Born in 1969 in Dumfries and Galloway, Ashley Jensen is a stage and screen actor. Raised by her mother, Margaret, in Annan, she left home at 14 to study drama at the National Youth Theatre in London. After graduating from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Jensen got her first TV job in 1990, finding fame in 2005 with her Emmy-nominated role as the guileless Maggie in Ricky Gervais’s Extras. Supporting parts in TV shows Catastrophe and Ugly Betty, and movies The Lobster and How to Train Your Dragon followed. Most recently, she has starred in Agatha Raisin and Shetland, which is now on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. She lives in Bath with her son, Frankie.
This photo was of a Christmas show at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow. I was 22 and performing in The Treasure of Wookimagoo. It’s not one of your classic pantos – it was created by a Scottish writer called Bruce Morton, who also starred in the show – but the atmosphere was lively, with a full audience every night. My character was Shona, the cheeky wee Buttons-type. I loved every second of it.
