Ruth Sheen

Acting

Ruth Sheen

Born

1952-01-01 (74)

Place of birth

London, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

77 titles

Ruth Sheen (born 1952) is an English actress. Born in London, Sheen began her career by training at the East 15 Acting School, and has appeared regularly on British television and in British films since 1988. On television, she had recurring roles as Nanny Simmons in Berkeley Square (1998), and as Nurse Ethel Carr in the series Bramwell (1995–1998). She has also appeared as four different characters in six episodes of The Bill between 1989 and 2004. She has also appeared in five Mike Leigh films: in the female lead role of Shirley in High Hopes (1988); as Laughing Woman in Secrets & Lies (1996); as Maureen in All or Nothing (2002), as Lily in Vera Drake (2004) and as Gerri in Another Year …

Known for

Midsomer Murders poster
7.5

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

Midsomer Murders

1997

Casualty poster
6.2

Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.

Casualty

1986

Silent Witness poster
7.6

A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.

Silent Witness

1996

Peak Practice poster
6.5

Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series. Cardale was based on the Staffordshire village of Longnor for the final series, but was previously based in the Derbyshire village of Crich, although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Matlock, Belper and Ashover.

Peak Practice

1993

The Bill poster
6.8

The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.

The Bill

1984

Screen Two poster
7.1

Series of single made-for-television dramas.

Screen Two

1985

Film credits

2020s · 5 titles

2010s · 11 titles

A Street Cat Named Bob poster
7.9

James Bowen, a homeless busker and recovering drug addict, has his life transformed when he meets a stray ginger cat.

A Street Cat Named Bob

2016

Mr. Turner poster
6.5

Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.

Mr. Turner

2014

Welcome to the Punch poster
5.9

When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.

Welcome to the Punch

2013

Another Year poster
7.0

During a year, a very content couple approaching retirement are visited by friends and family less happy with their lives.

Another Year

2010

A Royal Night Out poster
6.5

The re-imagining of VE Day in 1945, when Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret were allowed out from Buckingham Palace for the night to join in the celebrations, and encounter romance and danger.

A Royal Night Out

2015

Heartless poster
5.9

Jamie Morgan is a troubled young man with a facial birthmark, which has left him isolated and fearful, hiding from the world outside. He lives in the East End, notorious for its violent hooded gangs. According to news reports, the gangs are now wearing demon masks. But, one night, after the murder of his mother, Jamie discovers the terrifying truth.

Heartless

2010

The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge poster
NR

Two of England's most notorious and feared witch-finders are summoned by Sir Andrew Pike to the unassuming village of Little Happens in order to try a defenceless old woman. Elizabeth Gadge stands accused of consorting with the Devil, most lewdly and on divers occasions. If she is found guilty, she will burn. It is very definitely the most exciting event in Little Happens since the business of the escaped cow.

The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge

2015

SuperBob poster
6.0

After six years without a date, Robert, the world's only superhero, is looking for love. The only barrier to his plan is that he regularly has to save the world, so he needs to get some time off if he is to meet his superwoman.

SuperBob

2015

The Hardest Part poster
NR

An aging actor finally secures the audition of a lifetime. But just how badly does he want the role?

The Hardest Part

2010

No artwork available
9.0

In a revealing documentary, Mike Leigh, director of Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake and Abigail's Party among many others, talks to Alan Yentob about a unique body of work and a lifelong struggle to make films on his own terms. On day one of a Mike Leigh film, there is no script, no story and the actors do not know if they will even be in the final film. It is a process that has yielded some of cinema's most celebrated performances, and Leigh's new film Mr Turner is already winning critical acclaim. Actors including Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsan, Sally Hawkins, Lesley Manville and James Corden give fascinating insights into the director and his distinctive method of working.

The One and Only Mike Leigh

2014

VS. poster
5.8

VS. is an urban rites of passage drama set in the hostile and exciting UK rap battle scene.

VS.

2018

2000s · 16 titles

Imagine Me & You poster
7.6

During her wedding ceremony, Rachel notices Luce in the audience and feels instantly drawn to her. The two women become close friends, and when Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian, she realizes that despite her happy marriage to Heck, she is falling for Luce. As she questions her sexual orientation, Rachel must decide between her stable relationship with Heck and her exhilarating new romance with Luce.

Imagine Me & You

2006

Run Fatboy Run poster
6.2

Five years after jilting his pregnant fiancée on their wedding day, out-of-shape Dennis decides to run a marathon to win her back.

