Biografia
Katherine was born and raised in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The daughter of Irish parents, she spent much of her childhood in County Kerry, Ireland, and also attended school in the United States, where she lived for several years. Since graduating from the renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Katherine Kelly has maintained a steady career across theatre, television, and film, demonstrating remarkable versatility.
Recently, Katherine appeared as Emily Jackson in ITV's critically acclaimed "The Long Shadow" and portrayed Angela Van Den Bogerd in "Mr Bates Vs The Post Office" (ITV). She also stars as Vicky in the new ITVX comedy "Ruby Speaking."
Katherine's notable screen roles include her lead as DI Natalie Hobbs in Netflix's International Emmy-nominated interrogation drama "Criminal: UK"; ITV's prime-time crime drama "Innocent"; the second series of Chris Lang's psychological thriller "Official Secrets" (eOne/IFC) alongside Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, and Matt Smith; the BIFA and Sundance-nominated film "Dirty God"; "Liar" with Joanne Froggatt; Lady Mae in ITV's "Mr Selfridge"; ITV's four-part chilling drama "Cheat" opposite Molly Windsor; the BBC adaptation of John Le Carré's "The Night Manager"; Sally Wainwright's multi-award-winning "Happy Valley"; Sky One's "Strike Back"; the mini-series "Him" with Fionn Whitehead; Sky comedy "Bloods" with Jane Horrocks; "The Last Train to Christmas" (Sky Cinema) alongside Michael Sheen; the BBC's Doctor Who spin-off "Class"; and as Elizabeth Sutherland in the second series of the historical BAFTA and RTS-nominated drama "Gentleman Jack" (BBC/HBO).
Katherine began her professional journey in theatre, working at Chichester Festival Theatre and Manchester Royal Exchange before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 2004/05. Subsequent credits include Jamie Lloyd's acclaimed production of Oliver Goldsmith's "She Stoops To Conquer" at The National Theatre and Josie Rourke's "dazzling revival" of "City of Angels" at the Donmar Warehouse, where she was praised for her "vamp-ooning to perfection as Alaura" (Variety).
In 2021, the critically acclaimed fictional podcast "Curl Up and D.I." was launched. Written and directed by Tony Pitts and produced by Katherine Kelly, this comedy is set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Slatby Bay. Featuring Jim Moir (Vic Reeves), Mark Benton, Morgana Robinson, Katherine Kelly, and Burn Gorman, it quickly rose to the top of the fiction podcast charts, securing the Number 1 spot and earning recognition as one of The Guardian's Podcasts of the Year.
Katherine plays DCI Hannah Wheatley in the upcoming ITV drama "Protection," starring alongside Siobhan Finneran, set to premiere in 2024. She is also collaborating with Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith on the final series of "Inside Number 9.
