Emma Cunniffe

Emma Cunniffe (born 3 July 1973) is an English film, stage and television actress.

Emma Cunniffe
Born	(1973-07-03) 3 July 1973 (age 51) Chester, England
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	Rufus Jones ​ (m. 2008)​

Early life

Cunniffe was raised in Frodsham, Cheshire and attended Frodsham High School.^[1] She was in the local Frodsham panto group whilst growing up and was once in a pantomime with Gary Barlow. Originally it was dance she was into, until she went to theatre school at the age of 13 and fell in love with drama. ^[2]

Career

Her television credits include Hetty Wainthrop Investigates (Chrissie in 'Safe as Houses', 1996), The Lakes (BBC 1997, 1999), "Biddy" in a TV adaptation of Great Expectations, All the King's Men, Clash of the Santas, alongside Robson Green and Mark Benton, Clocking Off (BBC), and Flesh and Blood with Christopher Eccleston.^[3] She played DS Tina Murray in New Tricks (S3:E4 Diamond Geezers, 2006.). She also appeared in the sixth series Doctor Who episode "Night Terrors", alongside the Eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith. She appeared in the BBC documentary The Genius of Mozart as Constanze, Wolfgang's wife. In 2009, she played Carol Boynton in the ITV adaptation of Appointment with Death, in series 11 of Agatha Christie's Poirot. In mid-2014, she played DS Hawthorn in Coronation Street, investigating the circumstances of the attack on and subsequent death of Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) and on 5 January 2015, she played Kenzie Calhoun's mother, Ailsa in Waterloo Road

On stage, she won the UK Theatre Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Master Builder in 2000.^[4] Her other stage work includes Tales from Hollywood, Losing Louis at the Trafalgar Studios in London and in 2006 Women Beware Women for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.^[3] She was nominated for "what's on stage" award in 2011 for her role as Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible at Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park.

In 2015 she appeared as Mabel Grayson in the BBC TV series Father Brown episode 3.9 "The Truth in the Wine". The same year, she appeared as the eponymous monarch in the RSC's production of Helen Edmundson's Queen Anne.^[5] In September 2019, she appeared in four episodes of Doctors as Dr Janet Fielding.

