Born: 1965 (as Claire Lauren Skinner)
Episodes Broadcast: 2011

Born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, Claire Skinner became heavily involved in acting while still at school, and subsequently enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She made her television debut in a 1988 episode of South Of The Border, while her first movie was The Rachel Papers a year later. After completing her training, Skinner focussed on the stage, working with Alan Ayckbourn and then joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1991. Nonetheless, she made several movie appearances during the Nineties, including the Mike Leigh films Life Is Sweet and Naked, and Tim Burton's horror hit Sleepy Hollow. On television, Skinner had a recurring part in the first season of Lenny Henry's Chef! and a starring role in The Peter Principle with Jim Broadbent. On A Dance To The Music Of Time, she met focus puller Charles Palmer, who later directed several Doctor Who episodes. Their marriage in 2001 was bookended by the birth of two sons: William in 1999 and Thomas in 2002.

The first decade of the twenty-first century was a busy one for Skinner, who became a household name as one of the leads of the sitcom Outnumbered. She also had prominent roles in shows like Trevor's World Of Sport, Life Begins and Trinity. Movie appearances became more infrequent, but she could still be seen in the Renée Zellweger hit Bridget Jones's Diary, and she reunited with Broadbent in And When Did You Last See Your Father?.

In 2011, Skinner took the role of Madge Arwell in the Doctor Who Christmas special The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe. Portraying a mother who strove to keep the holiday spirit alive in the face of wartime tragedy, she found help in the form of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor. Amongst Skinner's other television credits during the 2010s were Homefront, Critical, Scream Street and Next Of Kin. Following the end of her marriage to Palmer in 2016, she began a relationship with actor Hugh Dennis, who had been her co-star in Outnumbered. During the Twenties, Skinner made guest appearances in Ted Lasso and Kate & Koji. She also had a recurring role in McDonald & Dodds.