{"id":4872,"date":"2025-06-06T10:03:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=4872"},"modified":"2025-06-06T10:04:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:04:46","slug":"rebecca-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=4872","title":{"rendered":"Rebecca Front"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rebecca Front - an actress equally at
home in comedy and serious drama<\/h4>\n\n\n
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(c) biowikis.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca Front is one of those actresses that appear in almost any type of drama, so if you liked Lewis<\/em> or Death in Paradise<\/em> or Midsomer Murders<\/em> you will have seen her,<\/em> often in the role of a senior police officer. She can bring to the role a cold seriousness or a warm friendliness. But she is in cricketing terms an \"All-rounder\" at home in comedy programmes such as Absolutely Fabulous <\/em> or Have I got news for you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Front was born in\u00a0Stoke Newington<\/a>,\u00a0London<\/a>, to Sheila and\u00a0Charles Front<\/a>. Her mother wrote children's books, which her father illustrated. \u00a0Her father also designed the title-logo on the cover of\u00a0The Beatles<\/a>' album\u00a0Rubber Soul<\/a><\/em>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Her parents are both Jewish.

Rebecca was brought up in\u00a0Reform Judaism<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She gained admission to\u00a0Ilford County High School for Girls<\/a>, which converted to a\u00a0comprehensive school<\/a>\u00a0during her time there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Front became involved in comedy while at\u00a0St Hugh's College<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0University of Oxford<\/a>, <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0where she read English and became the first female president of\u00a0The Oxford Revue<\/a>..<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She also trained at the\u00a0Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAREER<\/strong>

While at Oxford in 1984, Front took part in the revue\u00a0Stop the Weak<\/em>. The tour played in Oxford itself, the\u00a0Gate Theatre, Notting Hill<\/a>, Edinburgh,\u00a0Salisbury<\/a>, and\u00a0Romsey<\/a>. In 1985, Front teamed up with\u00a0Sioned Wiliam<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jon Magnusson<\/a>\u00a0to take the show\u00a0The Bobo Girls go BOO<\/em>\u00a0to Edinburgh. She made a short promotional video on energy conservation with Michael Simkins in the late 1980s. <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Front achieved a higher profile as a result of her work with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring<\/a> on the radio shows Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World<\/a><\/em> and On the Hour<\/a><\/em>, and the television and radio series Fist of Fun<\/a><\/em>. She went on to form a close professional association with Chris Morris<\/a>, Armando Iannucci<\/a>, Doon Mackichan<\/a> and Steve Coogan<\/a>, who all transferred with Front to The Day Today<\/em>, the television version of On the Hour<\/em>. Completing The Day Today<\/em> were Patrick Marber<\/a>, who was part of the 1984 Oxford University revue with Front and David Schneider<\/a>, who took part in the 1985 revue. This cast continued to contribute to the Alan Partridge<\/a> comedy canon throughout the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years[when?<\/a><\/em>]<\/sup> Front has also become a fixture on comedy panel shows on British television and radio including The News Quiz<\/a><\/em>, Have I Got News for You<\/a><\/em> and If I Ruled The World<\/a><\/em>. She has also had minor roles in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer<\/a><\/em>, Absolute Power<\/a><\/em> and Absolutely Fabulous<\/a><\/em> and she has also played straight acting roles in television drama, including You Can Choose Your Friends<\/em>, The Rotters' Club<\/em>, Kavanagh QC<\/a><\/em>, Lewis<\/a><\/em> and Jonathan Creek<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2003, she was listed in\u00a0The Observer<\/a><\/em>\u00a0as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. <\/sup>\u00a0From 2006, she has written columns for\u00a0The Guardian<\/a><\/em>. In 2007, she guest-starred in the\u00a0Doctor Who<\/a><\/em>\u00a0audio drama<\/a>\u00a0The Mind's Eye<\/a><\/em>. Between 2006 until 2014, Front had a recurring role as Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent on the detective drama series\u00a0Lewis<\/a><\/em>, the successor to\u00a0Inspector Morse<\/a><\/em>\u00a0on\u00a0ITV<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009 and 2012, respectively, she appeared in the third and fourth series of political satire\u00a0The Thick of It<\/a><\/em>, playing Nicola Murray MP, Secretary of State for Citizenship and Social Affairs and in charge of the dysfunctional 'DoSAC', and later, Leader of the Opposition. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Front featured in the 2010 BBC comedy series\u00a0Grandma's House<\/a><\/em>\u00a0playing the part of\u00a0Simon Amstell<\/a>'s mother Tanya, <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and\u00a0Just William<\/a><\/em>, as the mother of\u00a0William Brown<\/a>\u00a0and also starred in the 2011 live-action\u00a03D<\/a>\u00a0family comedy film\u00a0Horrid Henry: The Movie<\/a><\/em>\u00a0as Henry's headmistress, Miss Oddbod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012 Front starred as the psychiatrist in the\u00a0Sky Arts<\/a>\u00a0sketch series\u00a0Psychobitches<\/a><\/em>, where Front's character offers therapy to notable women of history and the present day, including\u00a0Anne Boleyn<\/a>,\u00a0Mary Queen of Scots<\/a>,\u00a0Mary Shelley<\/a>,\u00a0Enid Blyton<\/a>,\u00a0Eva Braun<\/a>,\u00a0Mary Pickford<\/a>,\u00a0Edith Piaf<\/a>, and\u00a0Anna Nicole Smith<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The series aired on the British television channel Sky Arts 1. The first episode of a second series was broadcast on 25 November 2014. