Ashley Jensen

Acting

Ashley Jensen

Born

1969-08-11 (57)

Place of birth

Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

70 titles

Ashley Jensen (born August 11, 1969) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Maggie Jacobs in Extras (2005–2007, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award), Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014–present), and DI Ruth Calder in Shetland (2023–present). Jensen trained in Drama at Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University. Her first significant television role was as Clare Donnelly, daughter of Glasgow criminal Jo-Jo Donnelly (played by Billy Connolly) in the 1993 BBC drama Down Among the Big Boys. In 1994, she played eccentric secretary Rosie McConnichy in the final series of BBC comedy May to December, as a replacement for the ch…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 4 titles

2010s · 16 titles

How to Train Your Dragon poster
7.9

As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood, shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage: he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon, he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it, and instead befriends the beast – which he names Toothless – much to the chagrin of his warrior father.

How to Train Your Dragon

2010

The Lobster poster
7.0

In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into animals and sent off into The Woods.

The Lobster

2015

Arthur Christmas poster
6.8

For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

Arthur Christmas

2011

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World poster
7.8

As Hiccup fulfills his dream of creating a peaceful dragon utopia, Toothless’ discovery of an untamed, elusive mate draws the Night Fury away. When danger mounts at home and Hiccup’s reign as village chief is tested, both dragon and rider must make impossible decisions to save their kind.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

2019

Gnomeo & Juliet poster
5.9

A version of Shakespeare's play, set in the world of warring indoor and outdoor gnomes. Garden gnomes Gnomeo and Juliet have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?

Gnomeo & Juliet

2011

Lady and the Tramp poster
7.2

The love story between a pampered Cocker Spaniel named Lady and a streetwise mongrel named Tramp. Lady finds herself out on the street after her owners have a baby and is saved from a pack by Tramp, who tries to show her to live her life footloose and collar-free.

Lady and the Tramp

2019

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! poster
6.5

The enthusiastic Pirate Captain, along with his rag-tag crew, sets out to beat his bitter rivals. The chaotic adventure takes them from exotic shores to Victorian London, and from a haplessly smitten scientist to a diabolical queen.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

2012

Sherlock Gnomes poster
5.7

Garden gnomes Gnomeo & Juliet recruit renown detective Sherlock Gnomes to investigate the mysterious disappearance of other garden ornaments.

Sherlock Gnomes

2018

Hysteria poster
6.7

Two doctors in Victorian England use manual stimulation of female genitalia to cure their patients' ills, leading to the invention of the vibrator.

Hysteria

2011

The Legend of Barney Thomson poster
6.1

Barney Thomson, awkward, diffident, Glasgow barber, lives a life of desperate mediocrity and his uninteresting life is about to go from 0 to 60 in five seconds, as he enters the grotesque and comically absurd world of the serial killer.

The Legend of Barney Thomson

2015

All Stars poster
5.5

Two kids look to throw an ambitious dance show in order to save their struggling youth center.

All Stars

2013

Small Time poster
5.4

Al Klein and his longtime friend, Ash Martini, own a used car lot and these two know every trick in the book when it comes to selling cars. Klein still pines for his ex-wife Barbara who left him years ago for a more successful man. After their son Freddy graduates from high school, he decides to forego college in favor of selling cars with his old man. But what’s good for Klein might not be the best thing for Freddy, as he quickly transforms from an innocent young man into a jaded car salesman, leaving Al with a tough decision to make.

Small Time

2014

Aliens Love Underpants and...Panta Claus poster
NR

We all know that Aliens Love Underpants, but did you know that they also love Christmas? Join your five favourite underpants-loving aliens as they star in a series of silly, catchy songs about the festive season.

Aliens Love Underpants and...Panta Claus

2018

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death poster
8.0

A public-relations agent leaves London for a seemingly idyllic village in the Cotswolds, and soon finds herself a suspect in a murder case involving a poisoned quiche.

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

2014

Facelifts and Fillers poster
NR

What was once the domain of the rich and famous has become part of mainstream life… now a growing number of people are going under the knife – or the needle - to stay young and beautiful. Dr Darren McKeown, a leading figure in facial aesthetics in the UK, has one of the busiest cosmetic medicine clinics in Scotland. With exclusive access to Darren and his patients, Facelifts and Fillers explores what drives people to undergo these expensive and often extremely painful treatments.

Facelifts and Fillers

2016

No artwork available
7.9

Insane Fight Club is back. This year the boys are taking their unique form of entertainment to England as they stage fight nights in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Insane Fight Club II - This Time It’s Personal

2015

2000s · 7 titles

A Cock and Bull Story poster
6.2

Steve Coogan, an arrogant actor with low self-esteem and a complicated love life, is playing the eponymous role in an adaptation of "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" being filmed at a stately home. He constantly spars with actor Rob Brydon, who is playing Uncle Toby and believes his role to be of equal importance to Coogan's.

