
Cathryn Bradshaw
Acting
Biography
Cathryn Bradshaw (born 13 January 1964, Blackpool) is an English actress known for her role in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Cathryn Bradshaw was born in Blackpool in 1964 and brought up in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire where she attended Breck School. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, alongside Louise Plowright and Mark Strong, and graduated in 1987. Bradshaw's first television role came in 1988 when she played the Princess in an episode of The Storyteller. The following year she appeared in an episode of Inspector Morse ("The Secret of Bay 5B") and in the 1989 comedy musical film, Bert Rigby, You're a Fool alongside Robert Lindsay and Robbie Coltrane. Then in 1990, she played Melanie in the acclaimed BBC television drama Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit opposite Charlotte Coleman. She also appeared in four episodes of the ITV crime drama Chancer. She made a number of television appearances throughout the 1990s, In 1996, Bradshaw appeared at the National Theatre in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, and from 1997 to 1999 she was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company She has also appeared in Down to Earth and Midsomer Murders. In 2003, she played Paula in romantic drama film, The Mother opposite Daniel Craig, and in 2004 she played Mary Webb in the BBC musical drama Blackpool. She appeared in two films in 2006. Firstly, the romantic comedy Venus, as Jillian. She appeared in the psychological thriller Like Minds as Helen Colbie. She played Margaret Littlefair in the satirical black comedy television series Suburban Shootout which aired on Five and Paramount Comedy in the United Kingdom. In 2007, she appeared in an episode of the BBC sitcom Lead Balloon.
Known For

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

From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.
Agatha Christie's Poirot

Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
Casualty

Peep Show follows the lives of two men from their twenties to thirties, Mark Corrigan, who has steady employment for most of the series, and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne, an unemployed would-be musician.
Peep Show

The Storyteller, aided by his cynical dog, narrates classic folk tales, fables, and legends.
The Storyteller

A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.
The Mother

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is a comedy series created by Stewart Lee. The BBC Two series debuted on 16 March 2009, and featured stand-up routines filmed at The Mildmay Club in Newington Green, and sketches based on a weekly theme, featuring amongst others Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner with voice-over parts recorded by Peter Serafinowicz. The series is produced by Richard Webb and directed by Tim Kirkby. The programme is executive-produced by Armando Iannucci and script-edited by Chris Morris, marking a rare reformation of their creative double-act.
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

Red Riding is a British crime drama limited series written by Tony Grisoni, based on the book series of the same name by David Peace. Comprised of the novels 1974 (1999), 1977 (2000), 1980 (2001), and 1983 (2002), with the first, third, and fourth of these became three feature-length television episodes, Red Riding 1974, Red Riding 1980 and Red Riding 1983. Three epic tales of murder, corruption and obsession. Utilising recurring characters and events, the Red Riding Trilogy recounts three series of gruesome crimes over a turbulent decade in Northern England.
Red Riding

Lead Balloon is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian whose life is plagued by petty annoyances, disappointments and embarrassments. Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power and Tony Gardner also star. The first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in 2006, with the first episode achieving the highest ratings for a comedy on the channel. Repeats of the series were run on BBC Two and BBC HD, bringing it to a larger audience. A second series of eight episodes aired on BBC Two in November 2007, and a third series began airing in November 2008. A fourth and final series commenced broadcast on 31 May 2011 on BBC Two and ended on 5 July. Comparisons were made by critics to the successful American comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, and positive comments were made about Lead Balloon's characters, particularly Magda, the Eastern European housekeeper. The first series was released on DVD in November 2007. The show's theme tune is a cover version of "One Way Road", written by Noel Gallagher and performed by Paul Weller.
Lead Balloon

People Like Us was a British radio and TV comedy programme, a spoof on-location documentary written by John Morton, and starring Chris Langham as Roy Mallard, an inept interviewer. Originally a radio show for BBC Radio 4 in three series from 1995 to 1997, it was made into a television series for BBC Two that aired from September 1999 to June 2000.
People Like Us

Seven-year-old Jess is removed from her peculiar Pentecostal home and sent to school.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Yorkshire, 1974. Fear, mistrust and institutionalised police corruption are running riot. Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to search for the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions. When young Clare Kemplay goes missing, Eddie and his colleague, Barry, persuade their editor to let them investigate links with two similar abductions that draw them into a deadly world of secrecy, intimidation, shocking revelations and police brutality.
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974

A forensic psychologist must determine if a minor should be charged with murder.
Like Minds

Maurice is an aging veteran actor who becomes taken with Jessie, the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit of his wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don't know about themselves.
Venus

A musical about a miner who wants to break into show business.
Bert Rigby, You're a Fool

Dangerous Davies investigates the death of Geoff Fallon, a stock car driver who was killed during a race at the local stadium when his car exploded due to a leaky fuel line. There seemed to be a considerable animosity with his brother, also a stock car driver, but it turns that Fallon was convicted of killing a child with his car some years previously and the dead child's older brother was working at the stadium on the night in question. When a second person is killed, Davies determines that the case is far more complex than originally thought. Meanwhile, all of the officers at the local station are under investigation when information is leaked to the press.
Willesden Confidential

Seeking to avert a prophecy which foretells of a seventh son someday supplanting the current king, the unscrupulous monarch seeks out this luck child and attempts to do away with him. But those blessed with luck cannot be undone.
The Storyteller: The Luck Child

A play written by Tony Harrison as a tribute to sufferers of Alzheimer's disease. Filmed in High Royds Hospital, Menston, Yorkshire, the play combines drama, documentary, song, verse and music to unravel the lives of the residents.