An April 2021 announcement stated that Atkinson would be joining the cast of the second series of All Creatures Great and Small as Diana Brompton.

[5] Atkinson has performed many shows at the Stephen Joseph Theatre with Alan Ayckbourn, including The Boy Who Fell Into a Book, in which she originated the role of the Queen in 1998.

In 2003, she played Marie in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Beauty and the Beast by Laurence Boswell.

Atkinson made her Broadway debut in the 2010 production of Brief Encounter, playing three roles (Dolly/Hermione/Beryl).

This production was conceived originally with the Kneehigh Theatre Company (of which she is a member) and she stayed with the show when it moved to New York.