A Cock and Bull Story

2005

Nativity! poster
6.3

Paul, charged with directing his school's Nativity play, falsely boasts that his ex-girlfriend plans to turn the production into a film.

Nativity!

2009

Taping Nigel II: The Gimpening poster
6.0

A follow-up documentary of Ricky Gervais bullying his editor Nigel Williams during the second series of Extras

Taping Nigel II: The Gimpening

2007

No artwork available
NR

The cast of Extras talking about corpsing on set.

The Art of Breaking Character

2007

Taking Liberties poster
6.1

Taking Liberties Since 1997is a documentary film about the erosion of civil liberties in the United Kingdom and increase of surveillance under the government of Tony Blair. It was released in the UK on 8th June 2007. The director, Chris Atkins, said on 1 May that he wanted to expose "the Orwellian state" that now threatened Britain as a result of Mr Blair's policies.

Taking Liberties

2007

No Holds Bard poster
10.0

Comedy following the lives of five people as they prepare to vie for the 2009 Cup O'Kindness, the trophy awarded to the champion in Robert Burns poetry recital. The film captures the ups and downs of each participant's progress as the pressure intensifies, the poems are recited and the champion is crowned. Held in Alloway, the birthplace of Burns himself, this prestigious competition is the centrepiece of the annual celebrations devoted to the Bard's immortal memory. And this year it may prove memorable for all the wrong reasons.

No Holds Bard

2009

A Shot To The Mouth poster
NR

Cumshots galore! Get ready for 80 scenes of pure money shot mayhem! Watch all your favorite girls. Get an extra large load of jizz straight to the esophagus. There's no messing around with these girls, because they're thirsty for cum and they're ready to collect!

A Shot To The Mouth

2009

1990s · 6 titles

Topsy-Turvy poster
6.6

For nearly a decade, Gilbert and Sullivan’s collaborations have delighted the English people. But in 1884, as a London heat wave cuts into the theater trade, their latest work, "Princess Ida", receives lukewarm press. In an effort to reconcile their creative differences and drawing inspiration from Japanese culture, they went on to create the hit opera "The Mikado", one of the duo's greatest successes.

Topsy-Turvy

1999

Down Among the Big Boys poster
8.0

Set in Glasgow, Louie, the detective son of an upright police sergeant, is about to marry. His intended is the daughter of JoJo (Connolly), a wealthy and compulsive thief who attempts a spectacular robbery. Louie is put in charge of the investigation of JoJo's latest enterprise. JoJo learns of his peril and begins an exercise in risk management.

Down Among the Big Boys

1993

Rab C. Nesbitt Live poster
NR

The cast of BBC2's hit comedy series have taken to the stage of Aberdeen's Capitol Theatre on the final night of their triumphant nationwide tour. Now the scene is set for the usual Rab blend of vitriolic comedy. String-vested superslob Rab C. Nesbitt faces a frosty reception from his family when he finally staggers home from the World Cup, several months later spurned by delinquent sons and driven out of the house by his exasperated spouse, he finds himself reluctantly sharing a squalid bedsit with his wholesome and equally estranged pal, Jamesie. ‘I Married the wrong woman’ laments the rueful Rob rekindling memories of his first true love. A sweet schoolgirl called Isobel Niddrie.

Rab C. Nesbitt Live

1992

Waiting poster
NR

The NHS Hillcroft Medical Centre has a vacancy for a practise manager. The receptionist Beryl Oldham is the favourite for the job, but then pompous ex-Army officer Maurice Ribley arrives to vye for the position

Waiting

1995

Tickets for the Zoo poster
7.0

Tickets for the zoo set in the city of edinburgh scotland, the story of teen age brother and sister Carol & George who leave the childrens home where they have been brought up since the death of their parents full of hope. This is a drama about children in care and homelessness.

Tickets for the Zoo

1991

Dreaming poster
9.0

Unemployed Ayrshire teenager Sammy Nelson is a dreamer, using his vivid imagination to conjure up a gallery of heroes. But far from simply providing an escape from grim reality, his dreams become weapons to confront it. With appearances by Deacon Blue, Billy Connolly and Marianne Faithful

Dreaming

1991

Series credits

The Graham Norton Show poster
7.2

Each week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.

The Graham Norton Show

2007

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

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

DuckTales poster
7.9

The adventures of billionaire Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, their famous uncle Donald Duck, pilot extraordinaire Launchpad, Mrs. Beakly, Webby and Roboduck. Adventures and hidden treasures are everywhere, in their hometown Duckburg and all around the world.

