Martha Howe-Douglas

Martha Howe-Douglas (born 19 September 1980) is an English actress and writer. She is known as a member of the Them There collective with which she wrote and starred in productions including Horrible Histories, Yonderland, and Ghosts. She also played receptionist Donna Parmar in the BBC One daytime soap Doctors.

Howe-Douglas was born and raised in Moseley, a suburb of south Birmingham, England, on 19 September 1980. She attended Edgbaston High School. She graduated from RADA in 2003.

After graduating from RADA, Howe-Douglas appeared in the Christmas special of The Office, as a receptionist at Wernham-Hogg. From 24 April 2006 until 11 May 2007, Howe-Douglas played receptionist Donna Parmar in the BBC daytime soap opera Doctors. For her role as Donna, Howe-Douglas received nominations for Best Comedy Performance and Best Newcomer at the 2007 British Soap Awards.

In 2009, she landed one of the main multi-role parts on a new children's TV history sketch show programme, CBBC's Horrible Histories, where over five years and five series, she played numerous characters including the queens Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Boudicea and Victoria. In 2011, she appeared in The Proms, in a special live "Horrible Histories Big Prom Party" performance. In 2013, she co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in Sky1's series Yonderland, in which she played lead character Debbie Maddox in all three series.

Howe-Douglas' other acting roles have included appearing in The Armstrong & Miller Show on BBC One and playing Flora Dies-Early in the radio comedy show Bleak Expectations, as well as Lady Anne Woodstock in the radio show The Castle. In 2018, she appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Annie Pritchard. From 15 April 2019, Howe-Douglas co-wrote, produced and starred in the BBC sitcom Ghosts, which sees her reunited with the Horrible Histories cast.

Howe-Douglas is married to a photographer who worked on Ghosts (2019 TV series).

• Martha Howe-Douglas at IMDb