--- name: "Charlotte Ritchie" canonical: "https://film.one/person/charlotte-ritchie" roles: ["Actor"] born: "29 August 1989" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 72 updated: "2026-09-17T01:51:05.294180+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Charlotte Ritchie Actor. Born 29 August 1989 in Clapton, London, England, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 29 August 1989, Clapton, London, England, UK - **Active:** 2011–present - **Also known as:** شارلوت ریچی ## Fi1m on Charlotte Ritchie > Charlotte Ritchie plays women who have decided who to be and have not quite pulled it off, and she lets us see the join. A small, exact skill, funniest in the sitcoms and most useful when the writing turns sad. Melissa Shawcross arrives at university in the first episode of *Fresh Meat* (2011) with a new name, a hidden bank balance and a plan to follow Violet Nordstrom (Zawe Ashton) wherever she goes. Charlotte Ritchie plays Oregon as a girl who is sure the disguise is holding. That is the thing she has kept doing ever since: the character believes in herself slightly more than we do, and Ritchie shows us the effort without ever winking over the character's shoulder. It is why she is funny. It is also why the same scenes can hurt. She was still at university when she got the part, and *Fresh Meat* ran until 2016. Steady television followed: *Siblings* (2014), four series as Nurse Barbara Gilbert in *Call the Midwife* (2015), and the lead, Alison Cooper, in *Ghosts* (2019), a sitcom that ran five series with Kiell Smith-Bynoe among the cast. *Feel Good* (2020) paired her with Mae Martin, who also created it, in a romance about addiction. *You* (2023) took her into an international thriller as Kate Galvin, and *Wonka* (2023) into a studio family film as Barbara. We have not reviewed those and will not pretend to judge them here. The knock, early on, was that she kept being cast as one kind of young woman, the posh student or the English rose, and there is something in it. But watch what she does with the type. Her timing is exact and a good deal of her comedy is physical, and in the sitcoms she is often the still centre other people are being ridiculous around. Then the writing turns, and she does not change gear so much as let us see what was underneath all along. Here is the performance that got at us. Oregon is noticed by her tutor, Professor Tony Shales (Tony Gardner), in the first episode of *Fresh Meat*, and she mistakes his attention for a compliment. Ritchie plays every scene of it as if Oregon is the one in charge. We watched a nineteen-year-old walk slowly towards a bad decision over several episodes and felt worse about it than a student comedy had any right to make us feel, because she never once asked for our pity. Gardner's coward could not have done that damage on his own. *Legends* (2026), Neil Forsyth's six-part undercover thriller, puts her in a strong cast and a crowded plot and asks for concentration rather than laughs. She has said that none of her friends would call her the funny one, and she may be right; the funny one is not what she plays. She plays the one who is trying. If you want to see where that began, the first two series of *Fresh Meat* are the place, and they are worth your week. ## Biography Charlotte Ritchie is an English actress. She was born in Clapham, London, in 1989 or 1990, and studied English and drama at the University of Bristol. Ritchie first gained attention for her role as Oregon in the Channel 4 series *Fresh Meat* (2011–2016). She is also known for playing Nurse Barbara Gilbert in *Call the Midwife* (2015–2018), Alison Cooper in *Ghosts* (2019–2023), Kate Lockwood in *You* (2023–2025), and Barbara in the film *Wonka* (2023). In 2026 she appeared as Sophie in the Netflix series *Legends* and as Sophie Harrison in the Channel 4 docudrama *Dirty Business*. Earlier credits include an uncredited role in *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* (2005) and work with the vocal group All Angels. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, express.co.uk.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Legends* (2026), Fi1m 74, as Sophie — [page](https://film.one/tv/legends.md) - *Wonka* (2023), Fi1m 68, as Barbara — [page](https://film.one/film/wonka.md) - *Fresh Meat* (2011), Fi1m 74, as Melissa 'Oregon' Shawcross — [page](https://film.one/tv/fresh-meat.md) ## Also known for - *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* (2005), Slytherin Student (uncredited) - *You* (2018), Kate Galvin - *The Assessment* (2025), Serena - *Death in Paradise* (2011), Iris Shepherd - *Call the Midwife* (2012), Barbara Gilbert, Nurse Barbara Hereward - *Ghosts* (2019), Alison Cooper - *Feel Good* (2020), George - *Taskmaster* (2015), Self --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/charlotte-ritchie