Thompson had her first professional role in 1982, touring in a stage version of Not the Nine O'Clock News [REF].
Thompson achieved another breakthrough in 1987,[REF] when she had leading roles in two television miniseries: Fortunes of War, a World War II drama co-starring Kenneth Branagh, and Tutti Frutti, a dark-comedy about a Scottish rock band with Robbie Coltrane [REF].