to shut down the place at a moment's notice.
Allelujah

Siblings Maisie and Tony, along with their mother, gather for their sister Eileen's wedding. It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Their father was physically abusive to his wife and left the children emotionally traumatized. As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young.
Distant Voices, Still Lives

The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Almost singlehandedly, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.
Oranges and Sunshine

Victoria Wood delves into the making of her Mid-Life Christmas, with behind the scenes footage from sketches including Lark Pies to Cranchesterford and the Midlife Olympics. The making of Victoria Wood's Mid-Life Christmas.
Victoria Wood: What Larks! Or... What I Did on My Holidays

A hyperactive boy and his best friend, a slow-witted youth with an affinity for horses, start collecting scrap metal for a shady dealer.
The Selfish Giant

A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and traitorous lord of Rohan seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

A former boy band star unexpectedly gets a second shot at success when he forms a bond with a gifted young drummer.
I Used to Be Famous

Twenty follows Emily, a homeless ballet dancer undertaking a potentially life-changing audition. In the audition room, identified by the auditioners as the girl wearing the number twenty, Emily is graceful and poised. Still, in the real world, she struggles to find somewhere to sleep, let alone focus on her artistry.
Twenty

When a four year old and other children in same neighborhood develop leukaemia, the parents suspect a nearby factory. Based on real events.
Fighting for Gemma

Downtrodden wife and mother Nella's life takes an unexpected turn for the better after she joins the Women's Voluntary Service office in Barrow-in-Furness during the Second World War. However, her new-found happiness is shattered when her son Cliff leaves to join the troops - provoking a painful confrontation with her husband Will.
Housewife, 49

A romantic comedy about a man, a woman and a football team. Based on Nick Hornby's best selling autobiographical novel, Fever Pitch. English teacher Paul Ashworth believes his long standing obsession with Arsenal serves him well. But then he meets Sarah. Their relationship develops in tandem with Arsenal's roller coaster fortunes in the football league, both leading to a nail biting climax.
Fever Pitch
Television & Series (40)

The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
The Bill

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
Midsomer Murders

True Dare Kiss is a British television drama produced for BBC One. It is written by Debbie Horsfield and produced by Marcus Wilson and features Dervla Kirwan, David Bradley and Lorraine Ashbourne. It concerns the reunion of four sisters and a brother following the death of their estranged father, uncovering the truth, hiding secrets, and a cataclysmic event in the past. The series, set in the city of Manchester in the North-West of England, was aired in six parts from 28 June 2007. Filming for the series began on 8 January 2007.
True Dare Kiss

Adapted from the hit US series, Law & Order: UK follows a team of police detectives and prosecutors representing the public interest in the criminal justice system.
Law & Order: UK

The on-the-field trials and tribulations and the off-the-field lives, loves and infidelities of 'The Castlefield Blues', an under funded, badly managed ladies football team from South Yorkshire in the north of England whose loyalty to the team, the game and each other far exceeds their chances of ever winning the championship.








