Ronni Ancona

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox writer Veronica Jane Ancona is a British actor, comedian, impressionist, and writer. She co-wrote and starred in The Big Impression<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> which was, for four years, one of BBC One's top-rated comedy programmes,<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> winning a BAFTA in 2003.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> Ancona also starred in the first series of the ITV series The Sketch Show.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> Ancona has appeared in the Last Tango in Halifax<ref name=":13">Template:Cite web</ref> since its creation in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> She is a co-director, alongside Sally Phillips and Nick Hamson, of the production company Captain Dolly.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref>

Early life

Ancona was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, but moved to Scotland when she was a few days old<ref name=":0" /> and was brought up in Troon. She is of Italian Jewish descent.<ref name="Ancona">Template:Cite news</ref> Her father was a commander in the Royal Navy and her mother was an artist who painted the sets at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr and the Theatre Royal in Glasgow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ancona is the youngest of three children, with two older brothers,<ref name=":0" /> one of whom, Simon, continued their father's tradition of serving in the Navy, retiring in 2017 as a rear admiral.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the BBC television programme Comedy Map of Britain she returned to her old school, Marr College in Troon, and talked about her earliest comedy performing experience as part of an improvisation group called Pots People.<ref name="comedymap">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She attended the University of Kent at Canterbury to study film and then did a degree in theatre and TV design at Saint Martin's School of Art.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At the age of 19, while she was studying at St Martin's College, the BBC's Blue Peter reported on a play about Brecht at the Riverside Studios in which she was involved as a designer and performer: her appearance was later covered on the BBC show Before They Were Famous.<ref name=":15">Template:Cite webTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Ancona then attended the Institute of Education, University College London and qualified as a teacher in art, design & technology, and drama.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> Whilst working as a teacher, Ancona started a comedy career on the live circuit. She won the Time Out Hackney Empire New Act of the Year in 1993.<ref name=":1" />

Television career

Ancona worked in radio and on television shows such as Fist of Fun,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as performing stand-up comedy. She co-wrote and performed in the shows Comedy Nation, Pulp Video, and The Sketch Show alongside Lee Mack.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":5" /> In 2000, she teamed up with Alistair McGowan, with whom she had previously worked on The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand De Bargos and Standing Room Only,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> to create The Big Impression.<ref name=":2" /> The show was one of BBC One's top-rating comedy programmes for four years,<ref name=":3" /> and won both a Variety Club Comedy Award and a BAFTA.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2003, she won "Best Actress" at the British Comedy Awards.<ref name=":10">Template:Cite web</ref> From 1996 to 2000, she also voiced Pennyghent on the CITV children's comedy series "Roger and the Rottentrolls".

In 2003, she starred in the BBC One historical drama The Key.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2005, she played Barbara in Stephen Poliakoff's Gideon's Daughter on BBC One.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite news</ref>

She has appeared several times on the BBC celebrity panel show QI.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2006, she was a guest presenter on Have I Got News For You.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also appeared on the Channel 4 comedy show TV Heaven, Telly Hell discussing her preferences in television shows.

In 2007, her three-episode comedy sketch series Ronni Ancona & Co was broadcast on BBC One.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She appeared as the mother of Katie and Emily Fitch in the third (2009) and fourth (2010) series of Skins.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2009, she had a leading role in the BBC comedy drama Hope Springs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As part of the BBC's The Big Read, she promoted The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.<ref name="bigread">Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2010, she appeared on A Comedy Roast, celebrating Sharon Osbourne's life.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She appeared on the 2010 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special where she was paired with Anton Du Beke.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ancona also took part in Comic Relief's Desert Trek 2011 alongside Craig David, Olly Murs, Dermot O'Leary, Scott Mills and Lorraine Kelly.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2012, she appeared in Last Tango in Halifax.<ref name=":13" />

In January 2015, she was a guest on Room 101.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2016, she played the role of Mrs Fletcher, the manager of a local care home, in the seventh series of the Scottish comedy Still Game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Later that year she made a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC television series Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, partnering with antiques expert James Braxton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2017, Ancona appeared as a guest on ITV's The Nightly Show, presented by Jason Manford, in which they each performed impersonations of famous people which the other had to identify.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 27 December 2020, Ancona appeared as a contestant on the Christmas special of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Celebrity Special.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

