
Jessica Hynes
Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson) is a British actress, director and writer. Best known as a comedy actress, she has played Cheryl in The Royle Family (1998–2010), Siobhan Sharpe in Twenty Twelve (2011–2012) and W1A (2014–2017) and Emily Yates in There She Goes (2018–2023). She was also one of the stars, creators and writers of Spaced (1999–2001). She has also had starring roles in television film Tomorrow La Scala! and BBC dramas Years and Years (2019) and Miss Austen (2025). In film, Hynes has appeared in the Bridget Jones (2004–2016), Nativity (2012–2018) and Paddington (2017–2024) film series. Hynes has been nominated for two International Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, five BAFTAs (winning two), three Royal Television Society Awards (winning two) and three British Comedy Awards (winning two). Hynes was born in Lewisham, London, and grew up in Brighton, where she attended St Luke's Infant and Junior Schools and Dorothy Stringer High School. After her parents split up, she was raised by her mother. She moved back to London as a young adult. Her maternal grandmother came from the village of Llanelian, north Wales, where her uncle also ran a farm. Her mother is a fluent Welsh speaker who later moved back to north Wales. In 2023, Hynes took part in the S4C series Iaith ar Daith where she began to learn the Welsh language; she cited being able to speak Welsh to her mother as a reason why she wanted to take part in the programme. Early in her career, Hynes teamed up with future Spaced co-star Katy Carmichael in a comedy double-act called the Liz Hurleys, appeared in two productions at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, and acted for television shows including Staying Alive, Six Pairs of Pants, (Un)natural Acts, and Asylum (on which the Spaced team of Hynes, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright first assembled). From 1998 to 2000, she played the supporting role of Cheryl in the hit sitcom The Royle Family; she reprised the role for special episodes in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In 1999, she co-wrote and starred in Spaced, for which she won two comedy awards and was nominated for an International Emmy and a Bafta for writing and creating the show alongside Simon Pegg. In 2017 , she directed her first feature film, The Fight, produced by Jamie Adams and Unstoppable media. In 2018, she played the role of a mother in the BBC Four programme There She Goes. She stars alongside David Tennant, raising a daughter with a severe learning disability. It is based on the real life of writer Shaun Pye and his wife Sarah Crawford whose daughter was born with a chromosomal disorder. She won a Bafta for her role in the series and was nominated for an International Emmy for her role in '414' the special made in 2023. In 2019, she starred in the BBC and HBO production Years and Years for which she won a Royal Television Society award.
118 acting credits · 1 directing credit
Acting · 118

Midsomer Murders
1997

Doctor Who
2005

The Graham Norton Show
2007

QI
2003

Skins
2007

The Last Leg
2013

8 Out of 10 Cats
2005

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
1996

Inside No. 9
2014

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007

Would I Lie to You?
2007

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
2013

Doctor Who Confidential
2005

Room 101
1994

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
2001

Death of a Unicorn
2025

The House of Eliott
1991

Shaun of the Dead
2004

Paddington in Peru
2024

The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
2018

Black Books
2000

The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
2024

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
2014

Patience
2025

Years and Years
2019

Travel Man: 48 Hours in...
2015

Spaced
1999

Twenty Twelve
2011

The Franchise
2024

Paddington 2
2017

Blandings
2013

W1A
2014
Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)
2000

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
2014

The Royle Family
1998

Crackanory
2013

Gadget Man
2012

Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)
2014

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
2004

People Like Us
1999

Insert Name Here
2016

Miss Austen
2025

Mood
2022

Hooten & The Lady
2016

Life After Life
2022

World's Most Dangerous Roads
2011

The Ranganation
2019

Bridget Jones's Baby
2016

The Witchfinder
2022

Asylum
1996

Hang Ups
2018

Dreaming Whilst Black
2023

There She Goes
2018

Swing Kids
1993

Chalet Girl
2011

Up the Women
2013

David Mitchell's Outsiders
2021
Artsnight
2015
All Star Musicals
2017
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
2006
Tears Before Bedtime
1995

Burke & Hare
2010

Justin Lee Collins: Good Times
2010

Son of Rambow
2007

The Baby of Mâcon
1993
Crown Prosecutor
1995
Mash and Peas
1996
According to Bex
2005

Pure
2002

Confetti
2006

British Film Forever
2007

Bob & Rose
2001

One Night
2012

Dara O Briain's Science Club
2012
Six Pairs of Pants
1995

Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
1998

Born Romantic
2000

Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!
2012

Jack and Dean of All Trades
2016

Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years and a Lovely Bit of Squirrel
2021

Seize Them!
2024

Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig
2021

Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse
2020

Cider with Rosie
2015

Swallows and Amazons
2016

Miranda: My Such Fun Celebration
2020

Songbird
2018

Pudsey the Dog: The Movie
2014
Celebrity Advice Bureau
2016

The Fight
2019

Magicians
2007

Learners
2007

Nativity Rocks!
2018

Four Last Songs
2007

Faintheart
2009

Spaced: Skip to the End
2004

Unnatural Acts
1998

Dick Whittington: The ITV Pantomime
2002
Comic Aid
2005

The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa
2010

Lizzie and Sarah
2010

Rapture
2023

Roald Dahl's Most Marvellous Book
2016

The Golden Egg Cup
2009

Catching the Bus
2021

Pinochet in Suburbia
2006

The Royle Family: Joe's Crackers
2010

Hollywood's Dark Secret
2019
The Angina Monologues
2010
Bosom Pals
2004

A Brush with Comedy
2023

Tomorrow La Scala!
2002

Shelter
2017

Winter
2015
We Love Sitcom
2016

The Lost Explorer
2010

The Mighty Boosh: A Journey Through Time and Space
2008

Seagull
2019