Lucy Akhurst was born Lucy Akhurst-Webster in London, England. A few years later, her family moved to the northeast of England and she attended school (which she hated) there. She left her drama school (which she also loathed) early, having been discovered by the BBC and cast in a lead role in the convention-breaking drama All Quiet on the Preston Front (1994). Since then she has worked steadily in television and on such films as The Land Girls (1998) and Trinity (2003), a British/Canadian co-production, and the horror/comedy hit Shaun of the Dead (2004).