Crissy Rock

Christine Murray (born 23 September 1958), known professionally as Crissy Rock, is an English actress, stand-up comedian, and author, most notable for her role as Maggie Conlan in the 1994 film Ladybird, Ladybird, and as Janey York in Benidorm.

She appeared in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 2011. In December 2012, she appeared on Celebrity Come Dine with Me. For her performance in Ladybird, Ladybird, she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.

Early life Rock was born Christine Murray, the daughter of Eddie and Margaret Murray, at Sefton General Hospital in Liverpool. Rock was sexually abused by her grandfather from the age of eight. In 1969, Rock appeared on stage with the Diddy Men, and attended dance school for two years.

Career

Stage Rock started her career as a comedian in the late 1980s. She appeared on Bob Monkhouse's BBC Television show Bob Says Opportunity Knocks,

By 1993, her career had started to take off. She performed her act in clubs in Blackpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Cardiff, and London. By 1994, Rock was bill-topping at the Central Pier and the Blackpool Tower.

In 1998, Rock toured the United Kingdom in a drama called Shellfish, in which she played the role of the pivotal female role of Pat. The Guardian newspaper wrote: "Pat is an utterly believable portrayal of a woman making a last grab at happiness".

Following the success of the TV show Benidorm she returned to the UK in 2008 and continued to perform her stand-up act in clubs around the country.

In 2011, Rock released her debut DVD: Crissy Rock – Live!, recorded at Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre. From December 2011 to January 2012, Rock played the role of the Fairy godmother in Billingham Forum's Christmas pantomime production of Cinderella. Followed by 'From Benidorm To The Jungle And Back released in 2013. Her latest DVD 'Live 2022' was released March 2023.

In December 2013, Rock appeared as the Wicked Queen in a production of Snow White at Liverpool's Epstein Theatre.

On 15 March 2014, Rock led the cast of new comedy Dirty Dusting at the Bedworth Civic Hall. In April 2014, Rock starred alongside Duggie Brown in Escorts the musical at the Theatre Royal St Helens. 'Best Actress' at London Film Critics Awards, and she received a 'Best Newcomer' nomination in the Evening Standard Awards.

In 1995, Rock appeared on primetime ITV in Peak Practice, Celebrity Squares and Funny Girls. She also performed on Sky One's Stand and Deliver. In 1996, she played Annie Greave in episode three of the BBC detective drama Dalziel and Pascoe, had a regular television role as nosy neighbour Anita Cartledge in Springhill, and starred alongside Julie Walters and Robert Lindsay in the BBC comedy play Brazen Hussies.

In 1997, she played alongside Billie Whitelaw in the six-part BBC1 series Born to Run. She also made regular appearances on Channel 4's game show Pull The Other One. In 1999, Rock played alongside Pete Postlethwaite in the BBC crime drama Butterfly Collectors, Nancy Banks-Smith who, writing in The Guardian said: “Crissy Rock..just switch her on and watch her go”. This was the first of two plays in which she featured in that year; the other was as Jean Walton in Jimmy McGovern's BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 play Dockers, with Ken Stott and Ricky Tomlinson. In the same year, she was acclaimed for her presenting debut on BBC TV's Millennium Night Show with Michael Parkinson and Gaby Roslin.

In 2000, she played the regular role of the unnamed newsagent in the BBC One drama series Clocking Off. In 2001, Rock starred as Amber Costello during a four-week stint in Channel 4's soap opera Brookside. In 2002, she worked with Ricky Tomlinson again when she played Madame Flo in his six-part BBC series Nice Guy Eddie. She also starred in a short film called Hero, which won the Hamburg and Dresden International Festivals in three categories, also the London International Film Festival for short subjects. In 2012, Rock filmed "The Air That I Breathe", based on the 1970s TV series Hazell. Over the years, she has appeared in various feature films, including Under the Skin, with Samantha Morton, Act of Grace, in which she played Leo Gregory's mother, and A Boy Called Dad. She is currently filming three new films: In Search Of The Miraculous, Death Of An Angel and Still Waters.

