Lizzie Hopley is a British actress and writer born in Liverpool who trained at Manchester University and RADA.
Some of Hopley's notable TV and film work include Steve McQueen's feature film Blitz, The Reckoning (BBC/ITV), The Crown (Netflix), Time (BBC), The Devil's Hour (Amazon Studios), Brassic, Soulmates (Amazon AMC), The Long Song (BBC/Heyday Films), Little Boy Blue (ITV), Luther (BBC), Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, Pierrepoint with Timothy Spall, The Thirteenth Tale with Vanessa Redgrave, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (ITV), Any Human Heart (C4), The Day of the Triffids (BBC) with Eddie Izzard and Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased).
Among her theatre work, she has appeared as Margaret Thatcher in The Audience, written by Peter Morgan (2019). Other notable theatre work includes The Roaring Girl, Arden of Faversham and The White Devil for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the original cast of Cheek by Jowl's world tour of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Kate in the AFTLS's 2018 US tour of The Taming of the Shrew and Ang in the No. 1 tour of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party.
As an Associate Learning Practitioner with the RSC, Hopley delivers workshops across the UK, US, China, South Korea, Malta and Cayman Islands and provides regular content for their online learning programme. She gives practical tutorials at the British American Drama Academy and designed the first Professional Development Course for Guildford School of Acting where she taught as an Associate for over 10 years. She has delivered the practical sessions for the annual Shakespeare Foundation Certificate at Oxford University since 2011.
Her sitcom pilot, "Green", won Pozzitive Television's Funny Dot Comp 2021 and TV series Bloody Betty is currently in development with Showem Entertainment. In 2021, she won the Scribe Award for the audio play The Curse of Lady Macbeth. Hopley took a year out in 2017 to work full time as a comedian to create popular blog: Diary of a Stand Up Virgin.
Her debut one-woman play Pramface explored the consequences of reality television and labelling people as chavs,[1] which won the Plat Du Jour at the Edinburgh Festival 2005.
Her radio plays have included The Elizabethan Beauty Law[2] (which starred Annette Badland as Queen Elizabeth), The Cenci Family (nominated for a Sony Radio Academy Award which starred Sally Hawkins and Daniel Evans) for BBC Radio 4 and Salome[3] (which starred Ian Brooker, Florence Hoath and Kenneth Cranham) for BBC Radio 3.
She was commissioned to write the screenplay "Killing Clovis Dardentor", an updated film adaptation of Jules Verne's Clovis Dardentor. She also wrote "Jam", a short film starring Stephen Fry, Annette Badland, Frank Skinner, Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee. In 2020, she wrote the short film "Mr Fairhurst", the story of a PE teacher in lockdown, starring Not Too Tame founder, Jimmy Fairhurst.
Hopley has appeared in several audio plays based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Her first appearance was as the Eighth Doctor’s companion Gemma Griffin in Terror Firma. She also portrayed Yarvell, the sister of Davros, in the I, Davros mini-series.
In 2007 she voiced the Mantasphid Queen in the Doctor Who animated adventure The Infinite Quest.
Hopley appears in the top 3 female writers for Big Finish Productions with over 26 audio titles to her name. She was filmed in conversation with fellow writer, Lisa McMullin, discussing their favourite female writers and influences for International Women's Day, 2023.
As a writer and actress, her work for Big Finish Productions includes:
(list incomplete)