Kiruna Stamell

Career While studying dance, theatre and film at the University of New South Wales, Stamell developed a passion for theatre and acting. She acted in a number of short plays at the university. In the summer holiday of her first year, she got her first major role when she submitted herself for extra work in the film Moulin Rouge!. Her initial casting as an extra led to the part of La Petite Princess being created especially for her. Following this, she performed with some of Australia's leading theatre companies, including her role as King Duncan in Macbeth for the Sydney Theatre Company and Cordelia in King Lear for Round Earth. She also appeared in the Australian short film Love Hurts as Cupid. She graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2003.

In 2005, Stamell returned to England after receiving funding from the Australia Council for a three-month secondment with the Graeae Theatre Company. While there, she obtained a number of professional stage roles in the UK, performing with the Quarantine Theatre Company and Graeae Theatre Company, and renewed her interest in dance with a secondment to CandoCo. She was generally well reviewed for her work in Graeae Theatre Company's production of Whiter Than Snow playing a young actress who wanted to break with stereotype and play the role of Snow White. Stamell also toured extensively throughout Europe with Campo, formerly known as Victoria, with their production of For All The Wrong Reasons.

In the late 2000s, Stamell was a frequent guest presenter on the BBC's Ouch! podcast. Stamell debuted on British television in 2009 when she appeared as Phoebe Tunstall in the six-part BBC drama series All the Small Things, and has made appearances on EastEnders as Sandra Fielding, starred in Cast Offs for Channel 4, and in 2011 as Amy in Life's Too Short for BBC 2. In 2012, she auditioned for the Sky 1 series Got to Dance. She was unanimously voted through the first round, but got no further. In 2013, she appeared in Giuseppe Tornatore's film, The Best Offer, and a year later, starred in a production of Great Britain for the National Theatre. In January 2023, Stamell began appearing as receptionist Kirsty Millar in the BBC soap opera Doctors. Alongside co-stars Richard Atwill and Isaac Benn, Stamell was nominated for the Best Family accolade at the 2023 British Soap Awards.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2001 Moulin Rouge! La Petite Princess Film 2005 Love Hurts Cupid Short film 2013 The Best Offer Girl in the Bar Feature film 2019 Judy & Punch Mavis Feature film

Television Year Title Role Notes 2001 Life Support PA 1 episode 2008–2009 EastEnders Sandra Fielding Guest role2009 All The Small Things Phoebe Main role Cast Offs Carrie Main role 2011, 2013 Life's Too Short Amy Recurring role 2014 Holby City Leonie Somers Episode: "Estel" 2015 Father Brown Enid Flay Episode: "The Invisible Man" 2018–2020 Play School Herself Presenter 2019–2020 The New Pope Abbess of the Monastery of Saint Therese Recurring role 2020 Wuthering Heights Isabella Linton Guest role 2021 Brassic June 1 episode 2022 The Serpent Queen Mathilde Main role 2023 Best Interests Jane 1 episode 2023–2024 Doctors Kirsty Millar Regular role 2025 Doctor Who Nina Maxwell Episode: "The Interstellar Song Contest"

Stage