Hey folks (or ‘sappenin all!).

We now move onto our next selection of beloved scouse actresses, which include another BAFTA nominee, a committed star of the stage and screen, and the niece of a Beatle…

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Jodie McNee

A committed star of the Merseyside region, our second Jodie actress has built up a strong CV of roles across film, television and theatre.

She made her on-screen debut as Mary in a televised adaptation of Liverpool Nativity (2006) and later popped up in series like Criminal Justice (2009), Poirot (2010) and Ripper Street (2016).

However, her television work soon went from strength-to-strength with her notable roles as DC Jackie Carter in the acclaimed ITV crime drama Little Boy Blue (2017), and as crazed druid witch Willa in three series of the Sky fantasy Britannia (2017-21).

On top of those two projects, Jodie also juggled between her appearances in films like The Physician (2013), Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017), Official Secrets (2019), and Judy (2019) as well as her small-screen work in Vera (2019), Anthony (2020), and Hollington Drive (2021).

Away from the screen, Jodie has shown great strength as a stage performer with notable credits in the likes of A Taste of Honey (2008), Anatomy of a Suicide (2017), Faustus: That Damned Woman (2020), Maryland (2021), Orlando (2022-23) and Cuckoo (2023).

Her most recent stage role came as neuroscientist Dame Julia Anderton in a theatre adaptation of Minority Report, which was performed between February and May of last year.

On the telly front, Jodie recently appeared as mentally-troubled nurse Jules in the ITV COVID drama Breathtaking, and as tough gymnastics coach Debbie in the Merseyside-based Channel 4 crime thriller The Gathering.

 

Katherine Rose Morley

As a Woolton native and attendee of St Julie’s Catholic High School, Katherine has enjoyed her fair share of projects on television.

After making her acting debut in a school production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, she then worked her way up both at home and abroad from Liverpool’s Everyman and Playhouse Youth Theatre to studying acting in China and Italy.

However, her biggest reward came when she was honoured with the Gold Medal for Drama while attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

On the acting front, she made her on-screen debut as a young Sharon Horgan in an episode of the festive series Little Crackers (2012) and then took on the role of timid workhouse employee Lucy Garner in the BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 drama The Mill (2013-14).

Her most recognisable role on television came as Ellie, the girlfriend of Raff in multiple episodes of the acclaimed BAFTA-winning BBC drama Last Tango in Halifax which ran between 2013 and 2020.

Katherine also popped up in episodes of Vera (2015), Cuffs (2015), Call the Midwife (2016) and Moving On (2015) before playing Emma Moxam, the younger sister of Jodie Comer’s central character Ivy in the BBC miniseries Thirteen (2016).

After enjoying a recurring role in Clink (2019), Katherine recently made her presence felt as compulsive gambler Keeley in the fourth series of the BBC drama The Syndicate (2021) and as bigoted shoe shop worker Vicky in the Demon 79 episode of the hit Netflix series Black Mirror (2023).

 

Kerrie Hayes

Another tenacious performer of film and television, Kerrie grew up in Anfield and attended Liverpool Community College.

Her on-screen debut came as Ruby Moss in the well-received miniseries Lilies (2007) and was then followed by brief roles in Holby City and Doctors.

She then appeared as ‘Marie’s Friend’ in the John Lennon-based film Nowhere Boy (2009) and continued to display her talents in programmes like Casualty (2010), Inspector George Gently (2010), Shameless (2011), Black Mirror (2011) and Room at the Top (2012).

After playing police officer Amanda Morgan in the Mersey-based crime series Good Cop (2012), Kerrie then took on the lucrative role of feisty cotton mill worker Esther Price in the gritty Channel 4 drama The Mill (2013-14).

Her terrific performance in the first series brought her a BAFTA nomination for Best Leading Actress, thus making her only the second Liverpudlian actress this century to be nominated in that category.

From then on, Kerrie has continued to keep herself busy with a variety of television roles including Gwen Pearce in The Living and the Dead (2016), Alice Wyatt in Vera (2017), Sandra Oxley in Little Boy Blue (2017), DC Nina Prentiss in Three Girls (2017), Queenie in The Frankenstein Chronicles (2017), Doris Platt in The English Game (2020), D.I. Sara Lunt in Tin Star: Liverpool (2020) and Ellie Mullen in The Responder (2022-24).

Away from the small-screen, she also showcased her acting skills in film with her performance as Vivian Highton, the girlfriend of a closeted P.E. teacher in the indie drama Blue Jean (2022); a role that won her the Best Supporting Performance accolade at the British Independent Film Awards.

Last year, Kerrie enjoyed recurring appearances as Jenny Whitlow in the Apple TV+ crime thriller Criminal Record and as PC Becky Hollis in the second series of the BBC legal drama Showtrial.

 

Leanne Best

For twenty years, Leanne has proven herself as one of Liverpool’s most versatile actresses across different formats.

As the niece of former Beatles drummer Pete Best, she trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and started her acting career with bit parts in Casualty (2004) and Wire in the Blood (2005).

After small roles in Doctors, Good Cop and Lucan, she then played real-life politician Jane Cobden in two series of the hit BBC period drama Ripper Street (2013-14).

That was quickly followed by a memorable appearance as the Woman in Black in the supernatural horror sequel The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014) and a small role as Min Sakul in the Star Wars blockbuster The Force Awakens (2015).

Leanne’s star continued to rise with notable work as corrupt police officer Jackie Brickford in the third series of Line of Duty (2016) as well as recurring roles as Celia Donnelly in Fortitude (2015), Teresa Fenchurch in Home Fires (2015-16), Abigail Strickland in Undercover (2016), Tina Reynolds in Cold Feet (2016-17), Helen Brown in Tin Star (2017-20), Madame Moira in Carnival Row (2019) and Frida Rask in Young Wallander (2019-20).

During that period, she also appeared in films like The Infiltrator (2016), Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017), Little Joe (2019), and the emotional short Cotton Wool (2017) for which she received multiple accolades.

On the subject of shorts, she produced a memorable turn as an obsessive estate agent in the gritty one-woman drama Harm (2021).

In the last few years alone, Leanne has featured in films like Bolan’s Shoes (2023) and Our Kid (2023) and also enjoyed key television roles as Kate in Four Lives (2022), Jenny Challoner in Compulsion (2022), Alison in The Walk-In (2022), D.I. Lindsay in A Town Called Malice (2023), Julie Ashworth in The Bay (2024), Phoebe Bournett in Insomnia (2024) and a guest appearance as Jamie Tartt’s devoted mother Jorgie in Ted Lasso (2023).

Recently, she played school canteen worker and single mother Jodie in the BAFTA-nominated Liverpool sitcom G’wed and also popped up as Lesley Williams in the hit BBC One crime drama This City is Ours.

Away from the screen, Leanne received stellar reviews for her role as Gloria in the acclaimed musical The Hills of California, which ran regular performances both in the West End, and on Broadway in 2024.

As of now, she is set to play Adele Fairley in Channel 4’s newest adaptation of the Barbara Taylor Bradford novel A Woman of Substance.