Katie Redford (actress)

{{Infobox person

| name = Katie Redford

| birth_name = Katie Ann Redford

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|3|2|df=y}}

| birth_place = Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, England

| years_active = 2013–present

| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|writer|playwright}}

| known_for = {{hlist|The Archers|Doctors|Mount Pleasant|Still Open All Hours}}

| website = {{url|katieredford.com}}

}}

Katie Ann Redford (born 2 March 1989){{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl|title=FreeBMD - Search|website=www.freebmd.org.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/coronation-street-actress-katie-redford-sacked-after-lying-about-her-age-20150120-12u0xu.html|title=Coronation Street actress Katie Redford sacked after lying about her age|website=amp.smh.com.au}} is an English actress, writer and playwright. Since 2017, she has portrayed the role of Lily Pargetter in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers, as well as making appearances in television series including Doctors as Bethany Morris and Still Open All Hours as Beth. She also played characters in Young Hyacinth and Mount Pleasant.{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a805025/kerry-howard-is-keeping-up-appearances-in-young-hyacinth-pictures/|title=Kerry Howard is Young Hyacinth in these pictures from Keeping Up Appearances prequel|website=Digital Spy |date=17 August 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a856196/still-open-all-hours-bbc-one-orders-fifth-series/|title=Still Open All Hours gets a fifth series on BBC One|website=Digital Spy |date=2 May 2018}} Redford is also a writer, having written an audio drama Yellow Lips in 2021 and her debut play Tapped in 2022.{{Cite web | url=https://theguardian.com/stage/2022/apr/13/trapped-theatre503 | title=Tapped review – inside the funny-sad world of the Go Get It! Group | website=TheGuardian.com | date=13 April 2022 }}

Career

Redford was born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire. She began her career working behind the scenes of the BBC soap opera Doctors as a runner.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hatchtalent.co.uk/katie-redford-writer|title=Katie Redford|website=Hatch}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.midlandsmovies.com/midlands-interview-with-katie-redford|title=Midlands Interview with Katie Redford|date=3 September 2019|website=www.midlandsmovies.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/bbcdoctors/status/830060261511933956|title=Fun fact about The Mill's new work experience visitor - many years ago she was a Runner on the show! Welcome back Katie.|website=Twitter|publisher=Doctors|date=10 February 2017|accessdate=13 May 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.katieredford.com|title=Katie Redford|accessdate=12 October 2021}} At the beginning of her acting career, she appeared in several short films including Pitfall, Turn Your Bloody Phone Off: American Blood, Turn Off Your Bloody Phone - Film 4 Frightfest: The Dark Heart of Cinema and Norm. In 2015, Redford was cast as Bethany Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. However she was sacked before filming after it emerged that Redford had lied about her age and said she was 19 when she was in fact 25, in order to play 14-year-old Bethany in the show, a character 11 years her junior.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30882619|title=Corrie drops actress over age claims|date=19 January 2015|website=BBC News}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/29/coronation-street-new-bethany-platt-lucy-fallon-katie-redford_n_6569910.html|title=Meet The New (New) Face Of Bethany Platt|date=29 January 2015|website=HuffPost UK}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/soaps/coronation-street/coronation-street-bethany-platt-actress-dropped-after-claims-emerge-she-lied-about-her-age/|title=Coronation Street Bethany Platt actress dropped after claims emerge she lied about her age|website=Radio Times}} The role was recast to Lucy Fallon instead.{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/coronationstreet/articles/bethanys-back-lucy-fallon-casting|title=Bethany's Back!|website=ITV}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31036858|title=Coronation Street role recast|date=29 January 2015|website=BBC News}} Redford later said that she did not want to be in Coronation Street and received online abuse on social media.{{Cite web | url=https://m.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/distraught-actress-25-victim-to-online-abuse-since-it-emerged-she-said-she-was-19-to-bag-coronation-street-role-30935863.html | title='Distraught' actress (25) victim to online abuse since it emerged she said she was 19 to bag Coronation Street role }}{{Cite web | url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/katie-redford-didnt-want-coronation-5041697.amp | title=Sacked Katie Redford 'didn't want to be in Coronation Street' | website=Daily Mirror | date=25 January 2015 }} Redford has also played Lisa in the film Urban Hymn and Cazzy in the fifth series of the comedy Mount Pleasant.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tigeraspect.co.uk/series/comedy-entertainment/mount-pleasant-series-5/|title=Mount Pleasant Series 5|date=1 March 2016|website=Tiger Aspect Productions}} In 2016, she played Rose Walton in Young Hyacinth, the prequel to Keeping Up Appearances.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p046x7x0|title=BBC One - Young Hyacinth, "Who would play your Richard?" and other questions|website=BBC}}

