Joanna Suzanne Coffey (born 26 August 1976) is an English comedian, actress and writer. After beginning her career in stand-up comedy and performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, she has since gone on to appear in various television shows including EastEnders, Avoidance, The Witcher: Blood Origin and Extraordinary. Since 2023, she has portrayed the role of Wendy Whitwell in the BBC school drama Waterloo Road.

Life and career

Joanna Suzanne Coffey was born on 26 August 1976 in Solihull, West Midlands.[1][2] She began her career in stand-up comedy and has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe several times since 2007.[1] Her shows include My Dad's Caravan Is Rubbish and Not 25.[1][3] Coffey has dwarfism and describes herself as "the comedy circuit's fourth shortest comic".[4] Coffey subsequently embarked on a career as an actress and appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Elspeth, a probationary officer overseeing Lucas Johnson in January 2021.[5] In 2022, she took part in the Channel 4 comedy programme Jokes Only A...Can Tell in an episode featuring jokes told by disabled comedians.[6] She also appeared in the BBC comedy series Avoidance as Deena, as well as portraying a dwarf in an episode of the Netflix fantasy series The Witcher: Blood Origin.[7][8]

In 2023, Coffey was cast in the BBC school drama Waterloo Road as Wendy Whitwell.[9][10] Her character has served as the personal assistant of headteachers Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), Steve Savage (Jason Manford) and Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson) respectively.[11][12] The same year, she appeared in an episode of the comedy series Extraordinary as Denise, a chemist.[13] She also appeared on Rosie Jones's Disability Comedy Extravaganza, and was a contestant on an episode of Celebrity Mastermind in which she answered questions on the Dallas character J. R. Ewing.[14][15][16] In 2024, Coffey appeared in an episode of the spy thriller series Alex Rider as churchwarden Lisa Torrence.[8]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2021 EastEnders Elspeth Guest role [5]
2022 Jokes Only A...Can Tell Herself Episode: "Disabled People" [6]
2022 Avoidance Deena Guest role [7]
2022 The Witcher: Blood Origin Dwarf Episode: "Of Ballads, Brawlers and Bloodied Blades" [8]
2023–present Waterloo Road Wendy Whitwell Main role [17]
2023 Extraordinary Denise the Chemist Episode: "Dead End Job" [13]
2023 Rosie Jones's Disability Comedy Extravaganza Herself Guest [14]
2023 Celebrity Mastermind Denise the Chemist Episode: "Dead End Job" [13]
2024 Alex Rider Lisa Torrence Episode: "Shot" [8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Jo Coffey | Ingenious Fools". Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Jo Coffey – Finding the Funny". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Jo Coffey, comedian tour dates : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Jo Coffey: Not 25". Fest Magazine. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Who did Jo Coffey play in EastEnders and where is she now?". Heart. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Channel 4 launches new digital comedy series 'Jokes Only A... Can Tell'". Channel 4. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  7. ^ a b Guide, British Comedy. "Avoidance: Series 1, Episode 5". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d "Jo Coffey". Plex.tv. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Waterloo Road 2024 cast: Meet the old and new characters in BBC drama | Radio Times". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Waterloo Road's cast of staff, parents and students reveal all about the new series". BBC. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  11. ^ "Waterloo Road season 14 release date and latest news | Radio Times". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Waterloo Road season 15 release date, news and updates | Radio Times". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 February 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  13. ^ a b c Guide, British Comedy. "Extraordinary: Series 1, Episode 3 - Dead End Jobs". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  14. ^ a b Creamer, Jon (20 June 2024). "Rosie Jones's Disability Comedy Extravaganza returns for a third". Televisual. Archived from the original on 10 November 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Jo Coffey, comedian news : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  16. ^ "BBC One - Celebrity Mastermind, 2023/24, Episode 5". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Waterloo Road teases first-look images as series is confirmed to return to the BBC in January". BBC. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
Allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Coffey
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