She won Pointless Celebrities in January 2021 with Jan Ravens.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Film career

Ancona's first feature role was in 1999 when she appeared in The Debt Collector alongside Billy Connolly.<ref name=":14" />

In 2004, she played the role of Pat Connelly in The Calcium Kid.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the same year, she appeared in Stella Street: The Movie, playing numerous female celebrities including Madonna and Victoria Beckham.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2005, Ancona played the role of Anita in Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She had a cameo role in the 2006 fantasy romantic comedy Penelope.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2013, Ancona was cast as Mrs Spencer in The Devil Went Down to Islington, a horror film following two hapless Londoners who sell their souls to Satan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She played Donna, Rob Brydon's agent, in the 2014 film The Trip to Italy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2018, she had a small role in the US comedy film Show DogsTemplate:Citation needed and starred in Surviving Christmas with the Relatives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Theatre

Ancona's first Edinburgh Festival appearance was in 1992, during which she performed in two shows: The Inexplicable World of Lionel Nimrod with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, and a stand-up show with Alistair McGowan.Template:Citation needed

Her first theatre role was in Miss Conceptions in 1996, a comedy play she co-wrote with Alan Francis, directed by Anthony Nielson.Template:Citation needed

In 2004, Ancona was cast in Singin' in the Rain, the first production with Adam Cooper. Ancona played the role of Lina Lamont, the silent-movie starlet, in the Sadler's Wells production.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She then played the gold-digging temptress Belline in Richard Bean's 2005 production of Molière's The Hypochondriac, alongside Carey Mulligan and Henry Goodman.<ref name=":15" /> The play received favourable reviews, with Michael Billington for The Guardian giving it four stars out of five and describing it as a "hilarious new version".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ancona returned to the Almeida to perform in Little Revolution, set during and after the 2011 London riots, alongside Lucian Msamati and Imogen Stubbs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In June 2015, Ancona was cast to play the role of Paula in the musical adaptation of Bend It Like Beckham at the West End's Phoenix Theatre. However, she had to pull out of the play for personal reasons before the premier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Later that year she appeared alongside Justin Fletcher in The Tale of Mr Tumble during the Manchester International Festival.<ref name="tumble">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2019, she performed in the Edinburgh Fringe show Just Checking In, which she co-wrote with Kim Fuller and fellow cast member Lewis MacLeod.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Written work

In 2009, A Matter of Life and Death: How to Wean a Man Off Football, by Ancona and Alistair McGowan, was published by Faber & Faber.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Awards

Ancona co-wrote The Big Impression,<ref name=":2" /> which won numerous awards including a BAFTA in 2003.<ref name=":4" /> She was nominated for Best Comedy Newcomer in 2000<ref name=":11">Template:Cite news</ref> and Best Comedy actress in 2002,<ref name=":12">Template:Cite news</ref> as well as winning The Best TV comedy Actress in 2003.<ref name=":10" /> Ancona and McGowan also received The Variety Club Comedy Award in 2002.<ref name=":9" />

Nominee – Best Comedy Newcomer – Big Impression – 2000<ref name=":11" />

Winner – Broadcast Award – 2001Template:Citation needed

Nominee – Best Comedy Actress – 2002 – Big Impression<ref name=":12" />

Winner – Variety Club Comedy Award – 2002<ref name=":9" />

Winner – New TV Talent of the Year – Television and Radio Industries Club – 2002<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Winner – Comedy Actress – Maxim Women of the Year Awards – 2002Template:Citation needed

Winner – Best TV Comedy Actress – Big Impression – 2003<ref name=":10" />

Winner – Funny Woman of the Year – Glamour Women of the Year Awards – 2004Template:Citation needed

