Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series Peak Practice (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness (1996–2004, 2022), Clare Blake in the ITV crime drama series The Commander (2003–2008), Karen Fisher in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road (2010–2011) and Katherine Maguire in the ITV detective series Marcella (2020).
Early life and education
Burton was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, the youngest of four sisters. Her father, Arthur Burton, was a primary school headmaster at Ballougry Primary School, which she attended as a child. She was raised at Ballougry, a rural townland on the south-western outskirts of Derry City, where her family lived in a house beside Ballougry Primary School, right beside County Londonderry's boundary with County Donegal. After later attending Londonderry High School, she moved to England at the age of 18, where she spent three years studying drama at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre.
In 1993, Burton starred alongside Kevin Whately in Peak Practice. and departed the show in 2011. She took part in BBC1's Celebrity Masterchef and made it through to the semi-finals. She appeared as gangster's wife Cherie Le Saux in ITV drama The Level in Autumn 2016. In 2020, she had a starring role as crime family matriarch Katherine Maguire in the third season of Marcella.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
|-
| 2009
| Bronson
| Charlie's Mum
|-
| 2017
| The Dog with the Woman
| Alice Wilson
|-
| 2020
| Body of Water
| Susan
|-
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1982–1986
| Brookside
| Heather Haversham
| Regular role; 249 episodes
|-
| 1987–1988
| Boon
| Margaret Daly
| Main role; 14 episodes
|-
| 1988
| Inspector Morse
| Mirella Lunghi
| Episode: "The Settling of the Sun"
|-
| rowspan=2|1989
| Where There's A Will
| Alice
| Television film
|-
| Frederick Forsyth Presents
| Nicola
| Episode: "A Casualty of War"
|-
| rowspan=2|1990
| Medics
| Vikki
| Episode: "Jessica"
|-
| '
| Aithra
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan=2|1991
| Van der Valk
| Elly van Roekel
| Episode: "Doctor Hoffmann's Children"
|-
| Stay Lucky
| Jane Higgs
| Episode: "The Food of Love"
|-
| 1992
| Lovejoy
| Bonnie Wright
| Episode: "Kids"
|-
| 1993
| Minder
| Prosecuting Counsel
| Episode: "Looking for Mr. Goodtime"
|-
| 1993–1995
| Peak Practice
| Dr. Beth Glover/Kerruish
| Regular role; 36 episodes
|-
| 1996
| Screen Two
| Rosie Willis
| Episode: "The Precious Blood"
|-
| 1996–2004, 2022
| Silent Witness
| Prof. Sam Ryan
| Regular role; 61 episodes
|-
| 1998
| '
| Lynn
| Television film
|-
| 1999
| Forgotten
| Rachel Monroe/Carla Hayden
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2000
| Little Bird
| Rachel Lewis
| Television film
|-
| 2001
| '
| Laura Tracey
| 2 episodes
|-
|2002
| '
| Helen West
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2003
| Pollyanna
| Aunt Polly
| Television film
|-
| 2003–2008
| '
| Commander Clare Blake
| Main role; 17 episodes
|-
| 2009
| Agatha Christie's Marple
| Sister Clotilde
| Episode: "Nemesis"
|-
| 2010–2011
| Waterloo Road
| Karen Fisher
| Regular role; 28 episodes
|-
| 2015
| Midsomer Murders
| Carole Latimer
| Episode: "Murder by Magic"
|-
| 2016
| '
| Cherie Le Saux
| rowspan=2|6 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|2020
| White House Farm
| June Bamber
|-
| Marcella
| Katherine Maguire
| 8 episodes
|-
| 2021
| Anne Boleyn
| Anne Shelton
| 3 episodes
|-
|}
Presenter
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2013
| Amanda Burton: Killer Forensics
| Discovery
|-
|}
Awards and nominations
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Organisation
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
|1998
|rowspan=2|National Television Award
|rowspan=2|Most Popular Actress
|rowspan=6|Silent Witness
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1999
|
|-
|TV Quick Award
|Best Actress
|
|-
|2001
|rowspan=2|National Television Award
|rowspan=2|Most Popular Actress
|
|-
|2003
|
|-
|2004
|IFTA Award
|Best Actress in a TV Drama
|
|-
|2011
|TV Quick Award
|Best Actress
|Waterloo Road
|
|}