Ronni Ancona

Ancona was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, but moved to Scotland when she was a few days old Her father was a commander in the Royal Navy and her mother was an artist who painted the sets at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr and the Theatre Royal in Glasgow. Ancona is the youngest of three children, with two older brothers, In the BBC television programme Comedy Map of Britain she returned to her old school, Marr College in Troon, and talked about her earliest comedy performing experience as part of an improvisation group called Pots People. She attended the University of Kent at Canterbury to study film and then did a degree in theatre and TV design at Saint Martin's School of Art. At the age of 19, while she was studying at St Martin's College, the BBC's Blue Peter reported on a play about Brecht at the Riverside Studios in which she was involved as a designer and performer: her appearance was later covered on the BBC show Before They Were Famous. Ancona then attended the Institute of Education, University College London and qualified as a teacher in art, design & technology, and drama. Whilst working as a teacher, Ancona started a comedy career on the live circuit. She won the Time Out Hackney Empire New Act of the Year in 1993. ==Television career==

Ancona worked in radio and on television shows such as Fist of Fun, as well as performing stand-up comedy. She co-wrote and performed in the shows Comedy Nation, Pulp Video, and The Sketch Show alongside Lee Mack. to create The Big Impression. In 2003, she won "Best Actress" at the British Comedy Awards. From 1996 to 2000, she also voiced Pennyghent on the CITV children's comedy series "Roger and the Rottentrolls". In 2003, she starred in the BBC One historical drama The Key. In 2005, she played Barbara in Stephen Poliakoff's ''Gideon's Daughter'' on BBC One. She has appeared several times on the BBC celebrity panel show QI. In November 2006, she was a guest presenter on Have I Got News for You. She also appeared on the Channel 4 comedy show TV Heaven, Telly Hell discussing her preferences in television shows. In 2007, her three-episode comedy sketch series Ronni Ancona & Co was broadcast on BBC One. She appeared as the mother of Katie and Emily Fitch in the third (2009) and fourth (2010) series of Skins. In 2009, she had a leading role in the BBC comedy drama Hope Springs. As part of the BBC's The Big Read, she promoted The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In April 2010, she appeared on A Comedy Roast, celebrating Sharon Osbourne's life. She appeared on the 2010 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special where she was paired with Anton Du Beke. Ancona also took part in Comic Relief's Desert Trek 2011 alongside Craig David, Olly Murs, Dermot O'Leary, Scott Mills and Lorraine Kelly. In 2012, she appeared in Last Tango in Halifax. In 2016, she played the role of Mrs Fletcher, the manager of a local care home, in the seventh series of the Scottish comedy Still Game. Later that year she made a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC television series Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, partnering with antiques expert James Braxton. In April 2017, Ancona appeared as a guest on ITV's The Nightly Show, presented by Jason Manford, in which they each performed impersonations of famous people which the other had to identify. On 27 December 2020, Ancona appeared as a contestant on the Christmas special of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Celebrity Special. She won Pointless Celebrities in January 2021 with Jan Ravens. In January 2026, Ancona is set to appear in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Bea Pollard, an old classmate of Linda Carter (Kellie Bright). ==Film career==

Ancona's first feature role was in 1999 when she appeared in The Debt Collector alongside Billy Connolly. In the same year, she appeared in Stella Street: The Movie, playing numerous female celebrities including Madonna and Victoria Beckham. In 2005, Ancona played the role of Anita in Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story. She had a cameo role in the 2006 fantasy romantic comedy Penelope. In 2013, Ancona was cast as Mrs Spencer in The Devil Went Down to Islington, a horror film following two hapless Londoners who sell their souls to Satan. She played Donna, Rob Brydon's agent, in the 2014 film The Trip to Italy. In 2018, she had a small role in the US comedy film Show Dogs and starred in Surviving Christmas with the Relatives. ==Theatre==

Ancona's first Edinburgh Festival appearance was in 1992, during which she performed in two shows: The Inexplicable World of Lionel Nimrod with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, and a stand-up show with Alistair McGowan. Her first theatre role was in Miss Conceptions in 1996, a comedy play she co-wrote with Alan Francis, directed by Anthony Nielson. In 2004, Ancona was cast in ''Singin' in the Rain'', the first production with Adam Cooper. Ancona played the role of Lina Lamont, the silent-movie starlet, in the Sadler's Wells production. She then played the gold-digging temptress Belline in Richard Bean's 2005 production of Molière's The Hypochondriac, alongside Carey Mulligan and Henry Goodman. Ancona returned to the Almeida to perform in Little Revolution, set during and after the 2011 London riots, alongside Lucian Msamati and Imogen Stubbs. In June 2015, Ancona was cast to play the role of Paula in the musical adaptation of Bend It Like Beckham at the West End's Phoenix Theatre. However, she had to pull out of the play for personal reasons before the premier. Later that year she appeared alongside Justin Fletcher in The Tale of Mr Tumble during the Manchester International Festival. In 2019, she performed in the Edinburgh Fringe show Just Checking In, which she co-wrote with Kim Fuller and fellow cast member Lewis MacLeod. ==Written work==

In 2009, A Matter of Life and Death: How to Wean a Man Off Football, by Ancona and Alistair McGowan, was published by Faber & Faber. ==Awards==

Ancona co-wrote The Big Impression, and Best Comedy actress in 2002, as well as winning The Best TV comedy Actress in 2003. Winner – Comedy Actress – Maxim Women of the Year Awards – 2002 'Winner – Best TV Comedy Actress – The Big Impression – 2003' 'Winner – Funny Woman of the Year – Glamour Women of the Year Awards – 2004' 'Winner – BAFTA – The Sketch Show''''' 'Winner – BAFTA – The Big Impression''''' ==Personal life==

Ancona had a seven-year relationship with Alistair McGowan, which ended shortly before they started working together professionally. Ancona is married to Gerard Hall, a consultant rheumatologist with whom she has two daughters. They live in west London. Ancona is an ambassador to the Environmental Investigation Agency, Marie Curie and Sightsavers. ==Filmography==

Television Film Radio Theatre ==Writer==