After graduation, Scanlan joined the academic staff of
Leicester Polytechnic where she lectured in drama for five years, before undertaking a similar role at the
Arts Council of Great Britain for three years. After the Arts Council of Great Britain was split in 1994, at age 34 Scanlan decided to try becoming a professional actor, quickly gaining the role as a nurse in
ITV1's
Peak Practice. This formed somewhat of a theme in her early career, playing a district nurse called Gillian in the last ever episode of
One Foot in the Grave, then playing a midwife in
The Other Boleyn Girl with
Natalie Portman and
Scarlett Johansson, before playing a nurse again alongside
Ade Edmondson's doctor in ill-fated
Doctors and Nurses, and latterly Dr Diana Dibbs in
Doc Martin with
Martin Clunes. Scanlan is known for her portrayal of
Terri Coverley, the notoriously useless senior press officer for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship in the British comedy television series
The Thick of It from 2005 to 2012. Among her successes is Scanlan's dark satirical NHS drama
Getting On, which she starred and co-wrote with
Jo Brand and
Vicki Pepperdine. The series earned her a
BAFTA nomination for Best Female Performance in a Comedy and a BAFTA Television Craft nomination for screenwriting in both 2011 and 2013. They were also nominated for Best Comedy Screenwriting at the
Royal Television Awards in 2010 and Best Comedy at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards in 2011. The comedy series was adapted for an American audience with
HBO, with Scanlan on board as an executive producer to closely work on script development. Scanlan was a guest star in the American version, reprising her role as Denise Flixter. The
Emmy-nominated show ran for three seasons between 2013 and 2015. Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine teamed up again to write and star in their
BBC Four comedy series
Puppy Love, which follows two women at their dog training classes on
the Wirral. Under their production company George and George Co., they are currently adapting
Puppy Love with HBO for America and a new sitcom
This Land is Ours is in development for US Network IFC. Scanlan plays lead character DI Inspector 'Viv Deering' in Paul Abbott's BAFTA nominated and RTS award-winning primetime drama,
No Offence. Scanlan appeared as Cathy in the 2016 romantic comedy ''
Bridget Jones's Baby''. Other film credits include
Charles Dickens' wife in
The Invisible Woman and roles in
Get Santa,
Testament of Youth,
In the Loop,
The Bad Education Movie,
The Other Boleyn Girl,
Stardust,
Notes on a Scandal,
Girl With A Pearl Earring,
Pin Cushion, After Love and
Kinky Boots. Additional television credits include
Death Comes To Pemberley,
Fungus the Bogeyman,
Mapp & Lucia,
Heading Out,
Stella,
Doc Martin,
One Foot in the Grave,
Spaced and
Slow Horses. On stage, Scanlan has worked with Thea Sharrock in her production of
Cloud 9 at the Almeida Theatre and
Top Girls, with Rufus Norris in
Vernon God Little at the
Young Vic, and featured in Polly Teale's
Madame Bovery. Scanlan appeared in the first two episodes of
McDonald & Dodds in 2020. In 2021, Scanlon played Ma opposite
Bradley Walsh’s Pop in
The Larkins. In March 2022, she received the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film
After Love (2020). Scanlan gave thanks in Welsh, "Diolch yn fawr iawn as we say in my country! BAFTA thank you so much...some stories have surprising endings don't they," and also thanked the film’s writer and director and the crew. In
Sally Wainwright's TV series
Riot Women, airing on
BBC One in 2025, Scanlan plays Beth, a teacher forming a punk-rock band with a group of other women. Scanlan starred in Mercy, written by
Peter Bradshaw, which was released as an Audible Original in January 2026. ==Personal life==