Ishia Bennison
Acting
Biography
Ishia Bennison is a British actress, best known for her television appearances, although she is also a veteran stage actress. Bennison is originally from Hull in Yorkshire. One of her earliest roles was playing a nurse in the 1980 Charlton Heston film, The Awakening. She also had roles in the television drama The Chinese Detective (1981) and she played Ruth Lieberman in the BBC drama Kessler (1981). Other notable television credits include Bergerac (1981) and playing Ursula in a BBC Television Shakespeare adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (1984). In 1985 Bennison became a household name whilst playing Guizin Osman, the long-suffering wife of the womanising Turkish Cypriot, Mehmet (Haluk Bilginer), in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She remained in the role until 1989. Bennison has "mixed memories" about her role in EastEnders, commenting in 2003: "it was the start of the soap and the fame was very instant for everybody. You're in everybody's front room and everyone feels they own a bit of you. I'll never forget having to sign people's sickbags on the hovercraft to France. My daughter wouldn't walk down the street with me at the time. She would stay 10 paces behind. I still get recognised from EastEnders. I can't believe it." Other television credits include The Storyteller (1988); The Bill (1988); playing Denise Skidmore in the popular ITV drama At Home with the Braithwaites (2000); Mrs. Mawdsley in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street (2000); Holby City (2000); playing Cath Foxton in Burnside, the spin-off to The Bill (2000, 2001); Casualty (2006) and Hollyoaks: In the City. In 2004 she starred in the Doctor Who audio series Dalek Empire III and in January 2007 she joined the cast of the successful ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, playing Jackie Stiles — mother of vet receptionist Jo Stiles. She also played the character of 'Doris' in two episodes of the CBBC series, Little Howard's Big Question. She played Joyce, a civilian employee at the police station, in the 2014 crime drama Happy Valley. Bennison has had numerous roles on stage, including Mistress Overdone in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production Measure For Measure, which played at the Theatre Royal in 2003. She also appeared at the Playhouse as the Queen in The Tragedy of Cymbeline (2003). Bennison's previous Shakespearean roles have been with the company Northern Broadsides, which "specialises in performing classical plays in north country accents"Seen at Chesterfield's Pomegranate Theatre when she toured with Bill Simpson (Dr. Finlay in TV's Dr. Finlay's Casebook) in 'Educating Rita' - he was the known name (to me) and she stole the show.
Known For
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.
EastEnders
Jim Bergerac is a detective sergeant in The Foreigners Office who likes to do things his own way. While dealing with his own personal demons Bergerac has a knack of finding trouble, and sometimes causing it.
Bergerac
Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.
Happy Valley
Bread is a British television sitcom, written by Carla Lane, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC1 from 1 May 1986 to 3 November 1991. The series focused on the devoutly-Catholic and extended Boswell family of Liverpool, in the district of Dingle, led by its matriarch Nellie through a number of ups and downs as they tried to make their way through life in Thatcher's Britain with no visible means of support. The street shown at the start of each programme is Elswick Street. A family called Boswell had also featured in Lane's earlier sitcom The Liver Birds and Lane admitted in interviews that the two families were probably related. Nellie's feckless and estranged husband, Freddie, left her for another woman known as 'Lilo Lill'. Her children Joey, Jack, Adrian, Aveline and Billy continued to live in the family home in Kelsall Street and contributed money to the central family fund, largely through benefit fraud and the sale of stolen goods.
Bread
The lives of a suburban family from Leeds are turned upside down when the matriarch wins £38 million on the lottery.
At Home with the Braithwaites
Celia and Alan are both widowed and in their seventies. When their respective grandsons put their details on Facebook, they rediscover a passionate relationship that started over sixty years ago.
Last Tango in Halifax
Drama series about the attempts to unmask Ludwig Kessler, the fictional head of the Gestapo in Belgium from the series SECRET ARMY, who escaped punishment, changed his name to Manfred Dorf, and became a successful businessman.
Kessler
This is a movie about the life of Israel's king David.
King David
When a British archaeologist violates an Egyptian queen's tomb, her evil spirit enters his daughter.
The Awakening
Benedick and Beatrice fight their merry war of words. But when Beatrice's friend, Hero, is humiliatingly jilted by Benedick's best friend, Claudio, Benedick has to choose which side he's on. But unknown to all, Claudio's been tricked by the bastard Don John, and (unfortunately), it's up to Dogberry and Verges to solve the case.
Much Ado About Nothing
Because of kind acts toward three beggars, an honest soldier returning from war is given a magical sack, an unbeatable deck of cards, a ruby whistle and a comparable dance, which he uses to save a kingdom and to foil Death.
The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death
Down on his luck in the suburbs, John Falstaff plans to hustle his way to a comfortable retirement by seducing the wives of two wealthy men. Unknown to him, it’s the women of Windsor who really pull the strings, orchestrating Falstaff’s comeuppance amidst a theatrical smorgasbord of petty rivalries, jealousies and over-inflated egos. For a fat Englishman, a Welshman and a Frenchman, the only way is Windsor…