After leaving Stockport to go to College in Birmingham and studying to be a teacher Connolly was part of the Birmingham independent music scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She performed with the Surprises and the Evereadies regularly in
Moseley at the Fighting Cocks. Singles championed by
John Peel included "
Jeremy Thorpe is Innocent" and "Martian Girlfriend". Her act is heavily reliant on interaction with the audience, for example, acting as an
agony aunt to the audience. She played Holy Mary in
Phoenix Nights, a part
Dave Spikey claimed he wrote with her in mind and which was reprised in ''
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere'' written by Kay and
Paddy McGuinness. In October 2015, Connolly recorded a pilot for
BBC Radio 2's
Comedy Showcase series, which was made available on the
BBC iPlayer in November before being broadcast later that month. The BBC said: "Barbara is worried she and Ken (played by
John Henshaw) are at risk of adding to the numbers of silver splitters - they have nothing in common; Ken's idea of retirement involves a marathon session of
Pointless and that doesn't fit with Barbara's idea of a well-spent golden age." In October 2015, Connolly appeared in the stage adaptation of
Meera Syal's novel
Anita and Me at the
Birmingham Rep, for which she was acclaimed for her "comic talent". Further stage appearances have included
Birmingham Comedy Festival's
Lost Hancocks: Vacant Lot (2017–2018). and
Prime Time (2019). In September 2016, Connolly performed at the Keep Corbyn rally in Brighton in support of
Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in the
Labour Party leadership election. On 20 April 2019, Connolly auditioned in the character of Barbara Nice on the television programme ''
Britain's Got Talent. She made it to the live shows, however, she was later eliminated in the fifth semi-final. In 2022, Connolly began portraying receptionist Rosie Colton in the BBC soap opera Doctors''. She appeared on a temporary basis between February and September 2022 and again from May to November 2023, before returning permanently in September 2024 up until the conclusion of the programme in November 2024. In 2025/26 janice appeared at The Donmar Warehouse London playing mischievous Charwoman Mrs Northrop in Tim Shieders revival of JB Preistlys "When We Are Married " the stellar ensemble cast were all highly praised for their comic timing and the production was a highly popular critical success . ==Personal life==