Katherine Parkinson

Katherine Parkinson to an English mother, Janet Parkinson, a teacher, and Northern Irish father, the historian Alan Parkinson. She grew up in Tolworth and Surbiton, and attended Tiffin Girls' School before reading classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She then attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, although she left before graduating in order to star in the play The Age of Consent, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2001.

Career From 2005 until 2009, Parkinson played Pauline Lamb, a doctor's receptionist and later phlebotomist, in series two to four of the long-running ITV comedy-drama series Doc Martin.

While working on Doc Martin, she was asked by a friend from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, comic actor Chris O'Dowd, to audition for the comedy series The IT Crowd as the show was having trouble casting a female lead. At the end of 2009, she appeared in the Olivier award winning play Cock at the Royal Court Theatre with Ben Whishaw and Andrew Scott.

She has performed several times on BBC Radio 4, including on Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking; Mouth Trap, which she also co-wrote with Brand; and The Odd Half Hour. She also featured in television advertisements for Maltesers alongside fellow actress and comedian Amanda Abbington.

Parkinson played Sophie, one of the lead roles along with Mark Heap in BBC Four's three-part comedy series The Great Outdoors (2010). In 2010 and 2011, she appeared in two plays: Season's Greetings at the National Theatre; and as Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal at the Barbican Centre. That year, she appeared in The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, which premiered on BBC Two in 2011; in 2012 she made a guest appearance as Kitty Riley in "The Reichenbach Fall", the second series finale of the series Sherlock.

In 2012 and 2013, she played the roles of Diana in Absent Friends at the Harold Pinter Theatre, and Laura in Before the Party at the Almeida Theatre, respectively. In 2014, Parkinson appeared in "Sardines", the first episode of the anthology series Inside No. 9, alongside Ben Willbond, as well as the miniseries The Honourable Woman, which aired in the UK on BBC Two and in the USA on SundanceTV.

In 2015, she starred in the BBC One comedy series The Kennedys, written by Emma Kennedy about growing up on a Stevenage estate in the 1970s. She also played one of the lead roles in all three series of the British-American science fiction series Humans, which aired on Channel 4 and AMC between 2015 and 2018.

In 2016, Parkinson performed in the stage play Dead Funny at the Vaudeville Theatre. In 2018 and 2019, she performed in Home, I'm Darling, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award, as well as in Defending the Guilty, a legal sitcom which aired for one series on BBC Two and was subsequently renewed for a second, before being cancelled due to coronavirus.

She played Emma Jeanne Desfosses in Marjane Satrapi's film adaptation of Lauren Redniss's Radioactive in 2019, detailing the life of Marie Curie.

In 2019, Parkinson's debut work as a playwright, Sitting, had its London premiere, following a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe. The play was well reviewed, with The Guardian writing "Parkinson delicately reveals connections that, by the end, give the play a wistful emotional weight." Parkinson adapted the play for BBC Four in early 2021.

Parkinson appeared in series 10 of Taskmaster in 2020. Parkinson won the second episode but was behind in total points for the majority of the series, and ended up in last place.

In 2022, Parkinson played Nell Taylor in the film The Nan Movie and, in 2024, she portrayed Lizzie Vereker in Disney+'s period drama Rivals, an adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel of the same title. For her role in the series, Parkinson was nominated at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards for the Best Supporting Actress category.

In June 2025, it was announced that Parkinson would portray Molly Weasley in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series for which she received attacks on social media regarding writer J. K. Rowling's views.

Personal life Parkinson married actor Harry Peacock in 2009, and they have two daughters. Parkinson and Peacock first met in 2003, Parkinson relating, "I met my husband doing a workshop based on the book Heart of A Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov. He was the dog." Both starred in the TV series The Kennedys. Peacock has lupus. Parkinson is the daughter-in-law of the late Trevor Peacock. Speaking to the Elizabeth Day's podcast in 2026, Parkinson shared her younger aspirations of being an astronaut or working for MI5, going as far as taking the "MI5 exam".

Filmography +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film Year Title Role(s) Note 2007 Hard to Swallow Katie Short film 2008 Easy Virtue Marion Whittaker How to Lose Friends & Alienate People PR Woman 2009 The Boat That Rocked Felicity St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Physics Teacher 2010 Cooked Lucy (voice) Short films 2011 The Bride of Vernon Mary Mae (voice) 2014 Off the Page: Britain Isn't Eating Marion/Sarah 2016 The Complete Walk: Much Ado About Nothing Beatrice 2018 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Isola Pribby 2019 Radioactive Emma Jeanne Desfosses How to Fake a War Kate Hemmings 2021 Paul Dood's Deadly Lunch Break Clemmie 2022 The Nan Movie Nell Taylor 2024 That Christmas Mrs. Forrest (voice)