Personal life

Cunniffe lives in London with her husband, Rufus Jones, whom she married in 2008.^[6]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Cuts	Karen	TV film
1997	The Ruby Ring	Noreen/Nellie
1998	Among Giants	Barmaid
1999	Great Expectations	Biddy	TV film
	Underground	Caz
	Dreaming of Joseph Lees	Red-Haired Girl
	Tube Tales	Drained Young Woman	TV film
	All the King's Men	Peggy Batterbee
2000	Blue Murder	Vanessa
	Innocents	Sharon Peacock
2001	The Whistle-Blower	Kathy Enfield
	Love or Money	Samantha
2002	The Cry	Christine Rearden
	Plain Jane	Jane
	Flesh and Blood	Cath Broughton
2004	Rabbit on the Moon	Tania Bower
	Undone	Laura	Short film
2005	Cherished	Claire Connolly	TV film
2008	Clash of the Santas	Alice
2014	MOTH (Man of the House)	Ruth	Short film
2016	Their Finest	Ettie	Uncredited
2020	Miss Marx	Laura Marx
2021	The Mezzotint	Mrs. Filcher	TV film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Woof!	Minicab Girl	Episode: "Get Me to the Church"
	Cracker	Sarah Jennings	Episode: "The Big Crunch"
1995	The Upper Hand	Nurse	Episode: "Second Thoughts"
	Dangerfield	Penny Noakes	Episode: "The Norfolk Holiday"
	The Bill	Annie Barlow	Episode: "A Quiet Night In"
1996	The 10%ers	Vanessa	Series 2
	A Touch of Frost	Michelle Robins	Episode: "Paying the Price"
	Hetty Wainthropp Investigates	Chrissie	Episode: "Safe as Houses"
	Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's...	Avril	Episode: "Don't Dilly Dally on the Way"
	Life After Birth	Alison	Series regular, 6 episodes
1997	Dalziel and Pascoe	Karen Spillings	Episode: "Exit Lanes"
1997–1999	The Lakes	Emma Kavanagh	Series regular, 13 episodes
1998	Maisie Raine	Cheryl Slayburn	Episode: "A Blast from the Past"
2002	Clocking Off	Kim Anderson	Recurring role, 3 episodes
2004	The Genius of Mozart	Constanze Mozart	Mini-series, 3 episodes
	Silent Witness	Rosa Christie	Episode: "Body 21"
2006	New Tricks	D.S. Tina Murray	Episode: "Diamond Geezers"
	Holby City	Hazel Keel	Episode: "Just Another Day"
2007	John and Karen	Karen	TV short
2008	Banged Up Abroad	Camilla	Episode: "Nightmare in Chechnya"
	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Carol Boynton	Episode: "Appointment with Death"
	Place of Execution	Ruth Hawkin	Mini-series, 3 episodes
	Casualty	Karen Clarkson	Episode: "Someone's Lucky Night"
	Midsomer Murders	Sally Fielding	Episode: "Blood Wedding"
2009	The Bill	Maggie Reaney	Episode: "Fall Out"
2011	Casualty	Detective Inspector Joanne Collins	Episode: "Boys Will Be Boys"
	Doctor Who	Claire	Episode: "Night Terrors"
2012	Good Cop	Eva Bays	Mini-series, 1 episode
2013	The Other Child	Emma Beckett	Mini-series, 2 episodes
	Jo	Anabelle	Episode: "Place Vendôme"
	Southcliffe	Annie Gould	Mini-series, 3 episodes
	Moving On	Louise	Episode: "Hush Little Baby"
2014	Coronation Street	D.S. Hawthorn	Recurring role, 13 episodes
2015	Father Brown	Mrs. Mabel Grayson	Episode: "The Truth in the Wine"
	Waterloo Road	Ailsa Calhoun	Recurring role, 2 episodes
	Inspector George Gently	Anita Magath	Episode: "Gently Among Friends"
	Holby City	Elaine Owen	Episode: "Spiral Staircases"
	Lewis	Bryony Willet	Episode: "One for Sorrow"
2016	Midsomer Murders	Reverend Melissa Ackers	Episode: "Habeas Corpus"
2017	Unforgotten	Janet	Recurring role, 4 episodes
2019	Doctors	Dr. Janet Fielding
2020	Silent Witness	Jess Fisher	Episode: "Deadhead"
	Endeavour	Rosemary Prince	Episode: "Raga"
	Roadkill	Sydney	Mini-series, 4 episodes
2021	The Irregulars	Laura Machin	Episode: "The Ghosts of 221B"
	Agatha Raisin	Fran Tamworthy	Episode: "Kissing Christmas Goodbye"
	The Mezzotint	Mrs Filcher	Television film
2023	Doctors	Christine Barker-Smith	Episode: "A Matter of a Moment"[7]

Theatre credits

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref
1996	Hamlet	Ophelia	UK Tour	[8]
1997	Caravan	Kelly	Bush Theatre, London	[9]
1999	The Master Builder		UK Tour	[10]
2001	Tales from Hollywood		Donmar Warehouse, London	[11]
2002	A Buyer's Market	Rosie Delaware	Bush Theatre, London	[12]
2003	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	Madame de Tourvel	Bristol Old Vic, Bristol	[13]
	Twelfth Night	Viola	Royal Exchange, Manchester	[14]
2004	Major Barbara	Major Barbara Undershaft		[15]
2005	As You Like It	Rosalind	Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh	[16]
	Losing Louis	Bobbie Ellis	Hampstead Theatre, London & Trafalgar Theatre, London	[17]
2006	Women Beware Women	Isabella	Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon	[18]
	The Glass Room	Tara	Hampstead Theatre, London	[19]
2007	The Entertainer	Jean	The Old Vic, London	[20]
2008	Three Sisters	Masha	Royal Exchange, Manchester	[21][22]
2009	Educating Rita	Rita	Citizens Theatre, Glasgow	[23]
	Amongst Friends	Caitlin	Hampstead Theatre, London	[24]
2010	The Crucible	Elizabeth Proctor	Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London	[25]
	Dumb Show	Liz	Rose Theatre Kingston, Kingston upon Thames	[26]
2011	Edward II	Isabella of France	Royal Exchange, Manchester	[27]
	A Doll's House	Nora Helmer	The Lowry, Salford	[28]
2012	The Conquest of the South Pole	La Braukmann	Arcola Theatre, London	[29]
2013	Proof	Claire	Menier Chocolate Factory, London	[30]
	Wendy & Peter Pan	Mrs. Darling	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon	[31]
2017	Queen Anne	Anne, Queen of Great Britain	Theatre Royal Haymarket, London	[32][33]
2018	The Art of Success	Louisa	Rose Theatre Kingston, Kingston upon Thames	[34]
	The Taste of the Town	Mrs. Bascombe		[35]
2021	Romeo and Juliet	Nurse	Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London	[36]

