Ingrid Oliver
British comedian and actress (born 1977)
title: "Ingrid Oliver" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-births", "living-people", "british-film-actresses", "british-television-actresses", "british-women-comedians", "people-educated-at-the-tiffin-girls'-school", "21st-century-british-actresses", "21st-century-british-comedians", "english-people-of-german-descent"] description: "British comedian and actress (born 1977)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Oliver" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary British comedian and actress (born 1977) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ingrid Oliver |
| image | Ingrid Oliver 2017.jpg |
| caption | Oliver at the 2017 Super Retrocon |
| birth_date | |
| alma_mater | New College, Oxford |
| citizenship | |
| occupation | |
| yearsactive | 2005–present |
| spouse | |
| mother | Jo Gideon |
| :: |
| name = Ingrid Oliver | image = Ingrid Oliver 2017.jpg | image_size = | caption = Oliver at the 2017 Super Retrocon | birth_name = | birth_date = | alma_mater = New College, Oxford | citizenship = | occupation = | yearsactive = 2005–present | spouse = | mother = Jo Gideon Ingrid Oliver (born 25 February 1977) is a British actress and comedian, and one half of the comic double act Watson & Oliver. She played Petronella Osgood, a supporting character in the BBC television series Doctor Who.
Career
Oliver and her comedy partner Lorna Watson met at Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston upon Thames. She then read Modern Languages at New College, Oxford. In September 2005, Watson and Oliver performed their first show together at the Canal Cafe Theatre in London. They took sell-out shows to Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006 and 2007.
Oliver has performed in various radio and television programmes, including Doc Martin, *The Penny Dreadfuls''' radio series The Penny Dreadfuls Present... The Brothers Faversham and the radio series Another Case of Milton Jones. She played the part of Natalie in *Peep Show'' on Channel 4.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Ingrid_Oliver_-_Doctor_Who_filming_in_Cardiff_June_2014.jpg" caption="Oliver on the set of ''Doctor Who'' in [[Cardiff]] in 2014"] ::
She appears in the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging as Miss Stamp, and in early 2009 could be seen in Channel 4's sitcom Plus One.
In 2010, Oliver played Mimi Throckmorton in Material Girl on BBC One, alongside Lenora Crichlow and Dervla Kirwan. In 2012, she appeared on Let's Dance For Sport Relief with comedy partner Lorna Watson, dancing Boléro, famously used by Torvill and Dean. The following year, she appeared in the first episode of The Great Comic Relief Bake Off and was named as 'Star Baker'. The same year, she appeared in the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who, "The Day of the Doctor", as Petronella Osgood. She reprised the role in the episodes "Death in Heaven", "The Zygon Invasion", and "The Zygon Inversion"; UNIT, an audio drama spinoff series produced by Big Finish Productions; and Doctor Who: Redacted, a BBC radio drama spin-off series.
In 2024, Oliver played a supporting role in Sweetpea on Sky Atlantic.
In 2025, Oliver was one of the judges of the 'Published Novel' category of the Comedy Women in Print Prize.
Personal life
Oliver was born to a German father and English mother. Her grandfather, Eric Gideon, was a D-Day veteran who died in 2017, shortly after receiving the Légion d'Honneur for his service to France during the war. Her mother is former Conservative MP Jo Gideon, who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent Central in 2019. Oliver has British and German nationality.
