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Ashley Jensen (born 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She is best known as Maggie Jacobs in Extras (2005–2007), Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), the Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014–2022), and DI Ruth Calder in Shetland (2023–present).
For her role in Extras, Jensen was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie in 2008.
Her first significant television role was as Clare Donnelly, daughter of Glasgow criminal Jo-Jo Donnelly (played by Billy Connolly) in the 1993 BBC drama Down Among the Big Boys. In 1994, she played eccentric secretary Rosie McConnichy in the final series of BBC comedy May to December, as a replacement for the character of secretary Hilary (Rebecca Lacey), and Heather in Roughnecks, a BBC television series about workers on a North Sea oil platform. Jensen had a small role in a Dangerfield episode "Contact" as the mother of a young girl with meningitis. She then appeared as Fiona Morris in EastEnders. She also appeared in the 2003 BBC drama Two Thousand Acres of Sky.
Jensen co-starred alongside Ricky Gervais in the BBC Two/HBO television programme Extras as the socially inept Maggie Jacobs. For her work on the first series, she received best television comedy actress and newcomer awards at the 2005 British Comedy Awards. In 2006, Jensen received two British Comedy Awards and a BAFTA nomination for her role in Extras. Her role in the 2007 Christmas Special earned her an Emmy Award nomination. In January 2006 she starred in the drama series Eleventh Hour on ITV. Later that year she played Steve Coogan's agent in A Cock and Bull Story. In 2007, she provided the narration for the film Taking Liberties.
In September 2006, Jensen's first major role on American television came when she took the role of regular character Christina McKinney on the ABC series Ugly Betty. Her character was originally an American, but when she met the show's producers they liked Jensen's accent and changed the nationality of the character, keeping McKinney Scottish. Production of Ugly Betty moved to New York from Los Angeles in mid-2008, causing a conflict for Jensen, who was unable to relocate from Los Angeles and left the show in 2009 near the end of the third season but made a return guest appearance in 2010 during the fourth season.
In January 2009, Jensen starred in No Holds Bard, a BBC Scotland one-off special comedy shown on Burns Night as part of a line-up of special programming to mark the 250th birthday of Robert Burns. She is the narrator of Channel 4's Embarrassing Illnesses and Embarrassing Bodies. She also narrated an advertising campaign for Bank of Scotland and Persil detergent adverts for both television and radio. From September 2009 to May 2010, she appeared in the sitcom Accidentally on Purpose as Olivia. Jensen starred in the 2009 BBC comedy Nativity! as Jennifer Lore, a Hollywood producer's secretary and the love interest of Paul Maddens, played by Martin Freeman.
On 21 December 2010, she starred in the one-off/pilot BBC comedy drama Accidental Farmer, playing a London executive who buys a derelict farm with her philandering boyfriend's credit card. In 2011, she voiced Nanette the frog in the animated production Gnomeo & Juliet. She starred in the ITV drama The Reckoning in April of that year.
In 2014, she played the lead character in the television film adaptation of the M. C. Beaton novel Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death for Sky1. She also starred in the eight-part series that first aired on Sky1 on 7 June 2016.
From 2015 to 2019, Jensen acted in Catastrophe, a comedy series for Channel 4, and with Susan Calman in Calman's BBC Radio 4 comedy series Sisters.
In 2017, she starred in a six-part TV series for BBC TV, Love, Lies & Records, depicting the gritty life and entwined storylines working in Leeds Registry Office. In March 2019, Jensen reunited with Gervais in the Netflix black comedy series After Life, a role she continued for all three series. In April 2019 she played Debbie Dorell in the second series of BBC TV drama Trust Me. When an injured soldier discovers patients in his hospital ward dying, he attempts to investigate the suspicious deaths. Also in 2019, she played the voice of Jacqueline in Lady and the Tramp.
In November 2022 she was announced as the new lead in the BBC drama Shetland.
Jensen also appeared in the 2022 Christmas film Christmas On Mistletoe Farm for Netflix.
