Catherine Tate



Catherine Tate née Ford (born 12th May 1968) played Donna Noble in the closing moments of Doomsday and the full run of The Runaway Bride before returning as a full time companion for Series 4. She is an English comedienne and actress best known for the BBC Two sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show.

Early life
Tate was born in Bloomsbury, London and brought up in the Brunswick Centre. Her mother was a florist. Tate attended St Joseph's, Macklin Street, a local Catholic primary school; followed by Notre Dame High School, Southwark, a south London convent secondary school. She studied for A-levels in the sixth form of Salesian College, Battersea, another south London secondary school, before going on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Television
Tate began her acting career with roles in serial dramas such as Casualty. In 2001 she played Smeraldina in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of A Servant to Two Masters. She appeared in comedy series such as The Harry Hill Show, Big Train, Wild West, Attention Scum and That Peter Kay Thing before being given her own programme that she co-wrote with Derren Litten. Catherine Tate returned to 'Doctor Who' as Donna Noble for Series Four, this time as a companion, beginning with 'Partners in Crime' in April, 2008. She departed from the show at the end of Series Four.

The Catherine Tate Show
Tate co-wrote and starred in her very own comedy sketch programme called The Catherine Tate Show. Despite speculation that the third series would be the last, Tate and the BBC have not ruled out further series or episodes. In an interview on The Paul O'Grady Show on 18th December 2006 Tate indicated that a fourth series was unlikely but hoped to film a one-off special episode in 2007.

In March, 2005, she made an appearance during the BBC's Comic Relief as the character of Lauren from The Catherine Tate Show, alongside boy-band McFly. In November 2005, as part of the BBC's annual Children in Need telethon, Tate appeared in an EastEnders sketch, under the guise of Lauren. The sketch saw Lauren arrive in Walford in search of revenge on Stacey, who had apparently stolen her boyfriend. After arguing with Peggy, Lauren eventually left The Queen Victoria pub after uttering some famous lines from the soap, including "Hello Princess" and "Rickaay!", along with her usual catchphrase, "Bovvered?". Also in November, Tate was a guest star at the 77th Royal Variety Performance and once again appeared in the guise of Lauren, accompanied by her friends Ryan and Liese. During the sketch, Tate, as her character Lauren, looked up at the Royal Box and asked the Queen; "Is one bovvered? Is one's face bovvered?" .

Other television roles
At the end of 2005 she appeared in the award-winning BBC television adaptation of Bleak House. In 2006, Tate made an appearance in the closing few moments of "Doomsday," as Donna, who suddenly appears in the TARDIS. Following that episode, in the 2006 Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", her character took on a major role. On her appearance in the series, Tate commented "I was holding out for a summer season at Wigan rep but as a summer job, this'll do." 

She has been commissioned to write a TV drama for the BBC's forthcoming Decades project. She also has a role in the forthcoming television adaptation of the novel The Bad Mother's Handbook.

Film and theatre
Tate had roles in three films in 2006. These films included; Starter for Ten, Sixty Six and Scenes of a Sexual Nature. She appears in the forthcoming films: Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution, in which she plays the title character, and Love and Other Disasters.

Tate has also had a role in theatre. In 2005, Tate played a role in the West End play Some Girl(s), alongside Friends star David Schwimmer, Sara Powell, Lesley Manville and Saffron Burrows. In an interview Tate commented that she could not look Schwimmer in the eye during her time with him, leading to speculation that the pair did not get on. Tate immediately denied the rumours, explaining that she was joking about her attempts to act "cool" around the actor who she described as "a very funny, personable man, and easy to get along with".

Awards

 * In 2004, Tate won a British Comedy Award for "Best comedy newcomer" for her work on the first series of The Catherine Tate Show.
 * In 2006 on 13th December, Tate won a British Comedy Award for "Best British Comedy Actress" for her work in the second series of The Catherine Tate Show.

Personal life
Tate's partner is stage manager Twig Clark. They have one child, a girl called Erin (born 2003). The family have a home in Fulham, London.