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In 2013, she starred in the new\u00a0Sky Living<\/a>\u00a0comedy\u00a0The Spa<\/a><\/em>, in the role of Alison Crabbe.[15]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She plays Cox in\u00a0The Wrong Mans<\/a><\/em>, <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0a six-part comedy-thriller for\u00a0BBC Two<\/a>. The premiere was on 24 September 2013. She reprised this role in December 2014 for a special two-parter. She narrated\u00a0Fox Wars<\/a><\/em>\u00a0which was broadcast on 22 October 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2013,\u00a0Sky Atlantic<\/a>\u00a0aired a new comedy series called\u00a0Little Cracker<\/em>. The second programme in the series was an autobiographical story written by Front and her brother Jeremy. It concerns the time she witnessed the near-drowning of her father in a lake; that incident was closely followed by the death of her grandfather. The proximity of these two experiences caused Front considerable personal anguish. Front was eleven years old at the time and, because of the trauma she suffered, she went through a period of not wanting to attend school. The programme included a comedic treatment of this time in her life, followed by Front and her brother explaining the background to the story, and how they came to write and dramatise it. In the programme, Front was played by Lucy Hutchinson, and her father was played by the actor\u00a0Richard Lumsden<\/a>.\u00a0Samantha Spiro<\/a>\u00a0played her mother and Front played her headmistress, Miss Dyson. Front's school friend character, Karen, was played by Imogen Front <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For their 2013 Christmas season, the BBC<\/a> commissioned Death Comes to Pemberley<\/a><\/em>, a three-part television drama based on the novel by P. D. James<\/a>. The story returns to the world of Jane Austen<\/a>'s Pride and Prejudice<\/a><\/em>, and involves its characters in a new tale of murder and emotional mayhem. Front played the part of Mrs Bennet. The first episode aired on BBC One at 8.15pm on Boxing Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2014, Front appeared in the\u00a0Midsomer Murders<\/a><\/em>\u00a0episode \"Let Us Prey\", about a serial killer who uses medieval torture methods to dispatch their victims. She appeared in the BBC comedy series\u00a0Outnumbered<\/a><\/em>, <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0playing the headmistress at Karen's school in early 2014. Front portrayed Fiona in the\u00a0BBC Radio 4<\/a>\u00a0series\u00a0Love in Recovery<\/em>. She also starred in the sitcom\u00a0Up the Women<\/a><\/em>\u00a0as Helen Bute, the antagonist for three episodes in mid-2013 and a six-episode series in 2015. From 2014 to 2019, she narrated the\u00a0Channel 4<\/a>\u00a0series\u00a0The Supervet<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, she co-wrote and appeared in the sitcom Shush!<\/em> on BBC Radio 4<\/a>, a sitcom set in a library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently she has appeared in the mini-series Dark Money <\/em>in 2019 and in 2021 she was Karen Kelly in the series Avenue 5. <\/em>More recently she has appeared in episodes of Grantchester <\/em> and The Chelsea Detective.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(c) eceleb-gossip.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Front is married to Phil Clymer, previously a radio producer at the\u00a0BBC World Service<\/a>; they have two children. Front was part of the BBC English\/World Service rep company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Front's book\u00a0Curious: True Stories and Loose Connections<\/em>\u00a0(published 2014) is a collection of autobiographical stories. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0A second book,\u00a0Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Adventures in the Ordinary<\/em>\u00a0(published 2018), is a collection of true stories about surprising turns of events, bizarre misunderstandings and improbable life lessons \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremy Front, her brother, is a writer and comic actor. They have collaborated on writing and performance projects. The most recent is a series of spoof documentaries,\u00a0Incredible Women<\/em>, for\u00a0BBC Radio 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My thanks to the writers of Wikipedia for much of the information in this article.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Front - an actress equally at home in comedy and serious drama (c) biowikis.com Rebecca Front is one of those actresses that appear in almost any type of drama, so if you liked Lewis or Death in Paradise or Midsomer Murders you will have seen her, often in the role of a senior police […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-celebrities"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4872"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4875,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4872\/revisions\/4875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}