Run Fatboy Run

2007

Vanity Fair poster
5.8

In early 19th century England, orphaned Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend.

Vanity Fair

2004

All or Nothing poster
7.1

Penny works at a supermarket and Phil is a gentle taxi-driver. Penny’s love for Phil has run dry and they lead joyless lives with their two children, Rachel, a cleaner, and Rory, who is unemployed and aggressive.

All or Nothing

2002

Vera Drake poster
7.2

Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain – a conflict that leads to tragedy for her family.

Vera Drake

2004

Don Quixote poster
6.3

Adapted from the work of Miguel de Cervantes, this is the story of a hidalgo, fanatic for chivalry novels, who loses his sanity and believing to be a knight named Don Quixote de La Mancha, decides to go on imaginary adventures along with his friend, the simple farmer Sancho Panza, who becomes his squire. On their journeys, they rescue dames in distress in honorable acts and fight giants among other perils, with Don longing to be with the love of his life, lady Dulcinea, and Sancho waiting to be rewarded with an island where he's about to become a governor.

Don Quixote

2000

Fanny Hill poster
5.9

Orphaned by smallpox, young Lancashire country lady Fanny Hill cheerfully accepts her friend Esther Davies's offer to join the London 'working girls' with Mrs. Brown, a madam who recruits her as charmingly fresh enough to wait, in-living, on gentlemen.

Fanny Hill

2007

Lorna Doone poster
5.8

The year is 1675. England is threatened by religious and political rivalries. King Charles II's Catholic brother, James, is next in line for the throne, but many Protestants put their faith in Charles' illegitimate son, The Duke of Monmouth. On the king's death, conflict is inevitable... Over seven days journey from London, Exmoor is a primitive and lawless area. Here, farmer Jack Ridd lives with his wife Sarah, son John, and two daughters. The only shadow over their simple life is cast by the notorious outlaw family the Doones. The aristocratic Doones were banished from their ancestral lands and now live through looting, theft, and murder. Their brutality is legendary...

Lorna Doone

2001

Cheeky poster
6.6

Consumed with sadness after the death of his wife and subsequent rejection from his son, a widower, at the urging of his friends, opts to appear on a vulgar, wildly popular game show (for which his wife signed him up) and watches his life start to change for the better.

Cheeky

2003

Plain Jane poster
9.0

Drama set in 1911 about a love triangle concerning a father, his son and their maid, Jane.

Plain Jane

2002

Footprints in the Snow poster
4.0

Paralysed from the waist down after a car crash, Julie Hill struggles to get used to her disability and to save her marriage. It looks as if her husband will leave her. Then doctors try a revolutionary treatment which feeds electrical impulses to her leg muscles - allowing her to ride a bicycle once again and so go out for bike rides with her family. Her marriage survives and she and her husband end up closer together than before.

Footprints in the Snow

2005

A Class Apart poster
NR

An outspoken single mum is determined her son will go to the school of her choice, and he ends up at a private school. Only then does she discover the headmaster offered a place merely to win a bet.

A Class Apart

2007

No artwork available
2.0

Owen and Jamie are a pair of nobodies who prevent global disasters with the help of a time-transient civil servant.

Brave Young Men

2009

No artwork available
3.5

A young man is killed for trying to stop what he sees as evil and his friends seen as fun. Whilst his sister starts an unwitting relationship with the killer and his mother sinks deeper into grief, it is left to his younger brother, seventeen Leo to avoid easy revenge and uncover the uncomfortable truth.

Hush Your Mouth

2007

No artwork available
3.5

Tracy a young working class girl, who - against the wishes of her parents and racist ex-boyfriend - becomes one of three wives of West London Persian restaurateur, Sam.

The English Harem

2005

No artwork available
9.0

A single father prepares for a job interview while his young son, Clint, prepares sandwiches for their lunch. When he goes for the interview, Clint has to wait in a café next door for his Dad. While there he loses their lunch to a homeless man. Clint's Dad returns from the interview to find his lunch gone and confronts the hungry man with unexpected results.

Bait

2000

1990s · 10 titles

Secrets & Lies poster
7.6

After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.

Secrets & Lies

1996

Different for Girls poster
7.1

Paul and Kim meet when their vehicles collide. Paul is fascinated with the attractive Kim. It turns out that the two were childhood friends in Catholic boys' school, but back then, before the operation, Kim was named Karl.