Winner – BAFTA – The Sketch Show<ref name=":7" />

Winner – BAFTA – The Big Impression<ref name=":4" />

Personal life

Ancona had a seven-year relationship with Alistair McGowan, which ended shortly before they started working together professionally.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ancona is married to Gerard Hall, a consultant rheumatologist<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with whom she has two daughters. They live in west London.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ancona is an ambassador to the Environmental Investigation Agency,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Marie Curie<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Sightsavers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie	Consumer Watch presenter / Tomorrow's World presenter	Series 2, Episode 3
	The Imaginatively Titled Punt and Dennis Show		Series 1, Episodes 4–6
1995	What's Up Doc?	Leticia Geek	Series 3, Episode 25
	The Geeks		Series 1, Episode 1: "The Money, Money, Money" & Episode 6: "Our House"
	Scratchy and Co.	Various	CITV series
	Pulp Video	Various characters	BBC Two series
	The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos	Various (voice)	Series 5, Episodes 1–6
1995–1996	Fist of Fun	Sarah / Tina Hartiman / Various	Series 1, Episodes 3 & 4; Series 2, Episodes 1, 3 & 4
1996	Win, Lose or Draw!	Herself – Contestant	Series 7, Episodes 21–25
1997	Klinik!	Various characters (voice)	Channel 4 series
1997–2000	Roger and the Rottentrolls	Rottentroll Voices (voice)	Series 2–4, 26 episodes
1998	Comedy Nation	Various roles	BBC Two series
1999	Mark Lamarr Leaving the 20th Century		Series 1, Episode 2
	The Waiting Time	RMP Colonel	Television film
1999–2003	The Big Impression	Various characters	Series 1–4 & Christmas Specials, 30 episodes
2000	Holby City	Anna Griffiths	Series 3, Episode 7: "The Trouble with the Truth"
2001	Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible	Countess Kronsteen	Series 1, Episode 1: "Lesbian Vampire Lovers of Lust"
	Combat Sheep	Peaches (voice)	Television film
	The Sketch Show	Various characters	Series 1, Episodes 1–8
2002	Sport Relief	Herself / Victoria Beckham	Television Special
2003	Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do	Various characters	Television Special
	The Key	Maggie	Series 1, Episodes 1–3
2004	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?	Herself – Contestant	Series 16, Episodes 14/15: "Celebrity Special"
2005	Monkey Trousers	Various characters	Series 1, Episodes 1–5
	Gideon's Daughter	Barbara	Television film
	Comic Relief: Red Nose Night Live '05	Catherine Zeta-Jones / Courtney Cox Arquette / Renée Zellweger	Television Special
2006	Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive	Herself	Series 1, Episode 4
	Have I Got News For You	Herself – Guest Presenter	Series 32, Episode 6
	The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall	Herself	Television film
2006–2017	QI	Herself – Panellist	Series 4, 6–9, 12 & 14, 7 episodes
2007	Hotel Babylon	Theresa Evan	Series 2, Episode 1
	Agatha Christie's Marple	Amanda Dalrymple	Series 3, Episode 4: "Nemesis"
	Comic Relief 2007: The Big One	Various characters	Television Special
	Ronni Ancona & Co.	Various roles	Series 1, Episodes 1–3
2008	Comedy Classics	Narrator (voice)	Series 1, Episodes 1–6
2009	Hope Springs	Ann Marie Cairncross	Series 1, Episodes 1–8
	CBeebies Bedtime Stories	Herself – Storyteller	Series 1, Episodes 72–76
	Would I Lie to You?	Herself – Panellist	Series 3, Episode 7
2009–2010	Skins	Jenna Fitch	Series 3, Episode 9; Series 4, Episodes 2 & 4
2010	Strictly Come Dancing	Herself – Contestant	Series 8, Episode 27: "Christmas Special"
2011	Midsomer Murders	Kitty Pottinger	Series 13, Episode 8: "Fit for Murder"
	The Comic Strip Presents...	Barbara Windsor	Series 9, Episode 1: "The Hunt for Tony Blair"
	Pet Squad	Various (voices)	Series 1, 52 episodes
	Shooting Stars	Herself – Panellist	Series 8, Episode 5
2012	Little Crackers	Ex-Wife	Series 3, Episode 3: "Tommy Tiernan's Little Cracker: Howler"
2012–2020	Last Tango in Halifax	Judith	Series 1, 2, 4 & 5, 15 episodes
2014	The Trip	Donna	Series 2, Episodes 2–6
	Pointless Celebrities	Herself – Contestant	Series 6, Episode 12: "Comedy Performers" & Episode 30: "Comedians"
	Portrait Artist of the Year	Herself – Sitter	Series 2, Episode 2: "Julian Fellowes, Ronni Ancona, and Helen Kennedy"
2015	Father Brown	Madame Chania	Series 3, Episode 8: "The Lair of the Libertines"
	CBeebies Presents: The Tale of Mr. Tumble	Miss Eerie	Television film
	Citizen Khan	Sandra	Series 4 Episode 4: "Chicken Shop"
	Room 101	Herself – Guest	Series 15, Episode 1: "Tim Vine, Len Goodman, Ronni Ancona"
2016	Stella	Selina Child	Series 5, Episode 10
	Doctors	Alicia Largo	Series 18, Episode 10: "In Questa Reggia"
	Still Game	Mrs. Fletcher	Series 7, Episode 6: "Down and Out"
	Pointless Celebrities	Herself – Contestant	Series 10, Episode 6: "Impressionists"
2017	Where in the World	Narrator (voice)	CBeebies documentary series. Series 1, Episodes 1–20
2018	The Week That Wasn't		Sky One series
	Tourist Trap	Marie	Series 1, Episode 5
2020	Celebrity Chase	Herself – Contestant	Series 10, Episode 5
	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?		Series 35, Episodes 7: "Christmas Special"
	Pointless Celebrities		Series 13, Episode 24: "Impressionists"
2021	Richard Osman's House of Games		Series 4, Episodes 86–90
2022	The Hit List		Series 5, Episode 10: "Christmas Special"
	Portrait Artist of the Year		Series 10, Episode: "Celebrity Special"
	Friday Night Live	Olivia Colman	Television Special
2024	Death in Paradise	Lexi 'Alexandria' Reece	Series 13, Episode 6

