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Take a look back at Nicola Walker's first major role in huge movie

The actress is currently appearing in Annika series two

Eve Crosbie
TV & Film Writer
August 23, 2023
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Nicola Walker fans were thrilled when the actress' crime drama, Annika released new episodes recently. The star, also known for her roles in Unforgotten and The Split, is once again taking on the titular character as the lead investigator for the fictional Marine Homicide Unit in Glasgow.

Nicola is an esteemed stage and screen actress. And did you know that she first graced our screens almost 30 years ago? The 53-year-old made her acting debut back in 1994 when she landed a role in a huge Hollywood movie alongside the likes of Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell! Check it out below...

Four Weddings and a Funeral - Nicola Walker scenes

WATCH: Nicola Walker's first role was in Four Weddings and a Funeral

Nicola Walker's early career

If you haven't already worked it out, that movie was Four Weddings and a Funeral, which follows a good-natured young introvert named Charles as he discovers his true love for his friend Carrie while attending the wedding of four of his friends and a funeral.

Nicola, who was just 24 years old at the time, played one-half of the frightful folk duo who performed at the wedding at the beginning of the film. The role not only launched Nicola's career and saw her brush shoulders with some of the biggest stars working in the UK at the time, but also allowed her to show off her incredible singing voice, too.

Nicola Walker

Following the role, Nicola went on to appear in a number of TV miniseries and movies and it wasn't long before she was bagging leading roles. In 1997, she began playing DI Susan Taylor in the ITV drama Touching Evil opposite Robson Green and just a few years later, in 2003, she landed a role on BBC's Spooks, replacing Jenny Agutter.

She remained in the espionage thriller for almost a decade before becoming a regular fixture on primetime dramas such as Prisoner's Wives, Heading Out and Scott & Bailey. 

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nicola Walker in Unforgotten
Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nicola Walker in Unforgotten

Nicola Walker's later career 

In more recent years, Nicola has become perhaps best known for her role in the BBC dramas, Last Tango in Halifax and The Split, as well as ITV's Unforgotten.

While she decided to bow out of Unforgotten after four gripping series in 2021, The Split wrapped its three seasons in 2022. For those wanting to see even more of Nicola, the actress is currently filming a new series alongside some big names.

Nicola Walker as DI Annika Strandhed in Annika© UKTV/Alibi
Nicola Walker as DI Annika Strandhed in Annika

When is Nicola Walker back on screens? 

Nicola will be joining the glittering cast for the upcoming Sky Atlantic and NOW period series, Mary & George. Billed as a psychological drama, the story will centre around Mary Villiers and her son, George, the Duke of Buckingham, who embarks on a scandalous affair with King James I of England.

Playing the part of Mary is A-List starlet Julianne Moore. Nicola meanwhile is playing Lady Hatton, the lady-in-waiting to the King's wife, Anne of Denmark. 

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