Joanna Page facts for kids

Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress and TV presenter. She is best known for playing Stacey Shipman in the very popular TV show Gavin & Stacey. This show even won a BAFTA award!

Joanna also appeared in the 1999 TV version of David Copperfield, where she played Dora Spenlow. You might also remember her as Just Judy in the 2003 movie Love Actually. More recently, she has helped present the BBC One show Shop Well for Less and joined Loose Women as a regular guest in 2023.

Early Life and Education

Joanna Page was born in a place called Treboeth, which is in Swansea, Wales. When she was at Mynyddbach Comprehensive School, she was chosen to be the head girl. After school, she went to a famous acting school called the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and finished her studies there in 1998.

Joanna's Acting Career

After finishing drama school, Joanna spent about ten years working in theatre. She often performed in plays that were set in the past, known as costume dramas. She worked with famous groups like the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. These theatre roles helped her get parts in movies like From Hell, Mine All Mine, Love Actually, and Miss Julie.

Becoming Stacey Shipman

Joanna became much more widely known when she got a main role in the BBC comedy show Gavin & Stacey. She played the character of Stacey Shipman. She was in all three series of the show from 2007 to 2010. She also returned for a special Christmas episode in 2019. In May 2024, it was announced that a final episode of Gavin & Stacey will be shown on Christmas Day 2024.

Other TV Shows and Movies

In 2001, Joanna had a big role in the BBC drama The Cazalets. This show was about a rich English family during the Second World War. In 2009, you might have heard her voice in TV and radio adverts for Kingsmill bread and for Carphone Warehouse at Christmas.

Joanna also performed in pantomimes. She played Cinderella in Woking in 2009, and in Wimbledon the year before. In 2010, she was Alice Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington at the Milton Keynes Theatre.

In 2010, she hosted a Sky 1 show called My Pet Shame. Later that year, she became the new face for the shop Superdrug.

From 2011, Joanna was the voice of the main character in the first season of Poppy Cat, a cartoon for young children on Nick Jr. Channel UK. In 2012, she appeared in the BBC One drama The Syndicate as Leanne Powell. She also played Helen Pearson in the Sky Living comedy Gates and Mrs Peterson in Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger. A big moment for her was in November 2013, when she played Queen Elizabeth I in "The Day of the Doctor", which was the 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who.

Presenting and Recent Roles

In 2021, Joanna started presenting the BBC One show Shop Well for Less. At the end of 2021, she also began co-hosting The Pet Show on ITV with Dermot O'Leary. In 2022, she appeared on the second series of The Masked Dancer as the character Pig.

Since 2023, Joanna Page has been a regular guest on the ITV talk show Loose Women.

Joanna's Personal Life

Joanna Page is married to an English actor named James Thornton. They actually both appeared in the 1999 TV show David Copperfield. Joanna played Dora Spenlow, and James played Ham Peggotty. Joanna and James have four children together.

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Theatre Roles

Radio Adverts

Awards and Nominations

Joanna Page was nominated for an award called 'Best Female Comedy Newcomer' at the 2007 British Comedy Awards. This was for her great work in comedy.