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	The Debt Collector	Miss Dryden	Channel 4 Films
2003	The Early Days	Leela	Short film
2004	Stella Street: The Movie	Various roles	Absolutely Productions
	The Calcium Kid	Pat Connelly	Calcium Films Ltd.
2005	A Cock and Bull Story	Anita	Dir.: Michael Winterbottom
2006	Penelope	Wanda	Dir.: Mark Polansky
2010	Huge	Herself	Dir.: Ben Miller
2014	The Trip to Italy	Donna	BBC Films
2015	The Marriage of Reason & Squalor	Hen 3	Dir.: Jake Chapman
2016	The Prince of Denmark	Gertrude	Short film
2018	Show Dogs	Poopsie Chow's Owner	Open Road Films
	Stuffed	Gwen	Short film
	Surviving Christmas with the Relatives	Vicky	Studio Soho Films
2023	The Devil Went Down to Islington	Mrs. Spencer	Skinned Productions
TBA	Fortitude	Template:TBA	Filming

Radio

Title	Channel
Life, Death & Sex with Mike & Sue	Radio 4
The Alan Davies Show	Radio 4
Weekending	Radio 4
The Museum of Curiosity	Radio 4
Mum's on the Run	Radio 4
Shed Town	Radio 4
The Game's Up	Radio 5
Loose Ends	Radio 4
Wild Things	Radio 4
Hal	Radio 4
And This is Them	Radio 2
Griff Rhys Jones Show	Radio 4
Gaby's Talking Pictures	Radio 4

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue
1996	Miss Conceptions		Edinburgh Festival
2004	Singin' in the Rain	Lina Lamont	Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
2005	The Hypochondriac	Belline	Almeida Theatre, London<ref name=":15"/>
2014	Little Revolution	Jane / various	Almeida Theatre
2015	The Tale of Mr Tumble	Unsmiling Principle	Manchester Opera House<ref name="tumble"/>
2016	Carry On Chilcot		Duke of Wales Theatre, London
2019	Just Checking In		Edinburgh Fringe

Writer

Title
The Week That Wasn't
Ronni Ancona & Co
Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show
The Sketch Show
The Big Impression
Pulp Video
Comedy Nation
Monkey Trousers
Standing Room Only
Miss Conceptions
Just Checking In

Producer

Title
Posh & Beck's Big Impression: Behind the Scenes & Extra Bits

Bibliography

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External links

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