She began a relationship with Richard Osman in 2020; they became engaged in May 2022 and married in December 2022. They met when she was a contestant on TV celebrity quiz show Richard Osman's House of Games.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging | Mrs. Stamp | |
| 2017 | You, Me and Him | Lily | |
| 2019 | The Hustle | Brigitte Desjardins | |
| Last Christmas | Police Woman Crowley | ||
| 2025 | The Thursday Murder Club | Joanna | |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Footprints in the Snow | Back-Up Organiser | TV film |
| Doc Martin | Radio Technician | Episode: "Aromatherapy" | |
| 2006 | Vital Signs | Mother #2 | Episode #1.2 |
| Now the Weather | Unaired Pilot | ||
| 2007 | Biffovision | Mrs. Peggy | TV film |
| Watson & Oliver: The Movie | Various characters | TV film; also writer | |
| Comedy Showcase | Rebecca Black | Episode: "Plus One" | |
| 2008 | The Gym | Miriam | 1 episode |
| Peep Show | Natalie | Episode: "Jeremy's Mummy" | |
| Tonightly | Ingrid | Episode #1.1 | |
| The Wrong Door | Various characters | 6 episodes; also writer | |
| 2009 | Plus One | Rebecca Black | 5 episodes |
| The Fixer | Sadie | Episode #2.4 | |
| 2010 | The Persuationists | Harriet | Episode: "The Australianess" |
| Material Girl | Mimi Throckmorton | 6 episodes | |
| 2011 | Twenty Twelve | Assistant producer of The Today Programme | Episode #1.6 |
| Lead Balloon | Jenny | Episode: "Pig" | |
| 2012–2013 | Watson & Oliver | Various characters | 12 episodes; also writer |
| 2012–2016 | The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret | Yancy McPickles/Vanessa Blojabditz | 4 episodes |
| 2013–2015 | Doctor Who | Petronella Osgood | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | GameFace | Clare | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2016 | Plebs | Camilla | Episode: "Justin Junior" |
| 2017 | The Magicians | Hudson River Dragon (voice) | Episode: "The Rattening" |
| 2019 | Silent Witness | DI Briggs | 2 episodes |
| Defending the Guilty | Fiona | 3 episodes | |
| 2021 | The Watch | Doctor Cruces | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Beyond Paradise | Cassie Parker | Episode #1.4 |
| 2024 | Father Brown | Gaynor Garfield | Episode: "The Forensic Nun" |
| Sweetpea | D.I. Diana St. John | 4 episodes | |
| 2026 | Run Away | Yvonne Previdi | 8 episodes |
| :: |
Stage
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goethe's Faust | Gretchen | St. John's College Theatre | ||
| King Lear | Cordelia | Tabard Theatre | ||
| Heartbreak House | Hesione Hushabye | |||
| Anatol | Annie | |||
| 2003 | Revolving Door | Kelly | Theatro Technis | |
| Butterflies Are Free | Florence Baker | Vienna's English Theatre | ||
| Loveplay | Various characters | Finborough Theatre | ||
| 2004 | Eskimo Sisters | Mo | Camden People's Theatre | |
| 2006 | The Shelter | Angela Trumpet | Lawrence Batley Theatre | |
| 2015 | Harvey | Myrtle Mae Simmons | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |
| 2017 | Ingrid Oliver: Speech! | Various characters | Edinburgh Festival Fringe | One-woman show |
| :: |
Video games
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Company of Heroes 2 | |
| 2018 | Doctor Who Infinity: The Dalek Invasion of Time | Petronella Osgood (voice) |
| 2019 | Doctor Who Infinity: The Horror of Flat Holm | |
| 2021 | Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins | Petronella Osgood |
| :: |
Radio
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Production | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2012 | The Castle | Lady Charlotte | BBC Radio 4 (series 1–3) | 24 episodes |
| BBC Radio 4 Extra (series 4) | ||||
| 2008 | The Brothers Faversham | Alexandra Faversham | BBC Radio 7 | 4 episodes |
| More Brothers Faversham | 4 episodes | |||
| 2009 | Cavity | Kirsty | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 2013 | ElvenQuest | Penthiselea | 6 episodes | |
| 2014 | The Architects | Sarah | 4 episodes | |
| Men About The House | Eve Feevis | Pilot | ||
| 2015 | A Trespasser's Guide to The Classics | Emma | Episode: "The Rat-Catchers of Yonville" | |
| 2019–2022 | Party's Over | Christine Tobin | 12 episodes | |
| 2021 | The Attendant | Denise/Evil Denise | Episode: "Sci-Fi" | |
| :: |
References
References
- Lee, Veronica. (19 February 2012). "Watson & Oliver: It's hi from me... and hi from her". [[The Independent]].
- (2007). "Watson and Oliver". Edinburgh Guide Review.
- "The Penny Dreadfuls". BBC7.
- (20 October 2008). "Who can fill French and Saunders' shoes?". The Guardian.
- "BBC One: Programmes – Material Girl". BBC.
- "Wales online".
- "Sweetpea: The Cast & Characters {{!}} Sky Atlantic {{!}} Sky.com".
- Wood, Heloise. (2025-11-03). "Sara Pascoe wins inaugural Jilly Cooper Award at the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2025". [[The Bookseller]].
- (7 July 2018). "Comedian Ingrid Oliver vs Brexit plus V For Vendetta revisited". [[Remainiacs.
- (26 December 2021). "Richard Osman opens up to Desert Island Discs about food addiction". BBC News.
- (15 September 2022). "Richard Osman gives exciting details on wedding plans to Doctor Who actress Ingrid Oliver". Hello Magazine.
- (9 August 2018). "Doctor Who Infinity launches on PC and Mac, new trailer released". Gary Collinson.
- "The Lonely Assassins, the new mobile game, is out now".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::