Jessica Martin is a well-known leading actress, comic artist and writer. She rose to fame in the eighties as an impressionist on the popular tv shows Spitting Image, Copycats and the Bobby Davro Show.She achieved long-lasting cult status when she played Mags the alien werewolf in the Doctor Who story “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.” She then crossed over into musical theatre and made her West End lead debut as Sally Smith opposite Gary Wilmot as Bill Snibson in “Me and My Girl” at the Adelphi Theatre for two years and on tour. Since then she has sustained a dynamic career both on and off the stage and screen. When she is not appearing on stage she is usually appearing at a comic or Doctor Who Convention!

Most recently she co-starred with Cassidy Janson and Julie Yammanee in Jerry Herman’s “Jerry’s Girls” at the Menier Chocolate Factory in a sell-out run.

Jessica has enjoyed a return to the world of panto in recent years. She played the evil Countess Von Winklebottom in “Goldilocks” at the Richmond Theatre and last year played another baddie, Demon Vanity in “Mother Goose” at The Everyman Theatre Cheltenham alongside the circus legend Tweedy the Clown. This year she is delighted to be returning to Cheltenham for “Aladdin”. This time she’ll be the shining and very lovely Spirit Of the Ring. Tickets are already selling very fast!

Other Highlights

In 2020 Jessica played the role of Mrs Blitzstein in the Union Theatre production of Lionel Bart’s “Blitz”, for which she was nominated for an Offie award for Best Lead Performance in a Musical.

She received praise from critics, including

“Wonderful...a solid and authentic performance.” Broadway World

“…an outstanding performance…” The Reviews Hub

“…the heart and soul of the show…” Musical Theatre Review

“A powerful performance” British Theatre Guide

“...in Jessica Martin finds a superlative brain as well as musical theatre talent and skill to encompass this magnificent part.” BritishTheatre.com

In 2018 she was nominated the Offie Award for Best Lead Performance in a play for her role as Dame Shirley Porter in Gregory Evans “Shirleymander” at the Playground Theatre. 

Michael Billington praised her performance in his review for The Guardian: “…the role is dynamically performed by Jessica Martin, who gives the impression of a crisply tailored, unstoppable powerhouse.”

Jessica rose to fame as a young impressionist in the television shows “Spitting Image” and “Copycats”, making her acting debut playing the role of ‘alien punk werewolf Mags’ in the iconic series “Doctor Who” and quickly crossing over to become a West End leading actress as Sally in “Me and My Girl”.

Since then she has enjoyed a jam-packed, diverse career in theatre, television, cabaret, one–woman plays and voice-overs, and in the past few years has become a critically acclaimed writer and illustrator of graphic novels.

Her graphic memoir “Life Drawing. A Life Under Lights” was adapted into the cabaret “A Life Under Lights” which premiered at Crazy Coqs, London last year. The British Theatre Guide described it as “a brilliantly constructed and increasingly powerful experience”.