References

1. Flint, Rachel (23 July 2013). "Frodsham born Emma Cunniffe will be performing in Ibsen's ground-breaking play A Doll's House this February". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
2. "Frodsham's Emma Cunniffe - Playing in a Doll's House". Great British Life. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
3. "Emma Cunniffe". Drama Faces. BBC. Archived from the original on 23 June 2006.
4. "UK Theatre Awards Previous Winners". 1999. UK Theatre Association. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
5. "Cast and creative | Royal Shakespeare Company". Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
6. Taylor, Sarah (6 June 2010). "Emma Cunniffe: In the closet". Express. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
7. Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Sid Vere makes a SURPRISE discovery!". What to Watch. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
8. "Emma Cunniffe". Conway Van Gelder Grant. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
9. Butler, Robert (16 November 1997). "THEATRE: FUN AND LOSSES ON OUR SUMMER HOLIDAYS". Independent.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
10. Gardner, Lyn (12 October 1999). "The Master Builder". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
11. "TALES FROM HOLLYWOOD". Free Library. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
12. Koenig, Rhoda (10 April 2002). "A Buyer's Market, Bush Theatre, London". Independent.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
13. "What's on in March". BBC. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
14. Gardner, Lyn (19 September 2003). "Twelfth Night". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
15. Hickling, Alfred (19 May 2004). "Major Barbara". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
16. Gardner, Lyn (21 September 2005). "As You Like It". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
17. Nightingale, Benedict (26 January 2005). "Losing Louis". The Times. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
18. McMillan, Peter (2 March 2006). "Women Beware Women - Swan, Stratford". Worcester News. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
19. Billington, Michael (29 November 2006). "The Glass Room". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
20. "The Entertainer at the Old Vic". London SE1. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
21. "Emma Cunniffe in Chekhov's Three Sisters". North Wales Live. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
22. "I've been lucky'". Manchester Evening News. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2019. UPDATED January 13, 2013
23. "Performing in Educating Rita is like going back to school for me, says star Emma Cunniffe". Daily Record. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
24. Gardner, Lyn (28 May 2009). "Amongst Friends". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
25. "Emma Cunniffe". Open Air Theatre. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
26. Gardner, Lyn (11 April 2010). "Dumb Show". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
27. Hickling, Alfred (13 September 2011). "Manchester". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
28. Bowen, Rick (28 February 2011). "Review: A Doll's House @ Lowry, Salford". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
29. Gardner, Lyn (1 May 2012). "The Conquest of the South Pole – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
30. Barnett, Laura (24 March 2013). "Proof – review". The Guardian. The Observer. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
31. Peterson, Tyler (15 October 2013). "Full Cast Announced for Royal Shakespeare Company's Fiona Button & Sam Swann-Led WENDY & PETER PAN". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
32. Mountford, Fiona (11 July 2017). "Queen Anne, theatre review: A real summer treat all round". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
33. Billington, Michael (1 December 2015). "Queen Anne review – pain and passion of a monarch's fight to rule with grace". The Guardian.
34. "HOGARTH'S PROGRESS: THE ART OF SUCCESS". Rose Theatre. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
35. "First Look: Hogarth's Progress The Taste of The Town". Theatre Weekly. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
36. Macdonald, Brendan (29 June 2021). "Review: Romeo and Juliet at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre". Exeunt Magazine. Retrieved 5 February 2022.

External links

• Emma Cunniffe at IMDb