The actress in the Pure Cremation advert is Gemma Whelan, an English actress and comedian. She is best known to UK audiences for playing Yara Greyjoy in the HBO series Game of Thrones and Nell Mottershead in the BBC's Upstairs Downstairs.
Gemma Whelan is a British actress with a long list of television and film credits. Born in Leeds, she trained as both an actress and a comedian, and that range shows in the variety of work she has taken on over the years.
Most UK viewers first noticed her as Yara Greyjoy, the fierce ironborn captain in Game of Thrones, a role she held across multiple series. She also appeared in the BBC revival of Upstairs Downstairs.
Her other screen credits include The Crown, Sherlock, The Moorside, The Durrells and The Death of Stalin. On the big screen she has appeared in Murder on the Orient Express. She has also performed on stage in theatre productions, which tells you quite a lot about the breadth of her range.
Pure Cremation is a UK-based direct cremation provider, and its advertising takes a deliberately calm, thoughtful approach to a subject most people find difficult to discuss. The advert features Gemma Whelan as a woman thinking through cremation arrangements for a loved one.
The tone is quiet and considered rather than mournful, which is broadly how Pure Cremation positions itself. Direct cremation, where there is no funeral service at the point of cremation, has grown in popularity across the UK as families look for simpler, lower-cost options. Pure Cremation is one of the better-known providers in that space.
Gemma's performance suits the advert well. She brings a grounded, familiar quality that makes a sensitive subject feel approachable rather than distressing. It is not an easy brief, and she carries it without a hint of awkwardness.
Casting a well-known face in a bereavement-related advert is a deliberate choice. A familiar actress carries a level of trust with the audience, and trust matters a great deal when the service being advertised relates to end-of-life planning.
Gemma Whelan is recognisable without being a tabloid-level celebrity, which fits the tone Pure Cremation is going for. She reads as a credible, warm presence rather than a glamorous spokesperson. For this kind of product, that distinction is the whole point.
The Pure Cremation campaign is the advert most closely associated with her in the UK public's mind, partly because it runs regularly on daytime and evening television. Her other work has been almost entirely in drama and comedy rather than advertising, which makes the Pure Cremation spot something of an outlier in her career.
The advert runs on mainstream UK television channels and is also available on Pure Cremation's official website and their YouTube channel. If you have caught it during a daytime TV break and found yourself wondering where you recognised the actress from, the answer is almost certainly Game of Thrones.
If you spotted her in the advert and could not quite place the face, you are far from alone. She is one of those actresses who appears regularly enough to be familiar but not so constantly that you immediately know the name.
## Frequently asked questions ### who is the actress in the Pure Cremation advert The actress in the Pure Cremation advert is Gemma Whelan, a British actress and comedian from Leeds. She is best known for playing Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones and Nell Mottershead in the BBC's Upstairs Downstairs. ### what has Gemma Whelan been in Gemma Whelan has appeared in numerous TV shows including Game of Thrones, The Crown, Sherlock, The Moorside, The Durrells, and Upstairs Downstairs. She has also featured in films such as Murder on the Orient Express and The Death of Stalin, plus stage theatre productions. ### is Gemma Whelan in Game of Thrones Yes, Gemma Whelan played Yara Greyjoy, the fierce ironborn captain, across multiple series of Game of Thrones. This role is what first brought her to the attention of most UK audiences. ### what is Pure Cremation Pure Cremation is a UK-based direct cremation provider that offers cremation arrangements. The company uses calm and thoughtful advertising to help people discuss and plan cremation services for their loved ones.