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Jo Martin

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Jo Martin
Martin in 2015
Born (1969-04-29) 29 April 1969 (age 56)
Newham, London, England
OccupationActress
Years active1988–present
Notable workThe Crouches
Holby City
Doctor Who

Joanna Lisa Martin (born 29 April[1][2] 1969[3][4]) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC series The Crouches (2003–2005) as Natalie Crouch,[5] Back to Life (2019–2021) as Janice, Holby City (2019–2022) as Max McGerry,[6] and Doctor Who (2020–2022, 2025) as the Fugitive Doctor,[7] and Dreaming Whilst Black (2023) as Grace.

Early life

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Martin was born in Newham, London to a Jamaican mother who died on 25 December 2015[8] and a Jamaican father. Her parents arrived in the area in the 1950s. She attended Portway Primary School and Plashet All Girls Secondary School.[9]

Career

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Doctor Who

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Martin first appeared in the series 12 episode "Fugitive of the Judoon", playing Ruth Clayton, a tourist guide who is later revealed to be an unplaced incarnation of the Doctor known as the Fugitive Doctor. Martin's Doctor received positive reviews from critics.[10][11] She reprised her role in the series finale, "The Timeless Children",[12] in the third chapter of Doctor Who: Flux, "Once, Upon Time",[13] and in the 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor". Martin later returned to the role in a cameo appearance in the 2025 episode "The Story & the Engine".

Martin is currently set to star in The Fugitive Doctor Adventures, an audio drama series focused on her character to be produced by Big Finish.[14]

Tales from the Front Line

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In November 2020, Talawa Theatre Company released Tales from the Front Line.[15][16] The first film presented a verbatim narrative from a teacher, played by Martin, talking about trying to keep themselves and their pupils safe during the pandemic,[specify] the emotional and psychological impact of the global Black Lives Matter movement, and the challenges of supporting students' education during an era of great uncertainty.[17]

Reviews described Martin's performance as "performed so subtly" as to seem real, while being "conversational and natural".[18][19][20][21]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1988 For Queen and Country Pearl
1999 The Murder of Stephen Lawrence Cheryl Stoley
2000 The Jolly Boys' Last Stand Tina
2003 Cheeky Zoe
2004 Tunnel of Love Education Officer 1
2005 Batman Begins Police Prison Official
Blood Thelma Short film
2007 Deadmeat Melanie
The Prodigals Leon's Mother Short film
2010 4.3.2.1. Driving Examiner
Devil's Playground Scared Person on Street
2011 Chalet Girl Lexi
2012 Say My Name Tercet: Stormy Weather Mother Short film
Parking Wars Victoria Short film
2015 Dragonfly Ruby Thomson
Mm-Hm Cherie Short film
2016 100 Streets Marie
2018 The Rehearsal Room Jane Short film
Been So Long Vivienne
2019 Nine Nights Leonore Haines
Blue Story Marco's Mum
Dominoes for Beginners[22]
2023 97 Minutes Toyin[23]
2024 Hard Truths Nurse Salon Client