Different for Girls

1996

Ghostwatch poster
7.0

For Halloween 1992, the BBC decides to broadcast an investigation into the supernatural, hosted by TV chat-show legend Michael Parkinson. Parky (assisted by Mike Smith, Sarah Greene & Craig Charles) and a camera crew attempt to discover the truth behind the most haunted house in Britain. This ground-breaking live television experiment does not go as planned, however.

Ghostwatch

1992

Virtual Sexuality poster
5.3

A frustrated teenage girl creates her perfect man in a virtual reality machine and in a freak accident, gives him life.

Virtual Sexuality

1999

The Young Poisoner's Handbook poster
6.7

Graham Young is a teenage misfit living in suburban London in the 1960s. He hates his stepmother but loves chemistry, and the two impulses unite in a wicked plot to slowly poison her. After she dies, he's found guilty and sent to a psychiatric hospital, where an idealistic doctor thinks he can be cured.

The Young Poisoner's Handbook

1995

When Pigs Fly poster
5.6

The ghosts of a middle-aged woman and a precocious little girl help an unwed jazz musician and a bar dancer reverse their bad fortune.

When Pigs Fly

1993

Sin Bin poster
9.0

A male nurse in a mental hospital witnesses one patient killing another, but struggles with his loyalties and his conscience to come forward.

Sin Bin

1994

A Fatal Inversion poster
5.0

Adaptation of the Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) novel. After Adam inherits a country house from his great uncle, he and his friend Rufus decide to spend the summer there instead of abroad. An odd assortment of 'house guests' turns up through different means and it's an uneasy mix at best. A decade afterwards, the bodies of a young woman and an infant are discovered in the woods behind the house. As the police investigate, they naturally look to Adam as former owner of the house, and what happened all those years before starts to catch up with him.

A Fatal Inversion

1992

No artwork available
10.0

Clarence Flamer hosts a late-night talk show on regional radio station North Star Sound. A phone call he takes one night leads to his discovering a mortgage scam being run by a group of estate agents. His attempts to delve deeper have tragic consequences.

Night Voice

1990

Clubland poster
NR

Sylvie, a Belgian girl living in London, arrives at her local police station. She starts to tell how she was picked up in a nightclub by the handsome Ajay, and the listening DC Judd realises he is onto a most unusual case

Clubland

1991

1980s · 3 titles

Series credits

Midsomer Murders poster
7.5

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

Midsomer Murders

1997

Casualty poster
6.2

Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.

Casualty

1986

Silent Witness poster
7.6

A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.

Silent Witness

1996

Peak Practice poster
6.5

Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series. Cardale was based on the Staffordshire village of Longnor for the final series, but was previously based in the Derbyshire village of Crich, although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Matlock, Belper and Ashover.

Peak Practice

1993

The Bill poster
6.8

The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.

The Bill

1984

Screen Two poster
7.1

Series of single made-for-television dramas.

Screen Two

1985

Hijack poster
7.5

Expert negotiator Sam Nelson is in for the ride of his life—and so is everyone on board with him—after a group of hijackers take control. Sam will try every move in his playbook to take them down...as the stakes grow higher by the second.

Hijack

2023

Inside No. 9 poster
8.1

An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'.

Inside No. 9

2014

Gangs of London poster
7.8

When the head of a criminal organisation, Finn Wallace is assassinated, the sudden power vacuum his death creates threatens the fragile peace between the intricate web of gangs operating on the streets of the city. Now it’s up to the grieving, volatile and impulsive Sean Wallace to restore control and find those responsible for killing his father.

Gangs of London

2020

Misfits poster
7.6

When five young outsiders on Community Service get caught in a strange storm, they discover that they have developed superpowers.

Misfits

2009

Unforgotten poster
7.6

London police detectives Cassie Stuart and Sunny Khan investigate historic cold cases involving missing persons, murder and long-hidden secrets.

Unforgotten

2015

Strike poster
7.2

A war veteran turned private detective operates out of a tiny office in London’s Denmark Street. Although wounded both physically and psychologically, his unique insight and background as a military police investigator prove crucial in solving complex crimes that have baffled the police. Based on the bestselling novels written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Strike

2017

Brassic poster
8.3

A group of working-class friends finding unconventional ways to win at life in suburban northern England. These lads have dealt, scammed, bribed and conned their way through adolescence, but now, their dealing and stealing is catching up with them and a whole load of trouble is heading their way.