Television Year Title Role Notes 2005 Ahead of the Class Vicky Foley Television film Casualty Helen Gibbons Episode: "The Long Goodbye" (uncredited role) Extras Woman in Queue Episode: "Ross Kemp & Vinnie Jones" 2005–2009 Doc Martin Pauline Lamb Series 2-4 & Christmas special, 24 episodes 2006 Comedy Lab Various roles Episode: "Slap" 2006–2010, 2013 Jen Barber British Comedy Award for Best Television Comedy Actress Nominated – BAFTA for Best Female Comedy Performance Winner of BAFTA award Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme 2014 2007 Fear, Stress & Anger Gemma 5 episodes Love Triangle Patty (voice) Television short film Christmas at the Riviera Vanessa Television film 2007–2009 Katy Brand's Big Ass Show Various characters 18 episodes 2009 Jonathan Creek Nicola Episode: "The Grinning Man" 2009–2010 The Old Guys Amber 8 episodes 2010 The Great Outdoors Sophie 3 episodes Whites Caroline 6 episodes 2011 Psychoville Fiona Episode: "The Hunt" Comedy Showcase Pip Episode: "Coma Girl" 2011–2012 The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff Conceptiva 4 episodes 2011, 2015 Would I Lie to You? Herself - Panellist Series 5, Episode 3 Series 9, Episode 2 2012 Sherlock Kitty Riley Episode: "The Reichenbach Fall" 2013 Love Matters Jo Pepper Episode: "Officially Special" 2014 Cardinal Burns Super Computer (voice) Series 2, Episode 4 The Honourable Woman Rachel Stein Mini-series; 8 episodes Inside No. 9 Rebecca Episode: "Sardines" Crackanory Herself - Storyteller Series 2, Episode 3: "The Crisis Plan" 2014–2016 In the Club Kim Hall 12 episodes 2015 Horizon Herself - Narrator Episode: "Which Universe Are We In?" The Kennedys Brenda Kennedy Lead role; 6 episodes 2015–2018 Humans Laura Hawkins Lead role; 24 episodes 2017 Urban Myths Ange Episode: "Bob Dylan: Knockin' on Dave's Door" 2018 Hang Ups Karen Muller 6 episodes 2018–2019 Defending the Guilty Caroline Bratt Lead role; 7 episodes 2020 Unprecedented Liz Series 1, Episode 3 Taskmaster Herself - Contestant Series 10, 10 episodes Pandemonium Rachel Jessop One-off BBC One comedy (pilot episode of Here We Go) 2021 Sitting Mary TV adaption of Parkinson's 2018 stage play for BBC Four 2022–present Here We Go Rachel Jessop Lead role; 13 episodes 2023 Significant Other Anna 6 episodes 2024 Inside No. 9 Herself Series 9, Episode: "Plodding On"2024–present Rivals Lizzie Vereker 8 episodes 2026–present Molly Weasley Recurring cast TBA Antonia Filming

Radio Year Title Role 2004 A Certain Smile Catherine Good Times Role Patient 2008 The Odd Half Hour Mouth Trap Writer, performer 2010 Sarah Millican's Support Group Kim 2011 The Lost Weekend The Drover of Clissold Common The One and Only Layla Souvenirs Samantha 2011–2015 Don't Start Kim 2012 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully Katrina Diary of a Nobody Carrie Pooter The Bat Man Colette The Lady from the Sea Bolette 2013 Start/Stop Alice 2019 Date Night Maddy

Stage Year Title Role Notes 2001 The Age of Consent Stephanie Pleasance Edinburgh Edinburgh Festival 2002 The Age of Consent Stephanie Bush Theatre Frame 312 Maggie / Doris / Marie Donmar Warehouse Deep Throat Live on Stage Linda Lovelace Assembly Rooms Edinburgh Festival Fat Bloke Productions 2003 Camille Olympe Lyric Hammersmith The Increased Difficulty of Concentration Anna Balcar The Gate (London) The Riot Act Antigone The Gate (London) 2004 The Unthinkable Fran Sheffield Crucible Cigarettes and Chocolate Gail King's Head Theatre Flush Lily Soho Theatre 2006 Other Hands Lydia Soho Theatre 2006–2007 The Lightning Play Imogen Cumberbatch Almeida Theatre 2007 The Seagull Masha Royal Court Theatre 2009 Cock W Royal Court Theatre 2010 Season's Greetings Pattie Royal National Theatre 2011 The School for Scandal Lady Teazle Barbican Theatre 66 Books Jo Bush Theatre 2012 Absent Friends Diana Harold Pinter Theatre 2013 Before the Party Laura Almeida Theatre 2016–2017 Dead Funny Eleanor Vaudeville Theatre 2018–2019 Home, I'm Darling Judy Theatr Clwyd and Royal National Theatre Co-Production Nominated – Olivier Award for Best Actress 2019 Uncle Vanya Sonya Theatre Royal Bath 2020 Shoe Lady Viv Royal Court Theatre 2022 Much Ado About Nothing Beatrice Lyttelton Theatre

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2013 Worms Clan Wars Ms. Tara Pinkle Narrator 2014 Worms Battlegrounds

Awards and nominations

Award Date Category Work Result Ref.2006 British Comedy Awards Best Female Comedy Newcomer The IT Crowd Best TV Comedy Actress 2025 British Academy Television Awards Best Supporting Actress Rivals 2026 British Academy Television Awards Best Female Comedy Performance Here We Go