Alison O'Donnell (actor)

For the singer and musician, see Alison O'Donnell (musician).
Alison O'Donnell
Born
Motherwell, Scotland
OccupationActor
SpouseD.C. Jackson
Children2

Alison O'Donnell is a Scottish television, stage and film actress from Motherwell.[1] She is known for her role as Detective Sergeant (later DI) Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh in the BBC crime drama series Shetland (2013–present).

Early life

O'Donnell was born in the early 1980s and grew up in Motherwell with two elder sisters. She initially studied international law at university but dropped out after three months to take up acting.[1]

Career

Early in her acting career O'Donnell mainly worked in theatre, featuring in productions of Boys, The Hard Man, Eigengrau, and Yerma.[2] She had small roles in BBC television productions Feel the Force (2006) and Holby City (2012).[3] She played a lead role in My Romantic History, a play at the Edinburgh Fringe which won the 2011 Fringe First award.[1]

From 2013 to present, she has appeared in the main role of DS Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh, in the Scottish television crime drama Shetland made by ITV Studios for the BBC.[2][4][5]

In 2017, she was part of the cast of the BBC Radio 4 play Synonymous, written by her husband, D.C. Jackson.[1]

Personal life

O'Donnell's partner is Scottish playwright D.C. Jackson; they have two children.[6] They met while O'Donnell played the lead role in Jackson's play My Romantic History, at the Traverse in Edinburgh, but only became a couple later.[1]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Feel the Force Zoo Shop Assistant TV series; Series 1; Episode 3: "Wanted"
2012 Holby City Wendy Weiss TV series. Series 14; Episode 13: "Hide Your Love Away"
2013–present Shetland DC/DS/DI Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh TV series. Main role. Series 1–9; 50 episodes
2014 Moomins on the Riviera The Mymble's Daughter (voice) Film (English version)
2019 Pet Sematary Party Guest Film
2020 Do No Harm Kirsty Short film

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Interview: Alison O'Donnell". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Griffiths, Eleanor. "Shetland Series Five, Meet the Cast". Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  3. ^ Lazarus, Susanna. "Shetland Series Four: Meet the Cast". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  4. ^ Humprheys, Georgina. "Douglas Henshall's Shetland returns to BBC for fifth series". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  5. ^ Gibb, Bill. "Alison O'Donnell is delighted the dark days are almost over for her Shetland character Tosh". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  6. ^ Morris, Nicky (2024-11-13). "Shetland star Alison O'Donnell's very private family life with famous partner". HELLO!. Retrieved 2024-12-08.