I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Rock took part in the 11th series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She came 6th and left on Day 19. On 8 December 2011, days after returning from Australia, she appeared on Gabby Logan's Channel 5 show Live with Gabby in which she reflected on her 19 days in the jungle, her weight loss and her DVD.

Publications Rock published her autobiography, This Heart Within Me Burns, in 2011. The book, ghostwritten by author Ken Scott, was a bestseller in Britain, and Rock went on a book signing tour to promote it. The sales for the hardback edition hit 35,000, and it was subsequently released in paperback. This Heart Within Me Burns was described as "an inspirational piece of literature".

Encouraged by this success, Rock teamed up with Ken Scott again to pen the first of a series of novels centring on fictional journalist Samantha Kerr. The first book, Revenge Is Sweeter Than Flowing Honey, was published in February 2014. Ken Scott has recently written: "Look out for more Sam Kerr in the not too distant future", suggesting that there are more books in the pipeline.

Personal life After the death of her grandfather who subjected her to years of sexual abuse, aged sixteen Rock was raped by the relative of a neighbour, which resulted in her getting pregnant. Shortly after, she began dating Philip Shaw whom she married in 1975 to help mask the fact she was pregnant. Shaw subjected Rock to years of physical and mental abuse, including attempted drowning, and he pushed a pregnant Rock down the stairs of their marital home resulting in her giving birth at six months pregnant.

Rock divorced Shaw in 1983, and in 1989, she married her second husband, who is not named in her autobiography. Rock's second husband became a chronic alcoholic resulting in Rock having to be his carer; the marriage subsequently ended in divorce. In 2018, Rock married Julian Buck, whom she had met in the garden of a hotel whilst filming Benidorm; in 2025, Rock announced via social media that she and Buck had separated.

Stage and screen credits

Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Ladybird, Ladybird Maggie Conlan 1997 Under the Skin Compere 2008 Act of Grace Carla 2009 A Boy Called Dad Chip Shop Woman 2011 3 Mile Radius Maggie Short film 2012 Acceptance Jean 2015 Angel Auntie 2016 Violence Breeds Violence Audrey Short film 2017 Cotton Wool Gerry Short film 2018 Fighter from the Docks Nin 2022 Kate & Jake Auntie Jean

Television

Non-fiction Television Year Title 2011 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 2012 Celebrity Come Dine with Me 2013 The Chase 2019 Celebs on the Farm 2020 Celebrity Masterchef

Stage Year Title Role Venue 1998 Shellfish Pat UK tour (various locations) 2002-2003CinderellaFairy Godmother Royal Court, Liverpool 2003-2004 Theatre Royal, St Helens 2007-2008 Royal Court, Liverpool 2011-2012 Forum Theatre, Billingham 2013-2014 Snow White Wicked Queen Epstein Theatre, Liverpool2014 Dirty Dusting Gladys Bedworth Civic Hall/UK Tour Escorts the Musical Liz Lovitt Theatre Royal, St Helens 2014–2015 CinderellaFairy Godmother Stockport Plaza 2015–2016 Theatre Royal, St Helens 2017 Seriously Dead Thelma Henderson Crewe Lyceum 2017–2018 Sleeping Beauty Evil Queen Brindley Theatre, Runcorn 2019–2020 Cinderella Fairy Godmother Epstein Theatre, Liverpool 2021–2022 Jack and the Beanstalk Spirit of the Beans Ellesmere Port Civic 2021–2022 Menopause The Musical Earth Mother UK tour (various locations) 2022 Rita, Sue and Bob Too! Mother Theatre Royal, St Helens 2023 Jack and the Beanstalk Cowella Daville Empire Theatre, Consett 2023 Rita, Sue and Bob Too! Mother Epstein Theatre, Liverpool

Releases