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1989–2004 The Bill Cindy 3 episodes
1990 Birds of a Feather Joy 1 episode
1991 The Brittas Empire Mrs Walsh 1 episode
1996 The Real McCoy Botney/Various roles Series 5
Chef! Rochelle 2 episodes
1998 Comedy Nation Various roles
2002 Casualty WDS Bridgeman 2 episodes
2002–2006 Doctors Anne Charlton 2 episodes
2003 Loose Women As Herself 1 episode
My Family 1970s Nurse 1 episode
2003–2005 The Crouches Natalie Crouch Series regular
2005 Black Out Celia Jackson TV film
2006–2007 Stupid! Various roles 10 episodes
2007 The Prodigals Leon's Mother
2010 Holby City Sandra Minster 1 episode
2013 Wizards vs Aliens Elizabeth Hatcher 1 episode
2014 EastEnders Judy
Hollyoaks Petula Delaney 3 episodes
2015 Together Anne Griffin 2 episodes
Emmerdale Neurosurgeon 1 episode
2016 Still Open All Hours Registrar 1 episode
Jonathan Creek Nina 1 episode
NW Saul Dibb TV film
2018 The Long Song Hannah 2 episodes
2019 Silent Witness Grace Taylor 2 episodes
2019–2021 Back to Life Janice Regular, 9 episodes
2019 Fleabag Pam 1 episode
2019–2020 In the Long Run Yvonne 2 episodes
2019–2022 Holby City Max McGerry Regular role
2020 Casualty 1 episode
2020–2022, 2025 Doctor Who Fugitive Doctor 5 episodes
2020 Liar Receptionist 1 episode
Small Axe Mrs Bartholemew Episode: Education
2022 The Flatshare Pauline 3 episodes
Whitstable Pearl Dawn Castle 1 episode
Death in Paradise Rakesha Lorde 1 episode
2023 Black Ops Julie 4 episodes
Dreaming Whilst Black Grace Regular, 5 episodes
Champion Dawn 7 episodes
Still Up Angela Episode: "The Date"
Mrs Sidhu Investigates Nora Episode: "On the Ropes"
Grime Kids Bernice[24]
2024–present The Marlow Murder Club Suzie Harris Regular, 8 episodes
2024 Midsomer Murders Denise Bantrig Episode: "A Grain of Truth"
2025 Missing You Tessie Sewell 4 episodes

Audio drama

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Year Title Role Notes
2024 Doctor Who: Once and Future Coda - The Final Act Fugitive Doctor
2025 Doctor Who: The Fugitive Doctor Most Wanted
Dead or Alive Due for release later this year

Video

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Year Title Role Notes
2021 Doctor Who: Time Fracture Fugitive Doctor Pre-recorded video

Web

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2020 The Doctors Say Thank You Herself

References

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  1. ^ "Happy birthday @therealjomartin". BBC Doctor Who official Twitter account. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. ^ Jo Martin Facebook comment (Radio Times post)https://www.facebook.com/radiotimes/posts/happy-44th-birthday-to-jo-martin-who-famously-played-the-fugitive-doctor/1096600132513905/
  3. ^ "FreeBMD Entry Info". www.freebmd.org.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  4. ^ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVWH-RPQG?lang=en
  5. ^ "Doctor Who: Who is Jo Martin?". Radio Times. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Jo Martin to join the cast of BBC One's Holby City" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Doctor Who brings back major fan favourite – and then drops another huge reveal". Digital Spy. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  8. ^ https://www.instagram.com/msjomartin/p/CX7M2yRMxEg/?img_index=4
  9. ^ Voices, Newham (4 September 2021). "Actor Jo Martin in the frame as Doctor Who lead changes". Newham Voices. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  10. ^ Dominguez, Noah (26 January 2020). "Doctor Who Introduces Its First Black Doctor". CBR. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  11. ^ Fullerton, Huw (26 January 2020). "Doctor Who: Who is Jo Martin?". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Jo Martin talks more about a new Doctor!". Doctor Who.
  13. ^ "Doctor Who confirms Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor credit". RadioTimes.
  14. ^ "Jo Martin and Sacha Dhawan confirmed for Doctor Who spin-offs at Big Finish". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  15. ^ "'It's a lot of work being black in Britain' – Tales from the Front Line … and Other Stories – review". the Guardian. 27 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Review: Tales from the Front Line, Parts 1 and 2". The Stage.
  17. ^ "Tales from the Front Line ... and other stories". Talawa. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  18. ^ "REVIEW: Tales From the Front Line… And Other Stories, Talawa (on Youtube)". Archived from the original on 6 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Tales from the Front Line - Talawa Theatre Company". 4 December 2020.
  20. ^ Collins, George (5 December 2020). "Review: Tales from the Front Lines...and other stories, Talawa Theatre".
  21. ^ "Tales from the Front Line... and other stories | Review". 4 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Passages: A Windrush Celebration, Seven Films for Seven Decades Now Available to Watch Online". Royal Court Theatre. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  23. ^ Vuorensola, Timo (director), Grover, Pavan (writer) (9 June 2023). 97 Minutes (Motion picture (thriller)). Black Hangar Studios, Black Lab, BondIt Media Capital. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Grime Kids - Meet the cast and creatives of the brand new coming of age drama". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
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