Lenora Crichlow Biography

Lenora Crichlow got her first break in 2004 in a television film, ‘Bella and the Boys’. In the same year, she made an appearance in twelve episodes of ‘The Bill’, Britain’s longest running police procedural television series. In 2005-2006, she shot to fame owing to her performance in ‘Sugar Rush’, a twenty-episode television series based on Julie Burchill’s novel by the same name. Her brilliant performance as Maria "Sugar" Sweet even inspired the author to write a sequel.

The year 2006 also saw her making her film debut with ‘Wilderness’. This was followed by a short film, ‘The Beloved Ones’ and a guest appearance in an episode of television show ‘Doctor Who’ in 2007. The next year, she featured in a British crime investigation television film ‘Kiss of Death’ and a supernatural comedy drama television series ‘Being Human’. Her work as a ghost in the latter was appreciated immensely and she bagged TV Actress of the Year Award at the annual ‘Glamour Awards’ in 2011. Moreover, out of total five, she appeared in the first four series (2009-2012) and a total of 31 episodes of the drama, more than any other character in the show.

In 2009 and 2010, she worked in two miniseries – ‘Collision’ and ‘Material Girl’ while in 2011 and 2012, she made quick appearances in an episode each of ‘Death in Paradise’ and ‘Inspector George Gently’. In 2010, she also worked in a documentary – ‘Nelson Mandela: One Incredible Life’- based on Nelson Mandela’s life.

The year 2012 also saw her working in a television film ‘Doors Open’ (based on a novel written by Ian Rankin) and her third feature film, ‘Fast Girls’. The movie was about two women who train as professional sprinter and compete in a world championship event. As part of preparations for her role as a sprinter in the latter, Lenora had to train with real life British Olympic sprinter, Jeanette Kwakye. In 2013, she appeared in another significant television film, ‘Burton & Taylor’ and in an episode of highly appreciated ‘Black Mirror’, a British sci-fi anthology television series.

From 2013 to 2018, she continued her work in a number of television series including ‘Back in the Game’, ‘A to Z’, ‘Suspects’, ‘Flaked’ and ‘Deception’. She also had two film releases – ‘Electricity’ and ‘The Late Bloomer’- in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

In 2020, she has another television series, ‘Avenue 5’ and a movie ‘Morbius’ adding value to her profile.

After working in the television show, ‘Doctor Who’ in 2007, Lenora Crichlow also worked for the audio drama ‘Doctor Who: The Architects of History’, though she got a different role to play this time.

She portrayed the character of Portia in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ for BBC’s online educational platform ‘Bitesize’. In 2011, she lent her voice to BBC Three’s documentary, ‘The Gatwick Baby: Abandoned at Birth’.

In 2012 – 2013, she narrated another audiobook, ‘The Road’ by Simon Guerrier. The audiobook was one of the three ‘Being Human’ audiobooks based on novels of same name which in turn draw from the characters of ‘Being Human’ television series.

Lenora has done theatre work as well. In 2006, she acted in ‘93.2 FM’ and in 2008, she worked in another stage production called, ‘Big White Fog’.

Lenora Isabella Crichlow was born on 4 January 1985 in the City of Westminster, London to Lucy Addington and Frank Crichlow. The family originally hailed from Trinidad and moved to London in the 1950s. Her father, Frank Crichlow was a prominent community activist and civil rights campaigner who became famous as the “godfather of black radicalism” during the 1960s. His restaurant, ‘Mangrove’, in Notting Hills became the primary gathering point for activists and artists. In the 1970s, after numerous police raids, the restaurant eventually came to be recognised as “the symbol of resistance to police persecution”. He died of prostate cancer in the year 2010 and his funeral saw hundreds of supporters and friends paying their respect.

Lenora has two sisters - Francesca, and Amandla and a brother, Knowlton. One of her sisters, Amandla Crichlow, is also an actress. When Lenora was very young, around twelve, she joined Young Blood Theatre Company in Hammersmith, West London. Later, she went to University of Sussex to do a course in drama. She is also a trained salsa dancer.