# Pippa Bennett-Warner
**Pippa Bennett-Warner** (full name Philippa Elaine Fanti Bennett-Warner) is a British actress who has built a career across stage, television, film, and audiobook narration, known for playing Shannon Dumani in the crime series *Gangs of London* and for classical stage roles including Cordelia in *King Lear* opposite [Derek Jacobi](https://www.edgepedia.org/derek-jacobi).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733) • [2](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/1376880-pippa-bennett-warner)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733/bio/) |
| Training | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) graduate[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733/bio/) |
| Stage debut | Young Nala in the original West End cast of Disney's *The Lion King*, at age 11[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html) |
| Signature stage roles | Cordelia in *King Lear* (Donmar Warehouse, with Derek Jacobi); Queen Isabel in *Richard II* (with Eddie Redmayne); the lead in *The Witness* at the Royal Court, 2012[5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html) |
| Best-known screen role | Shannon Dumani in *Gangs of London*, 2020 to 2025, 22 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733) |
| Ambassador role | Ambassador of the Theatres Trust, the national body for theater buildings in the UK[6](https://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/about-us/our-ambassadors) |
## Early life and start in acting
Bennett-Warner was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in 1988, and grew up in [Buckinghamshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/buckinghamshire), near [Aylesbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/aylesbury).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733/bio/) • [5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html) Her father, Roy, a computer consultant, comes from [Basseterre](https://www.edgepedia.org/basseterre) in Saint Kitts; her mother, Paulette, an antiques dealer, is from Jamaica.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html) She was privately educated at St Edward's School in Oxford.[5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html)
Her interest in performing began with her older sister Georgie, who played the title role in a school production of *Oliver!* at their all-girls prep school.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html) At 11, after nine rounds of auditions, she was cast as one of the young Nalas in the original London production of *The Lion King*; she has described the production as "a machine" and said she left after six months because a growth spurt made her taller than her male castmates.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html) She also came close to a record deal as a singer at 15, but her parents wanted her to concentrate on school.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html)
## Theatre career
At 18 she was offered both a place at RADA and a role in [Tony Kushner](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-kushner)'s *Caroline, or Change* at the National Theatre. She deferred her RADA place for a year to take the part, then completed the three-year training, which she later credited as the foundation of her career.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html) In 2011, DC Moore wrote the character Denise in *The Swan*, staged at the National, specifically for her.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html)
**Breakthrough on stage.** In the Michael Grandage seasons at the Donmar Warehouse she played Cordelia opposite Derek Jacobi in *King Lear* and Queen Isabel opposite [Eddie Redmayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-redmayne) in *Richard II*.[5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html) In 2012 she took the lead as Alex, a Rwandan orphan adopted by a British war photographer, in Vivienne Franzmann's *The Witness* at the Royal Court, directed by Simon Godwin. The role put her on the longlist for an Evening Standard Theatre Award.[5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html) In 2015 she played Dorinda in [George Farquhar](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-farquhar)'s Restoration comedy *The Beaux' Stratagem* at the National's Olivier theater.[5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html)
## Television and film
After 2012 she deliberately moved into television, taking a substantial part in Lucy Kirkwood's firefighter drama *The Smoke*.[5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html) Her screen work since then spans crime, comedy, and period drama: Harriet Lennox in *Harlots* (ITV/Hulu), Lauren Elgood in *MotherFatherSon* with [Richard Gere](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gere) and [Helen McCrory](https://www.edgepedia.org/helen-mccrory), Rochelle Madeley, a defense lawyer, in David Hare's *Roadkill* (BBC, 2020), Tamzin in *Maxxx* (Hulu), and Livia in the Amazon psychological thriller *Chloe*.[7](https://pressroom.pbs.org/-/media/pressroom/public-assets/programs/masterpiece/moonflower-murders/pdf_07_12_v2_masterpiece_tcabios_july24.pdf) • [8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/pippa-bennett-warner/)
Her best-known role is Shannon Dumani, daughter of fixer Ed Dumani in AMC and Sky's crime series *Gangs of London*, which she played across 22 episodes from 2020 to 2025.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733) Film credits include *The Foreigner* (2017), *Johnny English Strikes Again* (2018), *Patient Zero* (2018), *See How They Run* (2022) with [Saoirse Ronan](https://www.edgepedia.org/saoirse-ronan), Sam Rockwell, and [David Oyelowo](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-oyelowo), *A Bit of Light* (2022) opposite [Anna Paquin](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-paquin), and *Magpie* (2024).[7](https://pressroom.pbs.org/-/media/pressroom/public-assets/programs/masterpiece/moonflower-murders/pdf_07_12_v2_masterpiece_tcabios_july24.pdf) In 2024 she played Madeline Cain in *Moonflower Murders*, the PBS and BBC adaptation of Anthony Horowitz's novel.[7](https://pressroom.pbs.org/-/media/pressroom/public-assets/programs/masterpiece/moonflower-murders/pdf_07_12_v2_masterpiece_tcabios_july24.pdf)
## Voice and narration
Bennett-Warner has worked extensively as an audiobook and radio narrator.
## Casting and representation
In a 2012 interview she argued for color-blind casting and said she wanted to play a female Lear, a "Queen Lear".[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html) In interviews she has said she seeks work that does not put her "in a box", and by 2020 she had revised her earlier advocacy of color-blind casting, saying that "the best person for the job should get it", while also noting she had been sent typecast "urban London girl" roles earlier in her career.[5](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html) • [9](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/pippa-bennett-warner-interview-roadkill-bbc-david-hare-a4572255.html) Discussing *Roadkill* and *Gangs of London*, she praised both casts as fair reflections of London's diversity and highlighted the presence of a black woman and an Asian man in legal roles on screen.[9](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/pippa-bennett-warner-interview-roadkill-bbc-david-hare-a4572255.html)
## References
1. [Pippa Bennett-Warner - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733)
2. [Pippa Bennett-Warner, FMDb](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/1376880-pippa-bennett-warner)
3. [Pippa Bennett-Warner Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534733/bio/)
4. [Pippa Bennett-Warner: There aren't enough roles for actresses, full stop, Evening Standard (25 June 2012)](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-bennettwarner-there-aren-t-enough-roles-for-actresses-full-stop-7880373.html)
5. [Pippa Bennett-Warner: 'The job that excites me is the one not putting me in a box', Evening Standard (18 May 2015)](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/pippa-bennettwarner-the-job-that-excites-me-is-the-one-not-putting-me-in-a-box-10243695.html)
6. [Our Ambassadors, Theatres Trust](https://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/about-us/our-ambassadors)
7. [Moonflower Murders cast biography, PBS MASTERPIECE pressroom](https://pressroom.pbs.org/-/media/pressroom/public-assets/programs/masterpiece/moonflower-murders/pdf_07_12_v2_masterpiece_tcabios_july24.pdf)
8. [Pippa Bennett-Warner, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/pippa-bennett-warner/)
9. [Pippa Bennett-Warner interview: The parts for women in Roadkill are so great, Evening Standard (23 October 2020)](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/pippa-bennett-warner-interview-roadkill-bbc-david-hare-a4572255.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Be to B*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license