Veronica "Ronni" Jane Ancona (born 4 July 1966) is a British actress, comedian, impressionist and writer best known for The Big Impression, which she co-wrote and starred in[1] and was, for four years, one of BBC One's top-rated comedy programmes,[2] winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003.
[14][15] She attended the University of Kent at Canterbury to study film and then did a degree in theatre and TV design at Saint Martin's School of Art.
[17] Ancona then attended the Institute of Education, University College London and qualified as a teacher in art, design & technology, and drama.
[18] For many years, Ancona worked extensively in radio and on television shows such as Fist of Fun,[19] as well as performing stand-up comedy.
[20][5] In 2000, she teamed up with Alistair McGowan, with whom she had previously worked on The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand De Bargos and Standing Room Only,[21] to create The Big Impression.
[36] Ancona also took part in Comic Relief's Desert Trek 2011 alongside Craig David, Olly Murs, Dermot O'Leary, Scott Mills and Lorraine Kelly.
[38] In 2016, she played the role of Mrs Fletcher, the manager of a local care home, in the seventh series of the Scottish comedy Still Game.
[40] In April 2017, Ancona appeared as a guest on ITV's The Nightly Show, presented by Jason Manford, in which they each performed impersonations of famous people which the other had to identify.
[44] In the same year, she appeared in Stella Street: The Movie, playing numerous female celebrities including Madonna and Victoria Beckham.
[citation needed] Her first theatre role was in Miss Conceptions in 1996, a comedy play she co-wrote with Alan Francis, directed by Anthony Nielson.
[51] She then played the gold-digging temptress Belline in Richard Bean's 2005 production of Molière's The Hypochondriac, alongside Carey Mulligan and Henry Goodman.
[53] In June 2015, Ancona was cast to play the role of Paula in the musical adaptation of Bend It Like Beckham at the West End's Phoenix Theatre.
[55] In 2019, she performed in the Edinburgh Fringe show Just Checking In, which she co-wrote with Kim Fuller and fellow cast member Lewis MacLeod.