DuckTales

2017

DuckTales poster
7.9

The adventures of billionaire Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, their famous uncle Donald Duck, pilot extraordinaire Launchpad, Mrs. Beakly, Webby and Roboduck. Adventures and hidden treasures are everywhere, in their hometown Duckburg and all around the world.

DuckTales

2017

Shetland poster
7.5

Created from the novels by award winning crime writer Ann Cleeves, Shetland follows DI Jimmy Perez and his team as they investigate crime within the close knit island community. In this isolated and sometimes inhospitable environment, the team have to rely on a uniquely resourceful style of policing.

Shetland

2013

Summer Camp Island poster
7.7

Oscar and Hedgehog are dropped off at a strange summer camp, full of fantastical things ranging from magical camp counselors to sticky notes that are portals to other dimensions.

Summer Camp Island

2018

Ugly Betty poster
6.4

Wannabe writer Betty Suarez is a plain girl from Queens, who is smart, hardworking and savvy but lacks a fashionable sense of style. When publishing mogul Bradford Meade puts his son Daniel in charge of Mode magazine, he hires Betty to be Daniel's new assistant -- mostly because he knows that she may be the only woman in Manhattan with whom the younger man won't sleep.

Ugly Betty

2006

Man vs Baby poster
6.8

As Christmas approaches, a blundering-all-the-way dad juggles housesitting a posh London penthouse with an unexpected pickle: caring for a lost baby.

Man vs Baby

2025

Extras poster
7.8

Andy Millman gave up his day job five years ago in the hope of achieving the big time, but he’s yet to land a speaking part, let alone saunter down the red carpet to pick up an Oscar. He remains optimistic however, as rubbing shoulders with the A-list on-set only serves to reinforce his belief that the big time is just a job or two away.

Extras

2005

Agatha Raisin poster
6.2

Burnt out on office politics, Agatha Raisin retires early to a picturesque village in the Cotswolds and soon finds a second career as an amateur detective investigating mischief, mayhem, and murder in her deceptively quaint town.

Agatha Raisin

2016

After Life poster
7.9

Tony had a perfect life. But after his wife Lisa suddenly dies, Tony changes. After contemplating taking his own life, he decides instead to live long enough to punish the world by saying and doing whatever he likes from now on.

After Life

2019

Catastrophe poster
7.5

Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan write and star in a comedy that follows an American man and an Irish woman who make a bloody mess as they struggle to fall in love in London.

Catastrophe

2015

Dog Squad poster
NR

Join the superskilled, big-hearted team of assistance dogs Kika, Diesel, Meagaidh, Sylvie and Tinks as they use their superpowers to complete important missions for their owners.

Dog Squad

2022

Accidentally on Purpose poster
5.8

A newspaper film critic, Billie is a single woman who finds herself "accidentally" pregnant after a one-night stand with a much younger guy, and decides to keep the baby... and the guy.

Accidentally on Purpose

2009

Rebus poster
6.9

Detective series set in and around Edinburgh, Scotland. Inspector John Rebus, whose methods earn him the wrath of his superiors, does not hesitate to circumvent the law to enforce it.

Rebus

2000

Trust Me poster
6.7

A series of gripping thrillers that expose the dark side of the people we trust to care for us - doctors.

Trust Me

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

Free Radio poster
NR

Free Radio is a television show, created by Lance Krall and Rory Rosegarten. The show originated on VH1, but has also played on Comedy Central, and Super Channel. It stars Lance Krall, prominent for his role on The Joe Schmo Show, and Anna Vocino, who also starred with Krall on The Lance Krall Show. The show focuses on a dysfunctional radio station, KBOM. Krall plays a moronic intern turned moronic DJ when KBOM's regular shock jock, Rip Rebel, defects to satellite radio. Lance eventually gets his own show entitled Moron in the Morning. Real celebrities guest star as themselves with Lance, who often either does not realize who they are or mixes them up with other celebrities on the air. Most of the dialogue is improvised.

Free Radio

2008

City Central poster
NR

The everyday public and private lives of the detectives, policemen and policewomen who work at the inner-city Christmas Street police station in Manchester.

City Central

1998

This Morning poster
5.2

This Morning features a variety of news, as well as show business, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home and garden, food, tech, live phone-ins, and competitions.

This Morning

1988

The Escape Artist poster
7.1

A chilling and bloody legal thriller that explores the line between law and justice. Will Burton, a talented junior barrister of peerless intellect and winning charm, specialises in spiriting people out of tight legal corners. He is in high demand as he has never lost a case. But when his talents acquit the notorious prime suspect in an horrific murder trial, that brilliance comes back to bite him with unexpected and chilling results, not to mention a shocking twist.

