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She's best known for playing Anne in the hit BBC comedy Motherland, and more recently, in the award-winning spin-off, Amandaland, but Philippa Dunne has quietly built up a much wider TV career than most viewers realise.
From awkward school-run chaos to a BAFTA-nominated turn on screen, here’s everything you need to know about the star.
How old is Philippa Dunne?
As of May 2026, Philippa is reportedly 44 years old.
What TV shows has Philippa Dunne been in?
From comedy to drama, Irish actress Philippa Dunne has been in plenty of must-see shows, and has even written a few herself.
The Walshes
Philippa Dunne was also part of the Irish comedy group Diet of Worms, and co-wrote and starred in the RTÉ comedy The Walshes in 2014. The series followed a close-knit but chaotic family living in suburban Dublin and became known for its offbeat humour and exaggerated family dynamics.
Motherland
Philippa is best known for playing Anne Flynn in Motherland, a role she has played since 2016. One of the mums at the school, Anne is often caught up in a fairly one-sided friendship with Amanda (Lucy Punch), regularly going along with her chaotic ideas and bending over backwards to keep the peace.
The hit series quickly became a fan favourite and remains her most recognisable work.
Amandaland
More recently, she has reprised her role as Anne in the Motherland spin-off Amandaland.
While she still finds herself orbiting Amanda and getting pulled into her world, the spin-off gives Anne more space to feel like her own person, with her character stepping slightly out of Amanda’s shadow while still delivering the same quirkiness and hilarious one-liners that fans love.
In 2026, Philippa was also recognised for her role in Amandaland, earning a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy for the show’s 2025 Christmas special. She was nominated alongside co-stars Lucy Punch and Jennifer Saunders, with the series itself winning Best Scripted Comedy.
Believe Me
Philippa Dunne plays Harriet Wistrich in the ITV true-crime drama Believe Me, which follows victims of the “black cab rapist” John Worboys.
Harriet is a solicitor who teams up with a group of women to take legal action against the Metropolitan Police after the way they were treated following their allegations of sexual assault.
Derry Girls
Philippa Dunne also appeared in Derry Girls as Geraldine Devlin, the mother of Clare.
The Channel 4 comedy is set in 1990s Northern Ireland during the final years of the Troubles and follows a group of a group of friends at a Catholic girls’ school navigating teenage life, friendship and family chaos.
This is Going to Hurt
In the BBC medical comedy-drama This Is Going to Hurt, Philippa played Ria, a receptionist in a busy NHS hospital. The series, based on Adam Kay’s memoir, mixed humour with the pressures of working on the front line of healthcare.
Who is Philippa Dunne's husband?
While Philippa usually keeps her personal life under wraps, she has revealed that she is married and has a child, who was born during lockdown.
"In Motherland season three, any time you see a real baby that I'm carrying around, that's my real baby in real life," she said.
“I had no kids, so I didn’t know if [the show] was exaggerated. But then I had a child, and I realised, ‘Oh my god, yeah, it is this.’
"Right from that first episode, ‘the stress, to the noise, the anxiety, the pressure, the chaos, the screaming, the roaring, the people that you have to deal with just because your children are in the same school – it's terribly relatable."
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. A devoted bookworm and TV fan, she’s always immersed in the latest shows or catching the newest films and theatre productions. When she’s not writing, Arabella enjoys cooking and exploring the outdoors with her dog.