Dorothy Atkinson

Dorothy Atkinson was a British film and TV actress who also had a prolific stage career in London's West End. Born and raised in the Medieval town of Mansfield, England, Atkinson started acting on television in her mid 20s when she landed a recurring part on the long-running British drama series "London Burning" (ITV, 1986-2002). Although her role on the series was small, it gave Atkinson the confidence to continue auditioning for TV and movie roles, and in 1999 she nabbed her first big break with a supporting role in Mike Leigh's Oscar-winning comedy "Topsy-Turvy." Atkinson's screen career continued to prosper in the 2000s, with supporting parts on the shows "Life Begins" (ITV, 2004-06) and "Heartbeat" (ITV, 1992-2010), as well as a role in a second Mike Leigh film, 2002's "All or Nothing." As her screen acting career flourished, Atkinson also worked extensively in various productions on London's West End, among them "Epitaph for George Dillon" and "A Matter of Life and Death," both of which were produced in 2007. Then in 2010, Atkinson made her Broadway debut by performing in a stage revival of British film director David Lean's 1945 drama "Brief Encounter." Atkinson played three roles in the play, and received overwhelming praise for her performance. Never quite putting her screen acting on hold for too long, in 2013 Atkinson appeared in six episodes of the critically acclaimed British period drama "Call the Midwife" (BBC One, 2012- ). She also worked with director Mike Leigh for a third time in his 2014 biographical drama, "Mr. Turner," about the acclaimed 19th century British painter J.M.W. Turner, for whom the Turner Prize, one of the highest accolades in modern British art, is named.