Craney has appeared in the Mike Leigh films Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002) and Vera Drake (2004), for which she was nominated for the 2005 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
She is probably best known for her appearances in the Mike Leigh films Meantime, All or Nothing and Vera Drake, as well as Leigh's 1981 West End theatre play Goosepimples, for which she received a Theatre Critics' Award nomination as Most Promising Newcomer.