Ashley Jensen is an Emmy award-nominated actress best known for her roles in smash-hit series such as Extras, Ugly Betty and Agatha Raisin and BBC detective drama Shetland season 9.
In Shetland, Ashley plays DI Ruth Calder, a steely cop who swapped her life in London for cracking crimes in the Scottish isle. Working alongside DI Tosh McIntosh (played by Alison O'Donnell), the ladies have already shown they're a force to be reckoned with.
We can't wait to see what's next for Calder, but in the meantime let's get to know a little more about Ashley...
Ashley Jensen was inspired to act by a very quirky TV character
Ashley Jensen was born on August 11, 1969, and hails from Annan, a town in Dumfriesshire, south-west Scotland.
She was raised by her single-parent mum, who Ashley says she owes everything to.
Growing up, Ashley always wanted to be an actress, but briefly toyed with the idea of becoming a vet - "Until I realised you had to stick your hand up a cow's arse", she told The Guardian.
She was inspired to pursue a career in performing after watching Michael Crawford playing hapless Frank Spencer in the 1970s series Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. In an interview with BAFTA, Ashley said: "I think it (Michael's) was a performance of total genius, in every way."
She starred in a quirky play alongside David Tennant
After school, Ashley studied Drama at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University.
One of her first acting gigs post drama school was with a Scottish theatre company, acting alongside a certain David Tennant.
In a chat with The Independent Ashley revealed: "It was a Brecht play called The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui."
"We did this vaudeville production and it was all white faces and mental make-up. I was playing an old man, so I had a fat suit, a bald wig, glasses, a walking stick, fake sideburns, rotten teeth and liver spots."
"I had been out of drama school a year so I was the old hand, and David was the green new boy. It was so funny."
The pair bonded and have been firm pals ever since.
Extras propelled her to international fame
Ashley's other early roles included playing criminal Jo-Jo Donnelly in the 1993 crime drama Down Among the Big Boys, as well as appearances in Dangerfield, The Bill, EastEnders and Casualty.
But fame came calling in 2005 when the creator of The Office, Ricky Gervais, cast her in his BBC/HBO sitcom, Extras.
Ashley played nice-but-dim Maggie Jones, best mate of wannabe actor Andy Millman (aka Gervais).
The show went on to become a huge hit, earning Ashley an array of awards, including four British Comedy Awards, as well as a BAFTA and Emmy Award nominations.
Ashley's character in Ugly Betty was meant to be American
After the success of Extras, Ashley did what very few Brit actors have been able to achieve - she cracked America.
In September 2006, she made her debut as seamstress Christina McKinney in the ABC series, Ugly Betty.
But here's a fun fact for you. Christina was initially written as being American. But after the show's producers met with Ashley and fell in love with her distinctive accent they decided to re-write the script and make Christina Scottish.
Ashley has admitted she never had a burning desire to work in Hollywood, and only went up for the job because she was holidaying in California at the time the audition came up.
Ashley stayed with the show for three series but decided to quit after filming moved to New York from Los Angeles.
She'd love to be invisible
Ashley has admitted if she could be given any super power then it would be the ability to turn invisible. Which seems an obvious choice given she's a famous face, and gets recognised wherever she goes.
The star told The Guardian: "I love listening to conversations, but people get grumpy at someone staring at them, or they go, "Oh, you're Maggie from Extras."
She's dealt with terrible tragedy in her personal life
Ashley's late husband was actor, Terence Beesley, who was best known for his roles in Victoria and playing General Bennigsen in BBC One's War and Peace.
They met in 1999 when they were both starring in a production of King Lear. After marrying in a low-key ceremony in Big Sur, the couple went on to welcome a son, Francis, who Ashley affectionately calls Frankie.
The family relocated from London to Bath, but tragedy struck in 2017 when Terence sadly passed away and an inquest later confirmed he'd taken his own life.
Ashley is married to a fellow actor
Ashley has found happiness again with Kenny Doughty, an actor who's best known for playing DS Aiden Healy on ITV's Vera.
The couple, who choose to keep their romance out of the public eye, got hitched at Priston Mill in August 2023 in an intimate ceremony for close family and friends.
According to reports, Ashley wore an off-white wedding dress with floral embroidery and coral-coloured platform heels. While Kenny looked dapper in a powder blue suit and suede loafers.
She gets very chilly while filming Shetland
Ashley loves everything about filming in the stunning setting of Shetland.
Well, almost everything.
The actress has admitted dealing with the biting cold can often be a challenge. "I've known cold when I've been filming, but this was something else," Ashley revealed to The Scotsman. "This is filming when it's so cold your fingers have stopped working."
So how did the crew help fix the problem? "We had heat pads in our pockets, our underwear and taped to our backs. We even had to put our hands in hot water in between takes to literally thaw them out."
Ashley Jensen's fact file
Frequently asked questions about the star...
How old is Ashley Jensen?
Ashley Jensen is 55, she was born on August 11, 1969.
Is Ashley Jensen married?
Ashley Jensen married her second husband, Vera actor Kenny Doughty in 2023.
Does Ashley Jensen have children?
Ashley Jensen has one son, Frankie, who was born on October 20, 2009.
Where was Ashley Jensen born?
Ashley Jensen was born in Annan, south-west Scotland.
How tall is Ashley Jensen?
Ashley Jensen is five foot three.
We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.
