City Lights: Pure Dead Brilliant
2025 · Movie
as Self - Narrator
Ashley Jensen
1969-08-11
•
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.
Filmography
Man vs Baby
2025 · TV Show
as Janet
Rikki
2024 · Movie
as Narrator
Christmas on Mistletoe Farm
2022 · Movie
as Ms Fletcher
Mayflies
2022 · TV Show
as Anna
Dog Squad
2022 · TV Show
as Meagaidh (voice)
Agatha Raisin: Kissing Christmas Goodbye
2021 · Movie
as Agatha Raisin
Inside the Balmoral: Scotland's Finest Hotel
2021 · TV Show
as Self - Narrator
Lady and the Tramp
2019 · Movie
as Jock (voice)
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
2019 · Movie
as Phlegma (voice)
After Life
2019 · TV Show
as Emma
Sherlock Gnomes
2018 · Movie
as Nanette (voice)
Aliens Love Underpants and...Panta Claus
2018 · Movie
Summer Camp Island
2018 · TV Show
as Miss Mary (voice)
DuckTales
2017 · TV Show
as Downy McDuck / Agnes McDuck / Danny McDuck (voice), Downey McDuck (voice)
Love, Lies & Records
2017 · TV Show
as Kate Dickenson
Trust Me
2017 · TV Show
as Debbie Dorrell
Facelifts and Fillers
2016 · Movie
as Narrator
The Secret Life of Kittens
2016 · TV Show
as Narrator
Agatha Raisin
2016 · TV Show
as Agatha Raisin
The Legend of Barney Thomson
2015 · Movie
as Detective Inspector June Robertson
No image
Insane Fight Club II - This Time It’s Personal
2015 · Movie
as Narration
The Lobster
2015 · Movie
as Biscuit Woman
Catastrophe
2015 · TV Show
as Fran
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
2014 · Movie
as Agatha Raisin
Small Time
2014 · Movie
as Gail
All Stars
2013 · Movie
as Gina
The Escape Artist
2013 · TV Show
as Kate Burton
Shetland
2013 · TV Show
as DI Ruth Calder
Love and Marriage
2013 · TV Show
as Sarah Paradise
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
2012 · Movie
as The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (voice)
Gnomeo & Juliet
2011 · Movie
as Nanette (voice)
Arthur Christmas
2011 · Movie
as Bryony (voice)
Hysteria
2011 · Movie
as Fanny
The Reckoning
2011 · TV Show
as Sally Wilson
How to Train Your Dragon
2010 · Movie
as Phlegma the Fierce (Voice)
Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention
2010 · TV Show
as Self - Narrator
Nativity!
2009 · Movie
as Jennifer Lore
A Shot To The Mouth
2009 · Movie
as (archive footage)
No Holds Bard
2009 · Movie
as Isobel
Accidentally on Purpose
2009 · TV Show
as Olivia
Free Radio
2008 · TV Show
as Self
Taking Liberties
2007 · Movie
as Narration
Taping Nigel II: The Gimpening
2007 · Movie
as Self
No image
The Art of Breaking Character
2007 · Movie
as Self
The Graham Norton Show
2007 · TV Show
as Self
Embarrassing Bodies
2007 · TV Show
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Ugly Betty
2006 · TV Show
as Christina McKinney
Eleventh Hour
2006 · TV Show
as Rachel Young
A Cock and Bull Story
2005 · Movie
as Lindsey
Extras
2005 · TV Show
as Maggie Jacobs
The Friday Night Project
2005 · TV Show
as Self - Host
Rebus
2000 · TV Show
as Mhairi Henderson
Topsy-Turvy
1999 · Movie
as Miss Tringham
City Central
1998 · TV Show
Silent Witness
1996 · TV Show
No image
Bad Boys
1996 · TV Show
as Morag Hood
Waiting
1995 · Movie
as Amanda Cookson
Roughnecks
1994 · TV Show
as Heather
Takin' Over the Asylum
1994 · TV Show
as Kathleen
Down Among the Big Boys
1993 · Movie
as Claire Donnelly
Rab C. Nesbitt Live
1992 · Movie
as Isobel / Rena
Tickets for the Zoo
1991 · Movie
as Eleanor
Dreaming
1991 · Movie
as Betting Shop Cashier
This Morning
1988 · TV Show
as Self
Casualty
1986 · TV Show
as Jess, Stella
