Melissa Johns
Melissa is an actor working in both TV & Theatre. She plays series regular, Miss Scott in ITV’s Grantchester and is also most known for playing Hannah Taylor in Mike Bartletts BBC’s One show – LIFE.
In 2022, she made her West End debut in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Henry V alongside Kit Harrington.
Last year, she completed the finished first U.K. tour of her sell out one woman show – SNATCHED. The show is now being developed for TV.
Melissa trained at East 15 Acting School and between 2017 & 2019, played the role of Imogen Pascoe in Coronation Street.
Other credits include Sadie Moore in The Intercepter, FLACK, In The Long Run, SILK, Casualty, I Hate Suzie, to name a few. Theatre credits include – OthelloMacbeth at Lyric Hammersmith & HOME, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at Sheffield Crucible, The Prize at Live Theatre and Graeae Productions.
During her time at Drama School, Melissa represented East 15 during award season and went on to win the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award. She was one of the first physically disabled actors to win the award.
Melissa has been running drama workshops for the past 11 years for children and young people both with and without disabilities. She created Quite Frankly Theatre & Scene Talent which both run accessible drama and devising workshops. She worked at The Royal Free Hospital Children’s School where she ran drama sessions with young people experiencing mental health difficulties and eating disorders. She gained a foundation in Multimedia Advocacy and was the first to use Wikisites as a way of helping young people with mental health challenges to communicate and enhance self-advocacy.
Melissa was named Alumna of the Year for University of Essex (& East 15 Acting School). This was the first time the alumni award had gone to someone in the arts. Melissa won the JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of the UK award in 2017 and went on to win the TOYP of the World Award in the category “Children, World Peace & Human Rights” In 2018. She has also been nominated for “Actor of the Year” in the Diversity in Media Awards and was shortlisted for “Positive Role Model of the Year” in the National Diversity Awards 2018. Melissa is ambassador for REACH and Models of Diversity.
In 2020, Melissa was part of the line up for Celebrity Masterchef. She does not like cooking.