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Carrie Quinlan is a British actress and comedy writer, known for her work in theatre, television and radio. She is best known for John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme[1], and played the lead in Agendum on BBC Radio 4.
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Quinlan was born in south London, and grew up in Wimbledon and Sutton before moving to Oxfordshire aged 16. She is the youngest of four children. Her mother, Mary Quinlan (née Finlay), was a nurse, and her father, Michael Quinlan, a civil servant. Quinlan attended Nonsuch High School in Surrey[2] and Cherwell School in Oxford,[3] before studying history at Bristol University.
Training
She trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama[4] from 2000 to 2003. While there she performed in As You Like It, Confusions and The Seagull. She was asked to return after graduating to play Julia Tesman in Hedda Gabler with Hayley Atwell.
Audio
Quinlan is best known for her work on radio. She has played various characters, including interviewer Patsy Straightwoman, in all nine series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme on Radio 4. From 2018 to 2019 she played the lead, Alexandra Palisades, in both series of Agendum on Radio 4.[5] In 2024 she will appear in her first Big Finish Doctor Who audio drama.
Television
Writing
Quinlan has also written comedy for television and radio, on shows such as Tracey Ullman's Show, That Mitchell and Webb Sound and The Late Edition. From 2006 to 2009, Quinlan became a regular panellist on The News Quiz, where she and chairman Sandi Toksvig often bantered about their respective heights. During this period she also wrote comment pieces for New Humanist, The Royal Society of Arts, The Tablet and The Guardian.[7] As of 2024 she is working with Joel Morris and Adam Tandy on a new television project.
Podcasting
Quinlan is co-host, with Andy Stanton, of Ask the Nincompoops,[8] a podcast for children where the two play supposedly brilliant professors of everything and answer questions from young listeners. Badly. It has been cited as one of the best podcasts for children by Huffington Post[9] and The Guardian[10] and was nominated for two awards at the 2020 British Podcast Awards.
She has co-hosted The Guilty Feminist,[11] and appeared as a guest on Griefcast, Comfort Blanket, Rule of Three, Worst Foot Forward and Always There, among others.
Despite Margaret Cabourn Smith asking more than once, Quinlan refuses to go on Crushed by Margaret Cabourn Smith,[12] as she's too scared.
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