Kate Duchêne

Kate Duchêne

Born: January 5, 1959
in West Ham, London, England, UK
Kate Duchêne (born Catherine Anne Purves Duchêne, 5 July 1959) is an English actress best known for her role as the teacher Miss Hardbroom in the adaptation of the children's books The Worst Witch.

Duchêne started to act at the age of 14. She studied French and Spanish at Trinity College, Cambridge in the 1980s, where she became a member of the Footlights theatre group, writing and performing her own material. She also acted with the Cambridge Mummers, appearing in such plays as Measure For Measure (as Isabella) in Cambridge and the Edinburgh Fringe. In the 1980s she joined the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, appearing in the premiere productions of Losing Venice and The White Rose. Since 2000 she has appeared frequently at the National Theatre in London, frequently working with director Katie Mitchell.

She briefly went to Spain, teaching English to children, and returned in 1986.

Duchêne is best known for her work as Miss Constance Hardbroom, the strict "deputy head and potions teacher" on the popular TV series The Worst Witch. She stayed with the programme for its three-year run, and appeared in the first episode of its 2001 spinoff Weirdsister College but did not return for the second spinoff, The New Worst Witch (2005–2006). Later projects included Afterlife, a paranormal drama series, and extensive theatre work.

Radio

From October 1987 to July 1991, Duchêne played Alex Parker in BBC Radio 4's drama series Citizens. In 2013 she guest-starred in the final Series 4 episode of Cabin Pressure, playing a captain in the service of a Zurich-based airline.

Duchêne spent her infancy in France, and was brought back to England permanently in 1962, residing in the seaside town of Brighton. Her partner is Robert Hickson. As of 2010, they have 2 children.

Source: Article "Kate Duchêne" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Kate Duchêne...

National Theatre Live: Henry V
Title: National Theatre Live: Henry V
Character: Exeter / Constable of France
Released: April 21, 2022
Type: Movie
Fresh to the throne, King Henry V launches England into a bloody war with France. When his campaign encounters resistance, this inexperienced new ruler must prove he is fit to guide a country into war.
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Title: Avenue 5
Character: Curtis
Released: January 19, 2020
Type: TV
40 years in the future, space captain Ryan Clark and the crew of the luxury space cruise ship Avenue 5 navigate disgruntled passengers and unexpected events after experiencing technical difficulties onboard.
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Roxane
Title: Roxane
Character: Wendy
Released: June 12, 2019
Type: Movie
What does Cyrano de Bergerac do at a chicken farmer? This is the problem of Raymond, who has always kept his passion for the theater hidden. But when he is threatened with bankruptcy, he decides to try everything for the whole.
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National Theatre Live: Hedda Gabler
Title: National Theatre Live: Hedda Gabler
Character: Juliana
Released: March 9, 2017
Type: Movie
“I’ve no talent for life.” Just married. Bored already. Hedda longs to be free... Hedda and Tesman have just returned from their honeymoon and the relationship is already in trouble. Trapped but determined, Hedda tries to control those around her, only to see her own world unravel.
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National Theatre Live: Everyman
Title: National Theatre Live: Everyman
Character: God / Good Deeds
Released: July 16, 2015
Type: Movie
Everyman is successful, popular and riding high when Death comes calling. He is forced to abandon the life he has built and embark on a last, frantic search to recruit a friend, anyone, to speak in his defence. But Death is close behind, and time is running out. One of the great primal, spiritual myths, Everyman asks whether it is only in death that we can understand our lives. A cornerstone of English drama since the 15th century, it now explodes onto the stage in a startling production with words by Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate, and movement by Javier De Frutos.
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All Good Children
Title: All Good Children
Character: Lynne
Released: December 27, 2010
Type: Movie
After experiencing a tragedy, Irish brothers Dara and Eoin move to rural France, where they become friends with young Bella, whose beauty and charm bewitches the emotionally unstable Dara.
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Henry VIII - Live at Shakespeare's Globe
Title: Henry VIII - Live at Shakespeare's Globe
Character: Queen Katherine
Released: May 15, 2010
Type: Movie
The Tudor Court is locked in a power struggle between its nobles and the Machiavellian Cardinal Wolsey, the King's first minister and the country's most conspicuous symbol of Catholic power. Wolsey's ambition knows no bounds and when his chief ally, Queen Katherine, interferes in the King's romance with Ann Bullen, he brings ruin upon himself, the Queen and centuries of English obedience to Rome.
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An Education
Title: An Education
Character: Latin Teacher
Released: October 29, 2009
Type: Movie
Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.
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Title: Afterlife
Character: Barbara Sinyard
Released: September 24, 2005
Type: TV
University lecturer Robert Bridge becomes involved in a series of supernatural events surrounding medium Alison Mundy.
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Monsieur N.
Title: Monsieur N.
Character: Madame Balcombe
Released: January 15, 2003
Type: Movie
This film covers the last years of the Emperor's life, imprisoned by the British on St Helena, a remote island off the west coast of Africa. Napoleon retains a loyal entourage of officers who help him plot his escape and evade the attentions of the island's overzealous governor, Sir Hudson Lowe.
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Title: The Worst Witch
Character: Miss Constance Hardbroom
Released: October 22, 1998
Type: TV
Mildred Hubble is a young witch attending Cackles Academy. She's called the "Worst Witch" because she's always caught getting into trouble.
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Title: The Worst Witch
Released: October 22, 1998
Type: TV
Mildred Hubble is a young witch attending Cackles Academy. She's called the "Worst Witch" because she's always caught getting into trouble.
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Title: Midsomer Murders
Character: Jane Bennett
Released: March 23, 1997
Type: TV
The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
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Title: Peak Practice
Character: Jenny Ryan
Released: May 10, 1993
Type: TV
Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series. Cardale was based on the Staffordshire village of Longnor for the final series, but was previously based in the Derbyshire village of Crich, although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Matlock, Belper and Ashover.
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The Tall Guy
Title: The Tall Guy
Character: Old Girlfriend
Released: February 1, 1989
Type: Movie
An American actor in England tries to find love and work.