DANIELA DENBY-ASHE

'Daniela Denby-Ashe' (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress best known for her roles as Sarah Hills in ''EastEnders'' and as Janey Harper in ''My Family''.

Contents

Early life

Career

References

External link

Early life

Daniela Denby-Ashe was born in London in 1978, and she has a brother two years her junior.^[1] Denby-Ashe is of exclusively Polish descent. Her father, Mirosław Pszkit (pronounced "Pshkeet"), was born in Poland and came to Britain aged 12.^[2] Denby-Ashe's mother, who was born in Britain, was raised in France, but had Polish parents. Because of this, Denby-Ashe is fluent in French and Polish, as well as English. When her parents were getting married, they used the telephone directory to search for a suitable English-sounding surname, as most local people refused to learn how to pronounce Pszkit. One found "Denby", the other "Ashe" and as they couldn't decide which to use, they decided to double-barrel the two surnames.
Denby-Ashe began studying ballet at the age of two and a half, and from the ages of 10 to 16, she attended a theatre school. Her early career included television adverts and playing Saffy's daughter in an episode of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' in 1995. Other early appearances included ''The Bill'' and the Channel 4 sitcom ''Desmond's''.

Career

Daniela Denby-Ashe was first seen on television in an advert for KP Skips ("All that fizzin' and meltin'"), which then led her to her big break when, in 1995, she got the role of Sarah Hills in ''EastEnders''. She played this character until 1999. The following year, she got the role of Janey Harper in a new sitcom called ''My Family''. Denby-Ashe took a break from ''My Family'' for the fourth series in 2003, but returned to this role in 2004.
In 2004, she took the lead female role of Margaret Hale in BBC drama ''North & South'', and in 2006 played Mary in the ''Torchwood'' episode ''Greeks Bearing Gifts''. Her other television roles include ''Is Harry on the Boat?'', ''Office Gossip'', ''Rescue Me'' and ''The Afternoon Play''. In 2005, she appeared in a Radio 4 comedy called ''Ring Around the Bath''.^[3] Denby-Ashe has also performed at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Criterion Theatre, London in ''The Countess'' and in ''Motortown'' at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre.^[4]
In 2007, Denby-Ashe starred as Robert Maxwell's secretary in ''Maxwell'', a BBC drama about his life.^[5]

References

1. Daniela Denby-Ashe Biography, Filmography, Trivia
2. Interview with Daniela Denby-Ashe
3. Ring Around the Bath
4. London Theatre Guide
5. Suchet in title role of BBC Two's drama special Maxwell

External link

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