Crissy Rock

Crissy Rock
Crissy Rock being interviewed on ITV's 'Daybreak' (2012)
Born	Christine Murray (1958-09-23) 23 September 1958 Liverpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actress, Comedian
Years active	1994–present
Employer	ITV
Television	Benidorm (2007–12) I'm a Celebrity... (2011)
Spouse(s)	Philip Shaw (1975 - ?) (divorced)
Children	Tracy Joyce Shaw Hayley Shaw

Crissy Rock (born Christine Murray; 23 September 1958) is an English actress and comedian, most notable for her role as Maggie Conlan in the 1994 film Ladybird, Ladybird, and as Janey York in Benidorm whom she played from 2007, until 2011 when she was axed from the show. However, she returned in Episode 6 of Season 5. She also appeared in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 2011. In December 2012, she appeared on Celebrity Come Dine With Me.^[1] For her performance in Ladybird, Ladybird, she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.^[2]

Crissy also used to perform a daily stand-up comedy show in the UK cabaret club in Benidorm, which is situated below the Hotel Presidente until early 2011.

Personal life

Crissy was born in south Liverpool in 1958 to Edward Murray and Margaret Bryan. As of September 2012 she lives in Sunderland. Her parents had married at St Nathaniel's Church of England church several months before her birth. Her grandmother Henrietta Pinnington was born in Garston in 1906 and her ancestral roots lay in Lancashire, Cheshire and Wiltshire.

Her best-selling autobiography This Heart With In Me Burns was published in 2011, and chronicles the ups and downs of her troubled life, including childhood abuse, violent relationships, bankruptcy and homelessness. The book made the top ten of the Sunday Times bestseller list for seven months and was released as a paperback in 2012 having hit 35,000 sales.^[3] The autobiography revived her career and Rock went onto make regular appearances on ITV's This Morning programme to discuss the book and her life.

Career

Stage

Crissy started her career as a comedian in the late 1980s. She appeared nation-wide on Bob Monkhouse's BBC Television show Bob Says Opportunity Knocks,^[4] where she was given the highest marks for any comedy act on the series. Monkhouse said: "She has the art of timing and had me in stitches."

'Crissy Rock, Live!' DVD cover.

In 1991, following a period of ill health, Crissy returned to the stage, taking bookings on the club and cabaret circuit. Within months, she was voted runner up in the “Club Comedian of the Year” competition for the Merseyside area.

By 1993, her career had started to take off. She performed her act in clubs in Blackpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, South Wales, and London. By 1994, Crissy was bill-topping at the Central Pier and the famous Blackpool Tower.^[5]

In 1998, Rock toured the United Kingdom in a drama called Shellfish, in which she played the role of Pat. The Guardian newspaper wrote: Pat is an utterly believable portrayal of a woman making a last grab at happiness.^[6]

In the mid-2000s, Crissy left the UK and relocated to Benidorm, where she established herself as the Island’s top female stand-up comedian, playing ten shows a week.

She returned to the UK, after the success of the TV show Benidorm in 2008, and continued to perform her stand-up act in clubs around the country. Rock's comedy has been described as "outrageous" and "emotional".^[7]

In 2011, Rock released her debut comedy DVD: Crissy Rock - Live!, recorded at her sellout performance at Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre.

From December 2011 to January 2012, Rock played the role of the Fairy Godmother in Billingham Forum’s record breaking Christmas pantomime production of Cinderella.^[8] She is due to appear at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre this Christmas in their production of Snow White, where she will play the Wicked Queen.^[9]

Rock has always been a popular after-dinner speaker and is regarded as one of the country's top female speakers.^[5]

Film & Television

Crissy Rock as Maggie Conlan in 'Ladybird Ladybird'.

Rock's debut acting performance was as Maggie Conlan in Ken Loach's award-winning 1994 film Ladybird Ladybird. Loach later recalled: "I cannot think of anyone I have worked with who shines more brightly than Crissy Rock". Her performance won her numerous awards, including 'Best Actress' at the Berlin Film Festival (Tom Hanks won best actor), 'Best Actress' at London Film Critics Awards (Hugh Grant won Best Actor), and she also received a 'Best Newcomer' nomination in the Evening Standard Awards. American film critic Gene Siskel said on the CBS This Morning programme: "No Oscar ceremony will be complete without a nomination for this brilliant performance."

In 1995, Rock appeared on primetime ITV in Peak Practice, Celebrity Squares and Funny Girls. She also performed on Sky One's Stand and Deliver.

In 1996, she played Annie Greave in episode three of the BBC detective drama Dalziel and Pascoe, had a regular television role as Anita Cartledge in the Granada soap opera Springhill, and starred alongside Julie Walters and Robert Lindsay in the BBC comedy play Brazen Hussies.

In 1997, she played alongside Billie Whitelaw in the six part BBC1 series Born To Run. She also made regular appearances on Channel 4's game show Pull The Other One.

In 1999, Rock played alongside Pete Postlethwaite in the BBC crime drama Butterfly Collectors, Nancy Banks-Smith who, writing in The Guardian said: “Crissy Rock..just switch her on and watch her go”.^[3] This was the first of two plays in which she featured in that year, the other was as Jean Walton in Jimmy McGovern's BAFTA nominated Channel 4 play Dockers, with Ken Scott and Ricky Tomlinson. In the same year, she was acclaimed for her presenting debut on BBC TV’s Millennium Night Show (with Michael Parkinson and Gaby Roslin).^[10]

In 2000, she played the regular role of the newsagent in the BAFTA nominated BBC One drama series Clocking Off.

In 2001, Rock played Amber during a four-week stint in Channel 4's popular soap opera Brookside.

In 2002, she worked with Ricky Tomlinson again, when she played Madame Flo in his six part BBC series Nice Guy Eddie. She also starred in a short film called Hero, which won the Hamburg and Dresden International Festivals in three categories, also the London International Film Festival for short subjects.^[3]

Following a five-year hiatus in acting, Rock was cast, without audition, in the two part Closure episode of Lynda La Plante's Trial & Retribution series for ITV in 2007. The following year, Plante cast her in another of her TV productions: The Commander. She said: "Crissy has a power of emotions that is so rare".

In 2008, York took on the role of Janey York in ITV's highly successful comedy series Benidorm, introducing her to a whole new audience.

In 2012, Rock filmed "The Air That I Breath", based on the 1970s TV series Hazell.

Over the years, Rock has appeared in various feature films, such as Under the Skin, with Samantha Morton, Act Of Grace, in which she played Leo Gregory's mother, and A Boy Called Dad. She is currently filming three new films: In Search Of The Miraculous, Death Of An Angel ^[11] and Still Waters.^[12]

Rock is a regular guest on chat and game shows in the UK. She has recently appeared on Loose Women, The Big Quiz, Daybreak, Mastermind, The Chase and Come Dine With Me.

I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

Rock took part in the 11th series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. She came 6th and left on Day 19.

On 8 December 2011, days after she returned from Australia she appeared on the Channel 5 show, Live with Gabby, presented by Gabby Logan. Which she reflected on her 19 days in the jungle, her weight loss and DVD. She appeared alongside actress, Sarah Hadland.

Selected filmography

Bibliography

• Rock, Crissy; Scott, Ken (Ghostwriter) (2011). This Heart Within Me Burns From Bedlam to Benidorm. Which was No.1 best seller on Amazon. London: John Blake Publishing Ltd. 

References

External links

• Crissy Rock at the Internet Movie Database
• Unreality TV - News of Crissy Rock on I'm a Celebrity
• Tiger Aspect Website
• British Comedy Guide
• Benidorm at British TV Comedy