Bank of Dave’s Jo Hartley is set to make a guest appearance in the upcoming episode of BBC One’s detective drama, Silent Witness. The two-part episode, titled Vanishing Point, follows Dr Nikki Alexander (played by Emilia Fox) as she returns from a conference in Mumbai, only to find a mysterious contagion spreading among her fellow passengers.
Jo Hartley will be seen in the role of Beth, an A&E staff nurse on the flight who assists Nikki with the affected patients at 30,000 feet. While many viewers may recognise the 52 year old actress from her roles in Netflix’s After Life, ITV’s Passenger and the 2016 film Eddie the Eagle, some might remember her breakout role as Cynthia in This Is England.
One of Jo’s earliest film roles was that of Cynthia – the mother of main character Shaun Fields (Thomas Turgoose) – in the 2006 film This is England. She reprised this role in all three spin-off series on Channel 4: This Is England ’86, This Is England ’88 and This Is England ’90.
In the franchise, Jo is almost unrecognisable as Cynthia, sporting a large brunette perm, typical ’80s glasses and a blue jacket with chunky shoulder pads. She starred alongside actors such as Stephen Graham, Joe Gilgun, Vicky McClure and Jack O’Connell in the critically acclaimed film, all of whom have since enjoyed successful acting careers.
Jo has had a string of notable roles in recent years, including her portrayal of Nicola, the wife of self-made millionaire Dave Fishwick, in the biographical comedy-drama Bank of Dave and its sequel, Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger, reports the Mirror.
Her other notable appearances include a guest stint on BBC One’s Death in Paradise in 2023, as well as roles in Greg Davies’ drama The Cleaner and Diane Morgan’s comedy series Mandy. However, Netflix fans will likely recognise her best as June from the hit comedy-drama After Life.
In the show, she played the partner of Lenny, a photographer at the Tambury Gazette, and mother to James, a work experience student.
The series, which starred Ricky Gervais of The Office fame, recently received some sad news. Ricky announced on X that Antilly, the dog who played his character’s pet Brandy, had passed away at the age of 13.
He paid tribute to the canine co-star, saying: “Sad News. ‘Anti’, who played ‘Brandy’ in AfterLife, has died. She was 13 and a very good girl.”
Silent Witness continues tonight at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.