Jessica Hynes
A recent run of shows that didn't make it.
Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson) is a British actress, director and writer. Best known as a comedy actress, she has played Cheryl in The Royle Family (1998–2010), Siobhan Sharpe in Twenty Twelve (2011–2012) and W1A (2014–2017) and Emily Yates in There She Goes (2018–2023). She was also one of the stars, creators and writers of Spaced (1999–2001). She has also had starring roles in television film Tomorrow La Scala! and BBC dramas Years and Years (2019) and Miss Austen (2025). In film, Hynes has appeared in the Bridget Jones (2004–2016), Nativity (2012–2018) and Paddington (2017–2024) film series. Hynes has been nominated for two International Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, five BAFTAs (winning two), three Royal Television Society Awards (winning two) and three British Comedy Awards (winning two). Hynes was born in Lewisham, London, and grew up in Brighton, where she attended St Luke's Infant and Junior Schools and Dorothy Stringer High School. After her parents split up, she was raised by her mother. She moved back to London as a young adult. Her maternal grandmother came from the village of Llanelian, north Wales, where her uncle also ran a farm. Her mother is a fluent Welsh speaker who later moved back to north Wales. In 2023, Hynes took part in the S4C series Iaith ar Daith where she began to learn the Welsh language; she cited being able to speak Welsh to her mother as a reason why she wanted to take part in the programme. Early in her career, Hynes teamed up with future Spaced co-star Katy Carmichael in a comedy double-act called the Liz Hurleys, appeared in two productions at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, and acted for television shows including Staying Alive, Six Pairs of Pants, (Un)natural Acts, and Asylum (on which the Spaced team of Hynes, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright first assembled). From 1998 to 2000, she played the supporting role of Cheryl in the hit sitcom The Royle Family; she reprised the role for special episodes in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In 1999, she co-wrote and starred in Spaced, for which she won two comedy awards and was nominated for an International Emmy and a Bafta for writing and creating the show alongside Simon Pegg. In 2017 , she directed her first feature film, The Fight, produced by Jamie Adams and Unstoppable media. In 2018, she played the role of a mother in the BBC Four programme There She Goes. She stars alongside David Tennant, raising a daughter with a severe learning disability. It is based on the real life of writer Shaun Pye and his wife Sarah Crawford whose daughter was born with a chromosomal disorder. She won a Bafta for her role in the series and was nominated for an International Emmy for her role in '414' the special made in 2023. In 2019, she starred in the BBC and HBO production Years and Years for which she won a Royal Television Society award.Read full biography
TV Shows
25 Tracked Shows
Other Credits
Dreaming Whilst Black (2023), The Witchfinder (2022), Mood (2022), David Mitchell's Outsiders (2021), Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig (2021), There She Goes (2018), Hang Ups (2018), All Star Musicals (2017), Jack and Dean of All Trades (2016), Hooten & The Lady (2016), Insert Name Here (2016), Celebrity Advice Bureau (2016), Artsnight (2015), W1A (2014), Duck Quacks Don't Echo (2014), Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly) (2014), Up the Women (2013), Blandings (2013), Crackanory (2013), One Night (2012), Gadget Man (2012), Dara O Briain's Science Club (2012), Twenty Twelve (2011), World's Most Dangerous Roads (2011), Justin Lee Collins: Good Times (2010), British Film Forever (2007), According to Bex (2005), Bosom Pals (2004), Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2001), Bob & Rose (2001), Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000), Spaced (1999), People Like Us (1999), Unnatural Acts (1998), The Royle Family (1998), Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round (1998), Asylum (1996), Mash and Peas (1996), Six Pairs of Pants (1995), Tears Before Bedtime (1995), Crown Prosecutor (1995)