Joanna Louise Page (born 23 March 1977) is a Welsh actress and presenter. She appeared as Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning television series Gavin & Stacey.^[1] She played Dora Spenlow in the 1999 adaptation of David Copperfield, and featured as Just Judy in the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually. She currently co-presents (with Melanie Sykes) the BBC One consumer series Shop Well for Less. In 2023, Page joined Loose Women as a regular panellist.

Early life

Page was born in Treboeth, Swansea, Wales.^[2] She attended Mynyddbach Comprehensive School, where she was head girl. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1998.^[3]

Career

On graduation from RADA, Page spent ten years in stage-based roles, mainly costume dramas for the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. This led to appearances in film productions, including From Hell, Mine All Mine, Love Actually and Miss Julie.

Page came to wider public attention after taking a leading role in the BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey, playing the main part of Stacey Shipman.

Page had a leading role in the 2001 BBC drama production The Cazalets, about a disparate, well-to-do English family during the Second World War. In 2009, Page provided the voice-overs for a series of Kingsmill bread TV and radio advertisements and the Christmas TV advertising campaign for the Carphone Warehouse. In December 2009, she was the cover star of FHM.^[4] During Christmas 2009, Page played the role of Cinderella in pantomime in Woking, a role she played a year earlier in Wimbledon. The following year, she played the role of Alice Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington at the Milton Keynes Theatre.

In 2010, she hosted Sky 1 show My Pet Shame. In October of the same year, she became the new face of Superdrug.^[5]

From May 2011, Page provided the voice of the lead character in the first season of Nick Jr. Channel UK's pre-school animation Poppy Cat, later replaced by Jessica Ransom from BBC's Doc Martin. In 2012, Page played Leanne Powell in the BBC One drama series The Syndicate, Helen Pearson in the Sky Living comedy Gates, and Mrs Peterson in Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger. In November 2013, Page starred as Queen Elizabeth I in "The Day of the Doctor", the 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who.^[6]

In 2021, Page began presenting BBC One's consumer series Shop Well for Less.^[7] At the end of 2021 she began co-hosting the show The Pet Show on ITV with Dermot O'Leary.^[8] In 2022, she appeared on the second series of The Masked Dancer as Pig. In 2023 she filmed the BBC television feature Men Up, about the first clinical trials for the drug Viagra that took place in Swansea in 1994.^[9]

In 2023, Page began appearing as a regular panellist on the ITV talk show Loose Women.

Personal life

Page is married to English actor James Thornton.^[10] They both appeared in the 1999 TV serial David Copperfield (Page as Dora Spenlow and Thornton as Ham Peggotty). They were introduced a year later by Page's friend Maxine Peake, who was appearing alongside Thornton in the Royal National Theatre's stage adaptation of The Cherry Orchard.

Filmography

Recognition and awards

Page was nominated for Best Female Comedy Newcomer at the 2007 British Comedy Awards.^[11]

References

External links

• Joanna Page at IMDb