Jessica Knappett
Jessica Amy Knappett (born 28 November 1984) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the E4 sitcom Drifters, as well appeared as Lisa in The Inbetweeners Movie.
Jessica Knappett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jessica Amy Knappett 28 November 1984 Bingley, West Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, actress, writer |
| Height | 177[1] cm (5 ft 10 in) |
Early life
Jessica Amy Knappett was born on 28 November 1984 in Bingley, West Yorkshire. She attended Woodhouse Grove School in nearby Apperley Bridge before studying Drama and English at the University of Manchester.[2][3][4] She was a co-founder of Lady Garden, a sketch comedy group formed in Manchester in 2005.[5] The group performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008, 2009, and 2010. They also toured throughout England, performing at comedy festivals in Sheffield, Manchester, and Brighton in 2008. They were Hackney New Act & Laughing Horse finalists in 2009, and won an Argus Angel Award for their show at the Brighton Fringe Festival that same year.
Career
Knappett was the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the E4 sitcom Drifters, in which she played Meg.[6] She described the show as a semi-autobiographical and therapeutic re-writing of her own history.[7] It was repeated on Channel 4. and commissioned for a further three seasons. Knappett was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for Best Comedy writer and Broadcast Award for series 2.
Knappett played Lisa in The Inbetweeners Movie and appeared in the Alan Partridge Movie Alpha Papa and the TV film Irreversible. Other credits include Drunk History for Comedy Central, Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge for Sky One, Twenty Twelve for BBC Two, Meet the Parents for E4, and How Not to Live Your Life and Lunch Monkeys for BBC Three. She also played Carly in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Shedtown alongside Johnny Vegas. She has recorded a string of pilot episodes, including Everything Happens for No Reason written by Richard Herring, alongside Noel Fielding.[8]
Knappett appearances on panel shows include 8 Out of 10 Cats, Hypothetical, and The Last Leg. She has written for The Guardian,[9] The Independent, Glamour, ShortList, and NME. She was a contestant on the seventh season of Dave's comedy gameshow Taskmaster, falling off the stage during a task in one episode.[10] The stage extension was later named The Knappett in her honour.
Personal life
Knappett married Dan Crane in September 2016.[4][11] Their first child was born in 2017.[12]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Avoidance | Claire | Series |
| 2021 | Rob Beckett's Undeniable | Voice Over | Series 1 |
| 2021 | Complaints Welcome | Self | Series 1 |
| 2021 | Outsiders | Self | Series 1 |
| 2021 | Ghosts | Lucy | Series 3, Episodes 2, 4 & 6 |
| 2021 | Hypothetical | Self | Series 3, Episode 2 |
| 2020 | Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | Zach | Series 1, Episode 5 |
| 2019 | Judge Romesh | Court clerk | Series 2 |
| 2019 | The Last Leg | Self | Season 17, Episode 8 |
| 2019 | Hypothetical | Self | Series 1, Episode 1 |
| 2019 | The Russell Howard Hour | Self | Series 2, Episode 8 |
| 2019 | The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited | Self | |
| 2018 | The Last Leg | Self | The Last Leg of the Year |
| 2018 | Taskmaster | Self | Series 7 |
| 2018 | Travel Man | Self | Ibiza |
| 2018 | Sunday Brunch | Self | Series 7, Episode 30 |
| 2018 | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Self | Series 15, Episode 1 & Series 16, Episode 6 |
| 2018 | Go 8 Bit | Self | Series 3, Episode 3 |
| 2017 | The Educatoror | Charlotte Baines | TV mini series |
| 2017 | Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled | Self | Series 5, Episode 4 |
| 2017 | Drunk History: UK | Self | Series 3, Episode 2 |
| 2016 | Drunk History: UK | Self | Series 2, Episode 4 |
| 2016 | 8 Out of 10 Cats | Self | Series 20, Episode 4, Series 19 Episode 4 |
| 2015 | Drunk History: UK | Florence Nightingale | Series, 1 Episode 8 |
| 2014 | Irreversible | Sarah | TV movie |
| 2013 | Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa | WPC Ruth | |
| 2013–2016 | Drifters | Meg | 24 Episodes & also creator |
| 2011 | The Inbetweeners Movie | Lisa | |
| 2011 | Coming of Age | Alice | Series 3, Episode 8 |
| 2011 | Lunch Monkeys | Becky | Series 2, Episode 4 |
| 2011 | Meet the Parents | Sister | Series 1, Episode 1 |
| 2010 | How Not to Live Your Life | Harriet | Series 3, Episode 3 |
References
- "Are you worried Alex is in love with you?". Taskmaster: The People's Podcast. Season 1. Episode 18. 12 August 2023. 13 minutes in. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- Huddleston, Yvette (24 October 2013). "My Life: Jessica Knappett". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- Hannah Begbie. "Jessica Knappett CV". United Artists. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- Harriet Gibsone (10 October 2016). "Drifters' Jessica Knappett on turning her wilderness years into a TV smash". The Guardian.
- Stuart Husband; Horatia Harrod (27 October 2010). "Britain's Funniest Women". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- "Drifters – All 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Jessica Knappett interview – Drifters". British Comedy Guide. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Richard Herring films multiple universe sitcom pilot for Channel 4". British Comedy Guide. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Jessica Knappett". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Taskmaster – Series 7, Episode 7 | Full Episode | 'The perfect stuff'". YouTube.
- Jessica Knappett (26 March 2017). "The Guardian – Life and Style – How I married a world-champion air guitarist who turned up on my doorstep". The Guardian.
- Jessica Knappett (16 April 2017). "The Guardian – Life and Style – Nothing prepared me for pregnancy, apart from the never-ending hangover of my 20s". The Guardian.