In 2017, Redford returned to Doctors, this time in an acting role as Bethany Morris, appearing in four episodes.{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/doctors/a820066/sacked-coronation-street-star-katie-redford-doctors-first-look/|title=Here's your first look at sacked Corrie star in Doctors|website=Digital Spy |date=29 January 2017}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/ex-coronation-street-star-katie-9632415.amp | title=Axed Coronation Street star lands new BBC soap role | website=Daily Mirror | date=16 January 2017 }} Redford was then cast as Lily Pargetter in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers and was then cast in the role of Beth in Still Open All Hours and appeared until 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/19Hb0vR1nVvzTrBBgjn7lPv/lily-pargetter|title=BBC Radio 4 - The Archers - Lily Pargetter|website=BBC}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09m8m4z|title=BBC One - Still Open All Hours, Series 4, Episode 2|website=BBC}} In 2018, she co-wrote and appeared in the short film Ghosted alongside Alison Steadman. In 2019, she played Lizzie Wiley in the Channel 5 mini drama Cold Call.{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/cold-call-cast-channel-5-a4290796.html|title=Meet the cast of Cold Call, Channel 5's first ever original drama|first=Tobi|last=Akingbade|date=19 November 2019|website=www.standard.co.uk}} She also played characters called Rose in Mister Runner and Werewolf in 2020 and appeared in the radio drama Teatime.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fghw|title=BBC Radio 4 - Teatime|website=BBC}} In 2021, Redford played social worker Jane in the BBC comedy Alma's Not Normal and in 2022 appeared as Jill the Phone Woman in the episode of Not Going Out titled "Jury".

Redford began writing in between acting jobs and is a member of the BBC Writersroom Comedy Room.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/59127769-6c71-42a6-a8bb-a1de2943c4d2|title=The view from inside BBC Writersroom's Comedy Room|date=17 January 2017|website=BBC}} Redford wrote her first audio drama, Yellow Lips which debuted on BBC Radio 4 in 2021 and follows a daughter's memories of her mum's struggle with mental health.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tmky|title=BBC Radio 4 - Drama, Yellow Lips|website=BBC}} In 2022, Redford wrote a play called Tapped which was described in The Guardian newspaper as "episodic-TV quality, with some amusing dialogue and interesting narrative turns" and was rated three out of five stars.{{Cite web | url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/The-World-Premiere-of-Katie-Redfords-TAPPED-Comes-to-Theatre503-20220125 | title=The World Premiere of Katie Redford's TAPPED Comes to Theatre503 }}

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
2013 \| Doctors \| {{N/A}} \| Runner
2013 \| Pitfall \| Chloe \| Short film
2014 \| Turn Your Bloody Phone Off: American Blood \| Janet \| Short film
2014 \| Turn Off Your Bloody Phone - Film 4 Frightfest: The Dark Heart of Cinema \| Janet \| Short film
2014 \| Norm \| Waitress \| Short film
2015 \| Urban Hymn \| Lisa \| Film
2015 \| Mount Pleasant \| Cazzy \| Recurring role
2016 \| Young Hyacinth \| Rose \| Television film
2017–present \| The Archers \| Lily Pargetter \| Radio role
2017 \| Doctors \| Bethany Morris \| Guest role
2018 \| Ghosted \| Emma \| Short film
2019 \| Cold Call \| Lizzie \| Recurring role
2017–2019 \| Still Open All Hours \| Beth \| Main role
2020 \| Mister Winner \| Rose \| Episode: "The Interview"
2020 \| Werewolf \| Rose \| Short film
2021 \| Alma's Not Normal \| Jane \| Recurring role
2022 \| Not Going Out \| Jill the Phone Woman \| Episode: "Jury"
2022 \| Outlander \| Margit \| Episode: "I Am Not Alone"

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

2013

| Doctors

| {{N/A}}

| Runner

2013

| Pitfall

| Chloe