Picture an actress who always pops up in TV dramas as a tough Northern character.

[StrychnineInTheSandwiches]

Is it this woman?

She popped up in a TV drama I was watching with my mum the other day and we commented that she’s always cast as the tough Northern woman. Always puts in a great performance, a face as familiar to me as Julia Roberts, but I had no idea what her name was.

Turns out she’s called Lorraine Ashbourne and googling shows me she’s married to Gollum from LOTR.

Lorraine Ashbourne. Brilliant actress, a grafter too she worked for many years without much recognition. I knew her back in the day.

Yes she did!
I also think of these two when I think of tough Northern women. Both amazing actresses.

Oooh yes and Lesley Sharp. Who played the wife of Bob in Rita Sue and Bob Too.

I thought you were going to say Sarah Lancashire.

I was going to add Amelia Bullimore, but I see from Wikipedia that she was actually born in Chelsea. She's played a lot of strong Northern women, though!

Lesley Sharp's another one, and she is from Manchester.

Maybe also Vicky McClure (Nottingham) - Kate Fleming from Line of Duty. Whether you count her as a Northerner depends on whether you count the Midlands as North, I suppose.

Maxine Peake is another great northern actor
Lorraine Ashbourne is a fantastic actor along with all the others mentioned here

Yes this lady is in loads of stuff, and yes she always plays the hard northern woman. It’s a bit like Keeley Hawes who also pops up everywhere.

I was thinking of Siobhan Finneran.

Clocking off was an incredible show.

And Nottingham is definitely not Northern! East Midlands.

Em308, DH and I regularly witter on about Clocking Off - we saw it first time round and the number of times we see actors in stuff now and say, oooh, they were in Clocking Off 20 years ago....

I loved clocking off too.

One of the actors who generally doesn't end up in rubbish..I find.

@TrentCrimm was Playing the field where Lorraine’s character keeps saying “I love you Dave”? Whenever Lorraine appears on something now, DH and I say to each other “I love you Dave” 😂

Yep 😂she was Geraldine, married to Dave

Ah, just checked an Clocking Off is on the iplayer. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there a year or so ago when I went looking for it.

That's January's viewing sorted

@TrentCrimm she had a fine way of showing it, shagging her husband’s brother! 😂

Came here to say Inside No 9! She does the tragicomic stuff excellently.

Siobhan Finneran is Sarah Lancashire's sister in Happy Valley.

Just seen a trailer for a film called Allelulia.

Lorraine is in it. Also

Jennifer Saunders
Judi Dench

Plus others