In August 2023, Jensen married actor Kenny Doughty at Priston Mill in Priston, near Bath, Somerset.
| 1991 | Tickets for the Zoo | Eleanor | |
| 1999 | Topsy-Turvy | Miss Tringham | |
| 2005 | A Cock and Bull Story | Lindsey | |
| 2007 | Taking Liberties | Herself - Narrator | Documentary film |
| 2009 | Nativity! | Jennifer Lore | |
| 2010 | Sunshine | Alison | Short film. (Also producer and art director) |
| How to Train Your Dragon | Phlegma the Fierce (voice) | ||
| 2011 | Gnomeo & Juliet | Nanette (voice) | |
| Hysteria | Fannie | ||
| Arthur Christmas | Bryony (voice) | Nominated – Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production | |
| 2012 | The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! | The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (voice) | |
| 2013 | All Stars | Gina | |
| 2014 | Small Time | Gail | |
| 2015 | The Lobster | Biscuit Woman | |
| The Legend of Barney Thomson | Detective Inspector June Robertson | ||
| 2018 | Sherlock Gnomes | Nanette (voice) | |
| 2019 | Phlegma (voice) | ||
| Lady and the Tramp | Jock (voice) | ||
| 2022 | Christmas on Mistletoe Farm | Ms. Fletcher |
| 1990 | City Lights | Moira | Series 5; Episode 6: "The Front" |
| 1991 | Screen Two | Betting Shop Cashier | Series 7; Episode 10: "Dreaming" |
| 1992 | Rab C. Nesbitt | 2nd Girl | Series 2; Episode 1: "Country" |
| 1993 | Sheena | Series 3; Episode 4: "Wean" | |
| Screen One | Claire Donnelly | Series 5; Episode 3: "Down Among the Big Boys" | |
| 1994 | May to December | Rosie McConnachy | Series 6; Episodes 1–6 |
| The Tales of Para Handy | Catriona MacLean | Episode 4: "A Night Alarm" | |
| Takin' Over the Asylum | Kathleen | Mini-series; Episode 1: "Hey Jude" | |
| 1994–1995 | Roughnecks | Heather | Series 1 & 2; 13 episodes |
| 1994 | The Bill | Kate Selby | Series 10; Episode 85: "Personal Space" |
| 1995 | The Baldy Man | Hairdresser | Episode 6: "Hair/Crime" |
| Waiting | Amanda Cookson | TV film | |
| Capital Lives | Eileen | Series 2; Episode 1: "Temp" | |
| 1996 | The Big Picnic | Nessie | TV film |
| Bad Boys | Morag Hood | Episodes 1–6 | |
| Casualty | Jess | Series 11; Episode 4: "Thicker Than Water" | |
| 1997 | The Bill | Diane Wyre | Series 13; Episode 79: "Mid-Life Crisis" |
| Dangerfield | Michelle Thomson | Series 4; Episode 8: "Contact" | |
| 1998 | Mortimer's Law | Naomi Childs | Episode 5 |
| 1998–2000 | City Central | PC Sue Chappell | Series 1–3; 31 episodes |
| 2000 | EastEnders | Fiona Morris | 5 episodes |
| 2001 | Rebus | Mhairi Henderson | Episode 4: "Mortal Causes" |
| 2001–2003 | Clocking Off | Babs Fisher/Leach | Series 2–4; 5 episodes |
| 2002 | Outside the Rules | Dawn Deacon | TV film |
| Breeze Block | Leanne | 5 episodes | |
| 2003 | Two Thousand Acres of Sky | Angie Reeburn | Series 3; Episodes 5–8 |
| Coming Up | Rachel | Episode 5: "Victoria" | |
| Silent Witness | DI Becky Metcalf | Series 7; Episodes 3 & 4: "Fatal Error: Parts 1 & 2" | |
| Sweet Medicine | Faye Brooks | Episodes 6–10 | |
| 2004 | Casualty | Stella | Series 18; Episodes 45 & 46: "Love, Honour and Betray" and "Ring of Truth" |
| 2005 | Meet the Magoons | Policewoman No. 1 | Episode 3: "The Samosa Triangle" |
| Taggart | Agatha Ferry | Series 22; Episode 2: "A Taste of Money" | |
