Josie Lawrence (bornWendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with theComedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television seriesWhose Line Is It Anyway? and asManda Best inEastEnders.

Lawrence was born Wendy Lawrence on 6 June 1959 inOld Hill,West Midlands. Her parents were Bert Lawrence and Kathleen Lawrence, née Griffin, who were married in 1948. She has twin siblings, John and Janet, who are ten years her senior (1949). They were brought up in nearbyCradley Heath, where their father worked forBritish Leyland and their mother as adinner lady. Lawrence wanted to be an actress at the early age of 5 and at 16 joined the Barlow Players inOldbury.

She studied atDartington College of Arts from 1978 to 1981, receiving a Bachelor of Arts honours degree.

Her first acting role was as a young boy in a production ofThe Ragged Trousered Philanthropists at theHalf Moon Theatre (in 2016 she became a patron of the theatre).^[1] During the 1980s, she was also involved in a play calledPassionaria at theNewcastle Playhouse, starringDenise Black and Kate McKenzie, and they later formed the jazz group Denise Black and the Kray Sisters.^[2]

Her work in comedy began as a result of starring in aDonmar Warehouse play calledSongs For Stray Cats and hearing the audience invited to supply lines and ideas for improvisers appearing in after-show cabaret.

I played a manic depressive Glaswegian in the play and I'd seenJim Sweeney on the circuit when I was a singer with Denise Black and The Kray Sisters. So I stayed behind and watched one night and then, because I knew Jim, I said could I try it because it looked brilliant and it was one of those things I found I could do. You suddenly find your little baby. After that I joined The Comedy Store Players and then this TV show calledWhose Line Is It Anyway came along.^[2]

She starred as the title character in the 1993 Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith production of the musicalMoll Flanders.^[3][4]

From 1994–96, Lawrence played Katharine in theRoyal Shakespeare Company production ofThe Taming of the Shrew in bothStratford-upon-Avon and London, for which she received a DamePeggy Ashcroft award for Best Actress.^[5] She also appeared inFaust andThe Cherry Orchard and starred asBenedick in an all-female production ofMuch Ado About Nothing atShakespeare's Globe, having played Beatrice previously at Manchester'sRoyal Exchange. She made her West End theatre debut in 2001 taking over the lead role of Anna in the stage musicalThe King and I, replacingElaine Paige.^[6] In 2005, she appeared withVictoria Wood,Julie Walters andCelia Imrie in the cult West End production of Wood'sAcorn Antiques: The Musical.

In 2008, Lawrence took the lead role inTom Stoppard'sHapgood at theBirmingham Repertory Theatre and later at theWest Yorkshire Playhouse in which she was a secret spymaster given the task of exposing a traitor who is leaking vital information to the Russians.^[7] In the same year, she co-directedThe Time Step, a comedy about fantasies and talent contests, withLinda Marlowe at theEdinburgh Festival.^[8]

Lawrence appeared as Madame Ranevskaya in a new version ofChekhov'sThe Cherry Orchard, translated byTom Stoppard, at theBirmingham Repertory Theatre in autumn 2010.^[9]

Lawrence came to public attention as a regular performer on theChannel 4improvisational comedy seriesWhose Line Is It Anyway? at its launch in 1988. Lawrence's speciality on the show was her ability to improvise songs on the spot. She was the first female performer to appear on the show, featuring in both the original pilot episode and the first broadcast episode. Lawrence was featured onWhose Line until its ninth series in 1997 and 1998, which was the last of the UK series to actually be filmed in the UK. She also performed in two episodes of the American edition of the show in 1999.

In 1991, she had her own short-lived comedy seriesJosie  ^[d], also on Channel 4. The next year she starred inEnchanted April, a British remake ofthe 1935 film based onElizabeth von Arnim's novel. Her other television work includes the comedy seriesNot with a Bang andDownwardly Mobile, and she is remembered for her performances as Maggie Costello in the cricketing comedy dramaOutside Edge alongsideTimothy Spall,Robert Daws, andBrenda Blethyn, for which she was awarded the Spectacle Wearer of the Year award in 1993. She went on to perform inSealed with a Loving Kiss andLunch in the Park as part of thePaul Merton in Galton and Simpson's... series on 16 February 1996 and 21 October 1997. She appeared in the 1999 made-for-television filmThe Flint Street Nativity as both Debbie Bennett and Debbie's mother.^[10] In 2000, she played Camilla inA Many Splintered Thing.^[11] Between 1999 and 2001, she was the voice of "Duck" in the children's television showDog and Duck.^[12]

In 2006, she starred alongsidePeter Davison inThe Complete Guide to Parenting as Phoebe Huntley. She has also appeared in theBBC One drama seriesRobin Hood and as Mrs Jiniwin in the 2007 ITV adaptation ofThe Old Curiosity Shop. She appeared in an episode of the 2007E4 teen comedy/dramaSkins, playing Liz Jenkins, estranged mother ofSid Jenkins, a role which she reprised in the second series.

Lawrence was inEastEnders from March 2009 to February 2010. She playedManda Best, an old flame ofMinty Peterson.^[13][14] She was featured withMeera Syal in a celebrity special ofWho Wants to be a Millionaire? that aired on 31 January 2009.^[15] She has appeared as a guest on the panel show gamesQI andNever Mind the Buzzcocks.

In 2010, Lawrence appeared in series 25, episode 3 ofCasualty named "The Chaos Theory". Lawrence played Mrs Janet Haines,^[16] head teacher of a school where sixteen children were admitted to the emergency department having taken LSD. Also in 2010, she played the part of Sandra, Tony's agent, inthe 2010 British feature film version ofTony Hawks' best selling bookRound Ireland with a Fridge that was released in September 2010 and was released on DVD in November 2010.^[17]

In 2012, she appeared inDoctors alongsideLouise Jameson who has also appeared inEastEnders. Lawrence played Cathy Dayman, and Jameson played Shirley Carter.^[18] Also in 2012, she appeared on one episode of the US improv series,Trust Us With Your Life, similar toWhose Line is it Anyway?, but never made it to air.

