Roisin Conaty Explained

Roisin Conaty
Birth Date: 26 March 1979 df=y
Birth Place:London, England
Website:roisinconaty.com
Occupation:Comedian, actress, writer
Years Active:2004–present

Roisin Conaty (; born 26 March 1979) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She won the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010 for her show Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar. She played Jo in Channel 4 sitcom Man Down from 2013 to 2017. In early 2014, the pilot of the sitcom GameFace, of which she is the writer, lead actress and executive producer, aired on Channel 4. The first full series aired in 2017 on both E4 and Hulu in the US. The second series aired on Channel 4 and Hulu in July 2019. Conaty won the Heat magazine's "Unmissables Comedian of the Year" award in 2019. She played Roxy in the first two series of the Netflix comedy-drama series After Life.

Early life

Conaty was born in the Camden area of London, the daughter of Irish parents.[1] Her mother was a nurse from Dromcolliher, County Limerick, while her father was an Aer Lingus employee from Virginia, County Cavan. She grew up in Camden with her younger sister, Siobhan,[2] and spent summers in Ireland. She studied film at Middlesex University and had several office jobs before starting her comedy career at the age of 24.[3] [4] [5]

Career

Comedy

In 2010, Conaty won the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival for her show Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar.[6] [7] In April 2011, she performed her show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[8] She followed that show up with Lifehunter in 2013.[9]

In November 2010, she appeared on series 3, episode 4 of Russell Howard's Good News. Other stand-up performances include "The Angina Monologues", alongside Victoria Wood, Jo Brand, Andi Osho, Isy Suttie and Katy Brand for Sky Television, Russell Howard's Stand Up Central on Comedy Central and Live at the Apollo in December 2015. In 2016, she was a guest on the Jonathan Ross Show.

Conaty has appeared on a number of panel shows, including Have I Got News for You, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Insert Name Here, A League of Their Own, Would I Lie to You?, Hypothetical, and Room 101. She starred in the BBC Three version of Impractical Jokers.[5]

Conaty was one of the original cast of comedians in series 1 of Taskmaster on Dave. Taskmaster creator and co-host Alex Horne when reflecting on her performance in the tasks said that she was "the worst. But also one of my favourites."[10]

Conaty appeared on The Big Fat Quiz Of Everything broadcast on 7 January 2021 on a team with Rob Beckett.[11]

Acting

Conaty played Jo in the Channel 4 sitcom Man Down, alongside Greg Davies, from 2013 to 2017; and appeared in Ricky Gervais' film .

In 2014, she wrote and starred in the pilot of her sitcom GameFace, in which she plays a struggling actress named Marcella.[12] [13] The pilot aired on Channel 4 in April 2014, following which a full series was commissioned, which premiered on E4 in October 2017. The second series debuted in July 2019 with critical acclaim.[14]

Between 2019 and 2020, Conaty featured in the Netflix comedy-drama series After Life as Daphne/Roxy.[15]

Selected filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012–2014Impractical JokersHerself12 episodes; series 1 and 2
2013–2017Man DownJo26 episodes
2014GameFaceMarcellaTelevision pilot; also writer and creator
2014-2022Herself6 episodes
2014-20238 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown20 episodes
2015TaskmasterSeries 1 contestant
2016Cat
2017-2019GameFaceMarcella11 episodes; also writer and creator
2019–2020After LifeDaphne/Roxy10 episodes; series 1 and 2
2020Richard Osman's House of Games NightHerself5 episodes
2023The CleanerHerselfEpisode: "The Dead End"
The Weakest LinkHerself1 episode

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ganatra . Shilpa . July 14, 2019 . Roisin Conaty: ‘I feel more Irish than British’ . 2023-11-07 . The Irish Times . en.
  2. Web site: 2015-07-20 . Roisin Conaty... Stand up and be counted . 2024-03-17 . Irish Independent . en.
  3. Web site: Roisin Conaty. comedycv.co.uk. 27 April 2012. 11 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120311093907/http://www.comedycv.co.uk/roisinconaty/index.htm. live.
  4. Web site: Roisin Conaty. chortle.co.uk. 27 April 2012. 26 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120426063523/http://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/r/337/roisin_conaty. live.
  5. News: Roisin Conaty... Stand up and be counted. Irish Independent. 20 July 2015. Andrea. Smith. 6 October 2017. 7 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171007021951/http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/roisin-conaty-stand-up-and-be-counted-31384992.html. live.
  6. News: Roisin Conaty - review. Logan. Brian. 29 August 2010. The Guardian. 13 March 2011. 1 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151001014419/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/aug/29/roisin-conaty-edinburgh-review. live.
  7. News: Roisin Conaty: Destiny's Dickhead, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh. Hall. Julian. 9 August 2011. The Independent. 11 November 2011. 7 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111107214311/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/reviews/roisin-conaty-destinys-dickhead-pleasance-courtyard-edinburgh-2334056.html. live.
  8. Web site: Wit and wisdom of female comics . Tuohy . Wendy . Herald Sun . 19 March 2011 . 17 May 2021 . live . 17 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210517152115/https://www.caap.org.au/documents/wit_and_wisdom_of_female_comics__herald_sun.pdf .
  9. Web site: Roisin Conaty – review . Logan . Brian . The Guardian . 28 October 2013 . 17 May 2021 . live . 17 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210517152111/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/oct/28/roisin-conaty-review .
  10. Web site: Edwards. Chris. Turner. Laura Jane. 4 May 2019. Taskmaster's Alex Horne names "the worst" contestant ever. 7 December 2020. Digital Spy. en-GB. 18 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201118095309/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a27359008/taskmaster-alex-horne-worst-contestant/. live.
  11. Web site: 2021-01-03. TV: Big Fat Quiz Of Everything Line Up. 2021-01-10. Beyond The Joke. 12 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210112074417/https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/9916/big-fat-quiz. live.
  12. Web site: GameFace review – irresistible comedy that's all heart and silliness . The Guardian . Nicholson . Rebecca . 17 July 2019 . 17 May 2021 . live . 17 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210517144949/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/17/gameface-review-irresistible-comedy-thats-all-heart-and-silliness .
  13. Web site: Roisin Conaty interview . British Comedy Guide . 15 July 2019 . 17 May 2021 . live . 17 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210517150402/https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/gameface/interview/roisin_conaty_series2/ .
  14. Web site: Wednesday TV guide: Game Face is a sitcom pilot that deserves to become a full series. Jane. Simon. 23 April 2014. mirror. 6 September 2015. 1 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150801092031/http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-previews/wednesday-tv-guide-game-face-3443081. live.
  15. Web site: After Life cast: who stars with Ricky Gervais in new Netflix series – and where else you've seen them. Sanusi. Victoria. iNews. 8 March 2019. 8 April 2019. 27 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201127175132/https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/after-life-cast-ricky-gervais-netflix-new-series/. live.