| 2005–2007 | Extras | Maggie Jacobs | Series 1 & 2; 13 episodes British Comedy Award for Best Newcomer British Comedy Award for Best Television Comedy Actress (2005) Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Comedy Performance Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated – Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress Nominated – British Comedy Award for Best Television Comedy Actress (2008) Nominated – Rose d'Or Award for Best Sitcom Performance (follower-up) |
| 2006 | Eleventh Hour | Rachel Young | Mini-series; Episodes 1–4 |
| 2006–2010 | Ugly Betty | Christina McKinney | Regular role; Series 1–3 / Guest star; Series 4. 66 episodes Nominated – BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Acting Performance in Television Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2007, 2008) |
| 2007 | The Friday Night Project | Herself - Guest Host | Series 4; Episode 7 |
| Embarrassing Illnesses | Herself - Narrator | Episodes 1–8 | |
| The Teen Choice Awards 2007 | Herself - Presenter | TV Special | |
| Cook Yourself Thin | Herself - Narrator | Series 1; Episodes 1–6 | |
| 2007–2009 | Movie Connections | Herself - Narrator | Series 1 & 2; 16 episodes |
| 2008 | Embarrassing Bodies | Herself - Narrator | Series 1, 2 & 6; 6 episodes |
| 2009 | No Holds Bard | Isobel | TV film |
| 2009–2010 | Accidentally on Purpose | Olivia | Episodes 1–18 |
| 2010 | Accidental Farmer | Erin Taylor | TV film |
| Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention | Herself - Narrator | Episodes 1–6 | |
| 2011 | The Reckoning | Sally Wilson | Mini-series; Episodes 1 & 2 |
| 2013 | Love and Marriage | Sarah Paradise | Episodes 1–6 |
| The Escape Artist | Kate Burton | Mini-series; Episodes 1–3: "Parts 1–3" | |
| Herself - Narrator | Episodes 1–3 | ||
| 2013–2014 | CBeebies Bedtime Stories | Herself - Storyteller | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2022 | Agatha Raisin | Agatha Raisin | Series 1–4; 20 episodes |
| 2015–2019 | Catastrophe | Fran | Series 1–4; 18 episodes |
| 2017 | Love, Lies and Records | Kate Dickenson | Episodes 1–6 |
| 2018 | Sofia the First | Arielf (voice) | Series 4; Episode 25: "The Elf Situation" |
| 2018–2020 | DuckTales | Downy McDuck / Agnes McDuck / Danny McDuck (voice) | Series 1; Episode 21: "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!" and Series 3; Episode 17: "The Fight for Castle McDuck!" |
| 2019 | Trust Me | Debbie Dorrell | Series 2; Episodes 1–4 |
| 2019–2022 | After Life | Nurse / Emma | Series 1–3; 18 episodes |
| 2021 | The Balmoral Hotel: An Extraordinary Year | Herself - Narrator | Documentary mini-series; Episodes 1–4 |
| Summer Camp Island | Miss Mary (voice) | Series 5; Episode 9: "Mildred's Friends" | |
| 2022 | The Airport: Back in the Skies | Herself - Narrator | Documentary mini-series; Episodes 1–5 |
| Dog Squad | Meagaidh (voice) | Series 1; Episodes 2, 10 & 15 | |
| Mayflies | Anna | Two-part drama; Episodes 1 & 2 | |
| 2023–2024 | Designing the Hebrides | Herself - Narrator | Series 1 & 2; 12 episodes |
| 2023–present | Shetland | DI Ruth Calder | Series 8–10; 18 episodes Nominated – BAFTA Scotland Audience Award |
| 2025 | Man vs Baby | Janet |
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