She was a finalist in the So You Think You're Funny? competition at the
Gilded Balloon in 2003 and performed two shows at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the following year. In 2004, she was placed at the
Funny Women Awards. From 2006 to 2011 she played the role of Magda, an Eastern European housekeeper, in the
BBC sitcom
Lead Balloon. Her
deadpan performance has been described as "scene-stealing". In 2013 she and regular comedy partner
Katy Wix began starring in their own sketch show,
Anna and Katy, on
Channel 4, having originated the show as a
Comedy Lab episode the previous year. She stars in the BBC children's comedy series ''
Sorry, I've Got No Head'', alongside
William Andrews,
James Bachman,
Marcus Brigstocke,
Mel Giedroyc,
Marek Larwood and
Nick Mohammed. In December 2008 Crilly was nominated for a
British Comedy Award as Best Female Newcomer for her portrayal of Magda in
Lead Balloon, but lost out to
Katy Brand. In 2007 she appeared in episode 78, "Susan of Troy", of
My Family as an assistant on
The Weakest Link. She also appeared as "woman" in
Ricky Gervais' comedy
Extras as an extra herself (series 2, episode 5). She has also starred in
Pixelface, a comedy for children, as a waitress zombie slayer called Claire Parker. In 2011, she appeared in an episode of the sitcom
Not Going Out, playing the role of a drug misuse counsellor. The same year she had a guest role on the radio series
Cabin Pressure as Linda Fairburn. Crilly plays the lead role as Coma Girl in
Channel 4's
Comedy Showcase, again alongside Katy Wix. She and Wix also appeared together in the Harvey's Furniture Store sponsorship bumpers for
Coronation Street until the sponsorship deal ended in 2012. She plays Mel Gatwick in
Tom Basden's sitcom
Party for
BBC Radio 4. In 2012 she appeared as "Nurse" in a sketch called "The Private Detectives" in the TV programme "The One Jasper Carrott" with
Jasper Carrott and
Robert Powell. On 22 June 2012, she played Gertrude Wermers in the third episode of BBC series
Dead Boss. In 2016, she appeared in an episode of
BBC Three's comedy series
Witless. In 2017, she appeared in
Death in Paradise episode "Man Overboard" (season 6 episode 5) as Lucy Chapman. Crilly portrayed Detective Sergeant Natalie Golding in the 2023
BBC One drama
The Sixth Commandment, which portrayed the crimes of
Ben Field. In October 2023 Crilly appeared in
Ghosts (2019 British TV series) as an insurance investigator. ==Filmography==