The Escape Artist

2013

Eleventh Hour poster
6.6

Professor Ian Hood is a former physics professor recruited by the British government as its on-call scientist/detective and Special Agent Rachel Young is the companion bodyguard hired to protect Hood from the people who want to see his work put to an end.

Eleventh Hour

2006

Roughnecks poster
7.3

Roughnecks is a BBC comedy-drama series that ran over two series between 1994 and 1995 on BBC One. The show centred on the working and personal lives of those who worked on the fictional oil rig "The Osprey Explorer" in the North Sea.

Roughnecks

1994

Embarrassing Bodies poster
7.4

Embarrassing Bodies is a British television programme broadcast by Channel 4 and made by Maverick Television since 2007. In 2011, an hour long live show was introduced, "Embarrassing Bodies: Live from the Clinic", which makes use of Skype technology. Various spin-offs have been produced in relation to the programme to target different patients, such as Embarrassing Fat Bodies and Embarrassing Teenage Bodies. The show has a strong multiplatform presence on web and mobile.

Embarrassing Bodies

2007

Takin' Over the Asylum poster
8.4

A salesman starts to run a hospital radio station inside a facility for people with mental heath needs.

Takin' Over the Asylum

1994

Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention poster
6.6

In the series, "Wallace will take a light hearted and humorous look at the real-life inventors, contraptions, gadgets and inventions, with the silent help of Gromit. The series aims to inspire a whole new generation of innovative minds by showing them real, but mind-boggling, machines and inventions from around the world that have influenced his illustrious inventing career" (the BBC press statement). Peter Sallis reprised his role as the voice of Wallace. The filmed inserts are mostly narrated by Ashley Jensen, with one in each episode presented in-vision by Jem Stansfield. John Sparkes also voices a portion in the unseen character of archivist Goronwy.

Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention

2010

Mayflies poster
5.1

A friendship forged between James and Tully in a small Scottish town in 1986. One weekend, they make a vow to each other to go at life differently. But then, 30 years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has the worst kind of news.

Mayflies

2022

No artwork available
10.0

A pair of small-time crooks, Wayne Todd and Fraser Hood, who met in jail are reunited when Wayne leaves London after being threatened by a thug and travels to Glasgow to look up his old cell mate.

Bad Boys

1996

Love, Lies & Records poster
6.0

Registrar Kate Dickinson tries to balance her personal life with the daily dramas of births, deaths and marriages and the impact they have upon her and her staff at the local Registry Office in Leeds.

Love, Lies & Records

2017

The Reckoning poster
4.8

Sally Wilson's daughter Amanda is stricken with a brain tumour and each day, her condition appears to be worsening. Sally is at her wits end as to how to help her daughter and knows a life saving operation in America that she can't afford would be the answer. When the harassed single Mum is called to the office of a swish city lawyer, she never expects a life or death proposition. She’s been bequeathed £5 million! But in order to qualify for this amazing transfer of funds, Sally must first kill a man who deserves to die.

The Reckoning

2011

Love and Marriage poster
6.0

Love and Marriage is a British comedy-drama series which started broadcasting on ITV since 5 June 2013. It stars Alison Steadman as Pauline Paradise a recently retired lollipop lady who after the death of her father Frank decides to leave her family and goes to live with her sister.

Love and Marriage

2013

Inside the Balmoral: Scotland's Finest Hotel poster
7.0

Documentary series going behind the scenes at Edinburgh's prestigious Balmoral Hotel, following the work of the army of staff who cater to guests who have ranged from members of the Royal Family to international sports teams.

Inside the Balmoral: Scotland's Finest Hotel

2021

The Repair Shop: Beyond The Barn poster
NR

Enter a workshop filled with expert craftspeople, bringing loved pieces of family history and the memories they hold back to life. A heartwarming antidote to throwaway culture.

The Repair Shop: Beyond The Barn

2026

The Secret Life of Kittens poster
8.0

A cat's-eye view of its first year of life.

The Secret Life of Kittens

2016

The Friday Night Project poster
6.0

The Friday Night Project was a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project. Originally broadcast on Friday nights, the show moved to Sunday nights for its seventh series in 2008. Each week the regular hosts Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr are joined by a celebrity guest host. These guests provide an opening monologue, are interviewed by Alan and Justin and take questions from the studio audience. They also take part in comedy sketches, hidden camera stunts and a game show where someone from the audience is selected to win prizes. When the show was called The Friday Night Project, it was not live; it was recorded at The London Studios on the night before it was broadcast on Channel 4. When the show became The Sunday Night Project, the show retained its Thursday night taping schedule.

The Friday Night Project

2005