Redman was born in Brighton, Sussex.[citation needed] Her father, Ronald Jack Redman (1929–1980), was born in Camberwell, London to parents from the East End, and her mother, Joan Beryl Redman (née Herrington, 1927–2014), was born in Quetta which was then still India to William Herrington, a British Indian Army soldier. Redman's father died at the age of 51, when she was 23. Redman had one brother, who died of pneumonia in 2008.[2][3]
Redman is badly scarred on her left arm as a result of an accident when she was 18 months old.[4] She was scalded by a pan of boiling hot turkey and vegetable soup[5] and suffered burns to 75% of her body. Her arm was the only part of her body permanently affected, but the trauma was so severe that she was pronounced clinically dead at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, Sussex.[6]
She played opposite Liv Ullmann in Richard's Things (1980), took over from Alfred Molina in the 1990s comedy drama El C.I.D., playing a new female lead in the series, and played Diana Dors in the TV film The Blonde Bombshell (1999). She presented an MTV show on satellite TV in the 1990s. She co-starred in the first two series of Dangerfield in 1995, playing Joanna Stevens, and played a role in Taggart the same year. In 2000 she played Deedee Dove in the feature film Sexy Beast. From 2000 until 2003 she played Alison Braithwaite, a woman whose life is turned upside down after she wins the lottery, in ITV's At Home with the Braithwaites.
From 2003 to 2013, Redman took the role of DSI Sandra Pullman in the BBC'sNew Tricks. In July 2013, she announced her departure; Tamzin Outhwaite replaced her.
Redman is the founder and principal of the Artists Theatre School. She directs an annual show which is performed at The Questors Theatre in Ealing.[13]
My stepfather used to bowl right here where the theatre is and my mother used to live in Dyke Road. When I was told about the history of this place I was incredibly moved. Whenever there is a venture where people are honestly trying to put something back into the community, you have to help however you can.[14]
Awards and nominations
2001 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award – Best Actress for At Home with the Braithwaites
Redman married actor Robert Glenister in 1984; they had one child together, daughter Emily, before divorcing in 1992.[17] Redman is credited with encouraging her then-brother-in-law, Philip Glenister, to go to drama school and pursue acting; he has played DCI Gene Hunt in both Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.
^General Register Office England and Wales Birth Index 1916–2005 shows her birth registered in 1957 (Amanda J. Redman 1957 Q3 Vol 5h, page 131 Brighton)