Brassic

2019

The Nevers poster
7.9

In the last years of Victoria's reign, London is beset by the "Touched": people — mostly women — who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities, some charming, some very disturbing. Among them are Amalia True, a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair, a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of… well, pretty much all the forces — to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place.

The Nevers

2021

ScreenPlay poster
6.0

Screenplay was a drama anthology television series, broadcast on BBC between 1986 and 1993. Numerous episodes were produced including one named "Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Islands" starring Robbie Coltrane as English writer Samuel Johnson who in the autumn of 1773, visits the Hebrides off the north-west coast of Scotland. That episode was directed by John Byrne and co-starred John Sessions and Celia Imrie.

ScreenPlay

1986

Cracker poster
6.6

The wise-cracking Edward 'Fitz' Fitzgerald is a brilliant but flawed criminal psychologist with a remarkable insight into the criminal mind.

Cracker

1993

Cracker poster
6.6

The wise-cracking Edward 'Fitz' Fitzgerald is a brilliant but flawed criminal psychologist with a remarkable insight into the criminal mind.

Cracker

1993

It's a Sin poster
7.9

A chronicle of five friends during a decade in which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS.

It's a Sin

2021

Accused poster
8.2

How certain people end up being accused of a crime.

Accused

2010

Bramwell poster
4.2

The story of Eleanor Bramwell , a pioneering female doctor in the late nineteenth century, and the struggles she has with her friends, her colleagues and society. Determined to take the medical profession out of the dark ages, her strongly held opinions often draw her into conflict with the chief surgeon, a man keener on tradition than he is on progress.

Bramwell

1995

Prime Suspect 1973 poster
7.3

Jane Tennison is a probationary WPC in 1973 London, where she faces sexism while working her first murder case. Follow her early career, her relationship with her boss DI Len Bradfield, and her determination to prove herself in a male-dominated police force, as she will eventually achieve the rank of Detective Superintendent.

Prime Suspect 1973

2017

Coming Up poster
5.7

Coming Up is a British Channel 4 television series of films made for television by new directors and writers. The first series was in 2006, and each year's series comprises seven or eight films. Series 6 was shown from July to September 2011. A reviewer in The Independent wrote: "Thank goodness for Coming Up ... it's a genuinely interesting display of possibilities".

Coming Up

2003

The Mimic poster
5.7

The Mimic is a British shown on Channel 4, starting 13th March 2013. The series centers on the fortunes of Martin Hurdle, an everyday maintenance man with an uncanny ability to mimic voices and stars Terry Mynott in the lead role.

The Mimic

2013

The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling poster
7.5

Adaptation of the classic novel by Henry Fielding chronicling the life, loves and adventures of the charming Tom.

The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling

1997

Berkeley Square poster
7.9

Three young women from very different backgrounds meet, become friends and share experiences when they all gain positions as nannies in the wealthy households of London's exclusive Berkeley Square.

Berkeley Square

1998

The Woman in White poster
6.1

The lives of two half-sisters and their drawing master get caught up in a deadly conspiracy revolving around a mentally ill woman dressed all in white.

The Woman in White

2018

Lorna Doone poster
7.7

Passionate love story set in 17th century rural England, charting the young John Ridd's search for revenge after his father's murder, and the chance encounter with beautiful Lorna Doone that changes the course of his life.

Lorna Doone

2000

Vital Signs poster
4.2

Rhoda Bradley is a busy mum frustrated with her job as a supermarket check-out assistant. When she discovers the health service is recruiting new doctors, she decides to enrol in medical school — but the move doesn't go over too well with either her competitive sister Maddy, or her husband Tony, who fears the decision will turn their lives upside down.

Vital Signs

2006

Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky poster
5.7

A story of unrequited love set in 1930s London, against the backdrop of grimy streets and public houses.

Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky

2005

Fanny Hill poster
7.2

Two-part TV drama based on the novel by John Cleland. Set in the 18th century, the story of a young country girl who through financial neccessity falls into prostitution.

Fanny Hill

2007

A Class Apart poster
4.0

A working class single mother appeals to send her son to the best state school in her area. When the headmaster of a local private school hears of her campaign, he is intrigued, and offers her son a place at his school, betting that he can turn the boy's life around.

A Class Apart

2007

Never Never poster
5.0

John Parlour and Jo Weller form a credit union but John's predatory lending scheme threatens both the poor residents of a London council estate and their own business.

Never Never

2000