Kerri McLean

Kerri McLean
Occupation
  • Actress, director
Years active2004–present

Kerri McLean is a British actress and director. She is best known for playing Kitty Despard in the drama series Poldark and Maeve in the comedy thriller Bodkin.

Early life

McLean was born in Birmingham, England. She graduated from the Mason Science College in Birmingham with A-Levels in Performing Arts, Media Studies and Art, before moving onto study Modern Drama Studies at Brunel University of London. Eight years after earning her degree, McLean began studying Audio Production at the University of Westminster, from where she graduated with a Masters Degree in 2009.[1]

Career

McLean made her on-screen debut in 2004 on an episode of the soap opera Eastenders. Other early roles included minor appearances in shows such as Holby City, Casualty and Small Island. She played a police officer in the fantasy series A Discovery of Witches.[2] Her first big role came playing former slave Catherine Despard in the historical drama series Poldark.[3][4] McLean has had also had a very successful directing career. She directed Formula 1 title and promo films for 4 years for worldwide broadcast, featuring all of F1’s drivers and key principles including Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel. Her film ‘Reality Check’ won Faith Drama’s ‘Writer-Director Festival Award’ and ‘Writer/Director Audience Choice Award’ in 2016. Kerri played lead character barrister Tamika Dazinzi in the 2022 audio film Barred which won a silver award for ‘Best Director’ and a bronze award for ‘Best Digital Drama’ at The New York Festival’s Radio Awards 2022.[5] She portrayed Maeve, one of the lead roles of the Irish thriller series Bodkin.[6]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Cherished Young Lifer 3
2016 We Love Moses Janet Short
2017 The Ritual Gayle
2019 Bruno DC Richardson
2021 Tom and Jerry News Reporter
2022 Blinkers Daisy Short
2025 Brighton Storeys Eve The Midwife
2026 Molly vs the Machines Michelle Walker

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Eastenders Jemma Episode; 2667
2004 Holby City Rachel Dennis 2 episodes
2007 Casualty Danni Wilson Episode; The Killing Floor
2009 Small Island Josephine Episode; #1.2
2010 Identity Teacher Episode; Second Life
2014 Hollyoaks Dr. Lewis Episode; 3971
2015 Unforgotten Duty Solicitor 2 episodes
2003-2016 Doctors DC Gemma Beckett, Tracey Maduro, Megan WallerUnforgotten 9 episodes
2017 Rellik Paramedic Episode; #1.4
2017 Electric Dreams Implanted Jill#2 Episode; Crazy Diamond
2017 Bounty Hunters Stewardess Episode; #1.3
2018 Bliss Midwife Episode; #1.3
2018 A Discovery of Witches Female Police Officer Episode; #1.1
2018 Bodyguard Surveillance Officer 2 episodes
2019 Poldark Kitty Despard 7 episodes
2021 Line of Duty Midwife Episode; #6.3
2024 Bodkin Maeve 5 episodes
2025 The Rig Surveillance Officer Episode; #2.3
2026 Grace Carla Lambert Episode; One Of Us is Dead

Video Games

Year Title Role Notes
2022 Expeditions: Rome Lunja, Cecilia, Nasamones Soldier Female
2023 Baldur's Gate 3 Cappa Delourese, Fist Oriona, Raider G'r'ath
2024 Unknown 9: Awakening Voice

References

  1. ↑ "Poldark's Kitty Despard Is Based On This Inspiring Real-Life Figure". bustle.com. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Poldark cast: Who plays Kitty Despard? Who is Kerri McLean?". express.co.uk. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Kerri McLean Knew Kitty Despard's True Story Couldn't Be Ignored". pbs.org. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Kerri McLean is Kitty Despard". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Kerri McLean". kerrimclean.com. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Netflix announces new Ireland-based dark comedy series Bodkin". hotpress.com. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.