Haydn Gwynne

Haydn Gwynne (born 1960) is an Olivier Award nominated British actress.

Biography

Personal life

Born in Sussex to Irish father Guy Thomas Hayden-Gwynne, she played county level tennis before studying Modern Languages at the University of Nottingham, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/04/11/btgwynne11.xml All-singing, all-dancing, all-smoking] "Daily Telegraph" - 11 April 2005] and is fluent in French and Italian. She then took a five year lectureship in Italy at the University of Rome La Sapienza, where she taught English.

Gwynne lives in London with her partner, Jungian psychotherapist Jason Phipps, and their two sons, Orlando (born 1997) and Harry (born 2000). She also undertakes voluntary work for the charity Sightsavers International, a group committed to combating blindness in developing countries.

Career

Gwynne became an actress in her mid twenties, with her past reflected in her first prominent television role as feminist lecturer Dr Robyn Penrose in the BBC dramatisation of David Lodge's "Nice Work" in 1989.

Her first high profile comedy role was in "Drop the Dead Donkey" in 1990, and she went on to star in "Peak Practice" and first appeared at the start of Series 7 (Episode 1) in 1999 and played Dr Joanna Graham. She discovers she is expecting in Series 9 (Episode 6) with the baby of Dr Tom Deneley, a man with whom she had an affair. They decided to stay together and he left his wife to be with her and the baby.

The character of Dr Joanna Graham was written out of the show at the end of Series 9 (Episode 13) when she was fatally shot whilst intervening in a conflict between a man and his daughter. After "Peak Practice" she went on to star in "Merseybeat" in 2001. Theatre work includes a variety of regional and London based appearances, from Bolton Octagon in "Hedda Gabler", to Richard Cheshire's "Way of the World" appearing in London's West End productions of "Ziegfeld" and "Billy Elliot the Musical" at the Victoria Palace Theatre. She is set to reprise her role as Mrs. Wilkinson in the upcoming Broadway production of "Billy Elliot", which begins previews at the Imperial Theatre on October 1, 2008 with performances starting November 13, 2008.cite web|title='Billy Elliot' announces its New York cast|publisher=Associated Press|date=2008-07-16|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jC_k7cyKPlXF0qb6yz6hehBPsRAgD91UHUM00|accessdate=2008-07-21] Gwynne has also performed in numerous productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her television appearances are now more focused on shorter dramas, such as the role of Julius Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, in the TV series "Rome".

She has most recently starred in an episode of "Lewis" in the first of a new series (2008). She appeared in the first episode "And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea" playing the character of Sandra Walters.

References

External links

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* [http://www.peakpracticeonline.co.uk/ "Peak Practice" fan site]