Ashley Jensen

Known for ActingBorn 1969-08-11 (age 56)Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK

Ashley Jensen (born August 11, 1969) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Maggie Jacobs in Extras (2005–2007, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award), Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014–present), and DI Ruth Calder in Shetland (2023–present). Jensen trained in Drama at Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University. Her first significant television role was as Clare Donnelly, daughter of Glasgow criminal Jo-Jo Donnelly (played by Billy Connolly) in the 1993 BBC drama Down Among the Big Boys. In 1994, she played eccentric secretary Rosie McConnichy in the final series of BBC comedy May to December, as a replacement for the character of secretary Hilary (Rebecca Lacey), and Heather in Roughnecks, a BBC television series about workers on a North Sea oil platform. Jensen had a small role in a Dangerfield episode "Contact" as the mother of a young girl with meningitis. She then appeared as Fiona Morris in EastEnders. She also appeared in the 2003 BBC drama Two Thousand Acres of Sky. Jensen co-starred alongside Ricky Gervais in the BBC Two/HBO television programme Extras as the socially inept Maggie Jacobs. For her work on the first series, she received best television comedy actress and newcomer awards at the 2005 British Comedy Awards. In 2006, Jensen received two British Comedy Awards and a BAFTA nomination for her role in Extras. Her role in the 2007 Christmas Special earned her an Emmy Award nomination. In January 2006 she starred in the short-lived drama series Eleventh Hour on ITV. Later that year she played Steve Coogan's agent in A Cock and Bull Story. In 2007, she provided the narration for the film Taking Liberties. In 2014, she played the eponymous lead character in the television film adaptation of the M. C. Beaton novel Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death for Sky1. She also starred in the eight-part series that first aired on Sky1 on 7 June 2016. In 2017, she starred in a six-part TV series for BBC TV, Love, Lies & Records, depicting the gritty life and entwined storylines working in Leeds Registry Office. In March 2019, Jensen reunited with Gervais in the Netflix black comedy series After Life, a role she continued for all three series. In April 2019 she played Debbie Dorell in the second series of BBC TV drama Trust Me. When an injured soldier discovers patients in his hospital ward dying, he attempts to investigate the suspicious deaths. Also in 2019, she played the voice of Jacqueline in Lady and the Tramp.Read more

Movies & web series

No Holds Bard

Bad Boys

Dreaming

Takin' Over the Asylum

Rikki

The Secret Life of Kittens

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

After Life

Insane Fight Club II - This Time It’s Personal

DuckTales

How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Down Among the Big Boys

Summer Camp Island

Extras

Catastrophe

Shetland

Embarrassing Bodies

Silent Witness

Lady and the Tramp

Roughnecks

The Graham Norton Show

The Escape Artist

The Lobster

Man vs Baby

Tickets for the Zoo

Rebus

Arthur Christmas

Trust Me

Hysteria

Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

Topsy-Turvy

Taking Liberties

Eleventh Hour

Ugly Betty

Nativity!

Agatha Raisin

The Legend of Barney Thomson

A Cock and Bull Story

Love, Lies & Records

Casualty

Taping Nigel II: The Gimpening

The Friday Night Project

Gnomeo & Juliet

Sherlock Gnomes

Accidentally on Purpose

All Stars