Lawrence provided the voice of "The Brain" in the 2015 BBC Two quiz showBeat The Brain.^{[citation needed]}

In 2016, she played Barbara, a synthetic marriage counsellor in series 2 of the Channel 4 television seriesHumans.^[19]

In 2018, she played the lover of a married man portrayed by former "Whose Line" castmateJohn Sessions in the feature filmFinding Your Feet.

In 2019, she played Agnes Nutter in the Amazon Prime seriesGood Omens.

In 2020, she appeared in the BBC television seriesShakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators episode 3.5 "Thy Fury Spent" as Dr Helen Middleton.

Lawrence starred in three series of the improvised comedy seriesThe Masterson Inheritance from 1993 to 1995 onBBC Radio 4 alongsidePaul Merton,Phelim McDermott,Caroline Quentin,Lee Simpson andJim Sweeney. Each episode comprised a different time period, and the plots were improvised based on suggestions from the studio audience. One unaired episode was produced and narrated by Lawrence, but it was released on the internet by Jim Sweeney on his official site.

TheBBC Radio 4 seriesThe Lawrence Sweeney Mix aired from 27 February to 20 March 2007 and was described as "Josie Lawrence and Jim Sweeney create improvised sketches from audience suggestions".^[20] Series 2 began airing on 29 January 2008.^[21]

She has starred in three otherBBC Radio 4 comedy series: the science fiction comedyMarried in 1996 and the dark comedy seriesVent in 2006 as well as appearing in aGalton and Simpson Radio Playhouse 50th Anniversary recording ofClicquot et Fils alongsideRichard Griffiths andRoger Lloyd-Pack that originally aired on 29 December 1998.

She played the role of 'Amanda' in the comedy seriesReluctant Persuaders on BBC Radio 4.

Lawrence made her debut appearance in the long-running BBC Radio 4 showJust a Minute on 7 January 2008 and returned again in the following series.

In December 2014, Lawrence played the role of Agnes Nutter in an adaptation ofTerry Pratchett andNeil Gaiman's bookGood Omens for BBC Radio 4.^[22] In 2019, she reprised the role for the Amazon/BBC television production of the book.

Lawrence has lent her voice to severalaudiobooks, the majority of which were books for children. She has recorded several of the books inRoger Hargreaves'Little Miss series, namely,Bossy,Giggles,Trouble,Tiny,Sunshine,Naughty,Somersault andNeat and four ofJacqueline Wilson's books,Secrets,The Illustrated Mum,Bad Girls andThe Bed and Breakfast Star. She has also recorded books fromEmma Thomson's ^[d]Felicity Wishes,Eric Hill'sSpot the Dog andTony Bradman'sDilly the Dinosaur, as well asPhilip Ridley'sMercedes Ice andJulia Donaldson andAxel Scheffler'sRoom on the Broom as well as the 2005Muffin The Mule story books for a grandCD release.For adults, Lawrence has recordedaudiocassettes ofRosie Thomas'sSun at Midnight,Lynne Truss'sGoing Loco andDaphne du Maurier'sJamaica Inn.

She appeared on the 1992-1993 series ofGamesMaster, playingMad Dog McCree winning her challenge.

In 2003, Lawrence spent eight months walking across China, Cuba, Peru and Tanzania for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and helped to raise over £550,000.^[5] She had to wear a knee brace throughout the trek because of damage to her anterior cruciate ligament.^[23]

In 2005, she climbedMount Kilimanjaro forSunfield, a school for children with autism and complex learning needs, of which she is a patron.^[24] On 21 April 2008, she hosted a VIP-night performance of Hapgood atThe Birmingham Rep in aid of Sunfield and raised a further £3,500 for the charity.^[25] In 2009, Lawrence raised £25,000 for Sunfield by appearing onWho Wants to Be a Millionaire? withMeera Syal.^[26]

Lawrence andShane Richie participated in the final leg of the celebrityAround the World in 80 Days challenge to raise money forChildren in Need 2009. They travelled fromMemphis toWilmington, North Carolina and then to London over 15 days.^[27]

Lawrence is single. In an interview withJim Sweeney, she said of being asked why she is unmarried, "It's always the same: 'You're 41 and not married and no kids.' God, I'm so bored with it."^[28] She resides inHackney, London.^[29][30] She has two cats, a long-haired ginger (Aynuk) and a black-and-white (Ayli), named after theBlack Country charactersAynuk and Ayli, who feature prominently in jokes about Black Country dialect.^[31] As a guest onQI she namedDavid Attenborough her "God".

In 1994, Lawrence was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dartington College of Arts,^[5] and she has since been awarded two more, an honorary doctorate of letters from theUniversity of Wolverhampton in 2004^[32] and in 2006 a doctorate byAston University for "services to the entertainment industry."^[33]

Sandwell Council named one of their road gritting trucks "Frozie Lawrence" in her honour.^[34]

• Josie Lawrence atIMDb
• Josie Lawrence onStages of Half Moon

• 1959 births
• Living people
• 20th-century English actresses
• 21st-century English actresses
• Audiobook narrators
• English film actresses
• English stage actresses
• English television actresses
• English voice actresses
• English women comedians
• People from Oldbury, West Midlands
• Royal Shakespeare Company members
• People from Cradley Heath
• Comedians from Staffordshire
• Alumni of Dartington College of Arts

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