Felicity Montagu

Felicity Montagu
Born	Felicity Jane Montagu (1960-09-12) 12 September 1960 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Alan Nixon ​ ​ (m. 1984; div. 2006)​
Children	2

Felicity Jane Montagu (born 12 September 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Lynn Benfield, the long-suffering assistant of Alan Partridge.

Early life

Montagu was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Lieutenant-Colonel John Drogo Montagu (1916–2013), whose great-great-grandfather, Admiral George Montagu, was the great-great-grandson of the Hon. James Montagu (d. 1665), who, in turn, was the third son of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester. She attended Loughborough University and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Film

Montagu's reputation in comedy character parts was enhanced by her performance in Bridget Jones's Diary as Perpetua, Bridget's unpleasant colleague. She also appeared in the 2006 film Confetti as highly strung magazine editor Vivien Kay-Wylie. She appeared in the film I Want Candy in which she plays the mother of an ambitious teenager. She appeared in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008). In 2013, she reprised her role as Lynn Benfield for the Alan Partridge film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, and Mrs Mainwaring in the 2016 Dad's Army film. In 2016, Montagu reprised her role as Miss Adolf from the Hank Zipzer series in the TV movie Hank Zipzer's Christmas Catastrophe.

Television

In 2004 and 2005, Montagu starred in the ITV comedy drama Doc Martin as Caroline Bosman, the radio presenter of Radio Portwenn. She played Lynn, the faithful but put-upon personal assistant in I'm Alan Partridge, and the vicar's wife Sue in Nighty Night. In 2006, she took the leading role of housewife and gang queen Barbara Du Prez in the comedy series Suburban Shootout. Her other television credits include Mapp & Lucia, The Bill, Lovejoy, Health and Efficiency, Wish Me Luck, Tumbledown, Harry Enfield's Television Programme, 2point4 Children, A Touch of Frost, My Life as a Popat, Johnny and the Bomb, Peak Practice, The Queen's Sister, Coogan's Run, Doc Martin, Lead Balloon, Alexei Sayle's Stuff, Skins, Hank Zipzer, M.I. High, The Durrells, The End of the F***ing World, Rab C. Nesbitt, and Sally4Ever. In 2020, she appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Masterchef.

Theatre

After graduating from drama school, Montagu was cast in the Terry Johnson play Unsuitable for Adults at the Bush Theatre. She went on to work at the Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre. After a long hiatus due to her screen work, Montagu returned to the stage when she starred as Melanie alongside Rowan Atkinson in the 2013 West End production of Quartermaine's Terms at Wyndham's Theatre. In 2017, she appeared at the Liverpool Playhouse in a stage adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as Mrs Bennet, alongside Matthew Kelly as Mr Bennet.

Radio

Montagu has also been a regular voice on a range of comedy programmes on BBC Radio 4 since the mid-1980s. Her credits include Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Delve Special, Ayres on the Air, Dial M For Pizza, Old Harry's Game, The Million Pound Radio Show, Revolting People, and No Commitments.

Personal life

Montagu married Alan Nixon in 1984. They divorced in 2006. The couple have two children, Olivia and Luke. Felicity and Olivia worked together in 2016 in the BBC Radio 4 series Guilt Trip, where they played a fictional mother and daughter.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV	Anthea	Episode: "Episode #1.5"
1985	Coming Through	Jesse Chambers	TV film
1986	We'll Think of Something	Celia	Episode: "You Know Who Your Friends Are"
	Who Dares Wins	Pregnant Woman	2 episodes
1987–1989	Ffizz	Griselda	12 episodes
1988	Tumbledown	Tricia	Television film
1988	This is David Lander	Linda Timson	Episode: "Reduced to Tears"
1988–1989	Alexei Sayle's Stuff	Various Roles	7 episodes
1989	Norbert Smith, a Life	Cecilia Johanson	Television film
1990	Wish Me Luck	Nicole Dissard	7 episodes
	Harry Enfield's Television Programme	Thirties Player	Episode: "Episode #1.1"
1991	The Bill	Pearce	Episode: "Furthers"
	Josie	Jacklyn	2 episodes
	Casualty	Karen Forrester	2 episodes
	Paul Merton: The Series	Various Characters	Episode: "Episode #1.6"
1992	Lovejoy	Deborah Frobisher	Episode: "Out to Lunch
	2Point4 Children	Janice	Episode: "I'm Going Slightly Mad"
	Funny Business	Performer	Episode: "Visual Comedy"
1993	Bonjour la Classe	Parent 2	Episode: "Red Card"
	KYTV	Horsey Woman	Episode: "Get Away with You"
1993–1995	Health and Efficiency	Dr. Kate Russell	12 episodes
1994	A Touch of Frost	Anne Butler	Episode: "Nothing to Hide"
	The All New Alexei Sayle Show	Various Characters	Episode: "Episode #1.6"
1995	Coogan's Run	Florence Mullinger	Episode: "Handyman for All Seasons"
1995–1998	Smith & Jones	Various	3 episodes
1997	Brass Eye	Dinner Party Guest (uncredited)	Episode: "Animals"
	Holding the Baby	Jane	Episode: "Episode #1.6"
	Hospital!	Sally	Television film
	Harry Enfield and Chums	Woman in Cholmondeley-Warner Film	Episode: "Harry Enfield and Christmas Chums"
1997–2002	I'm Alan Partridge	Lynn Benfield	12 episodes
1998	Hetty Wainthropp Investigates	Susan Dent	Episode: "Blood Relations"
	Babes in the Wood	Sasha	Episode: "Christmas Special"
1999	All Along the Watchtower	Mrs. Carter	Episode: "Keeping the Peace"
	Acts of Passion	Rosemary	Episode: "Hungry"
	People Like Us	Various	Episode: "The Estate Agent"
2000	The Mrs Bradley Mysteries	Ruby Larkin	Episode: "The Rising of the Moon"
	City Central	Jenny Wilson	Episode: "Everything Must Go"
	Trust	Beth Simpson	Television film
	Peak Practice	Marian Lowther	Episode: "On a Clear Day"
2001	Bridget Jones's Diary	Perpetua
	Mr Charity	Mrs. Gilbert	Episode: "You and Whose Tsunami?"
	Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible	Lavinia	Episode: "And Now the Fearing..."
2003	The Eustace Bros.	Ginny Topley	Episode: "Episode #1.5"
	Blackball	Astronomer
	The Crouches	Eileen	Episode: "Uncle Sonny"
	Hear the Silence	Mary Watt	Television film
2004–2005	Nighty Night	Sue Forks	10 episodes
2004–2007	My Life as a Popat	Ivy Saviour	5 episodes
2004–2013	Doc Martin	Caroline Bosman	7 episodes
2005	The Afternoon Play	Marjorie Goldblum	Episode: "The Singing Cactus"
	Bremner, Bird and Fortune	Unknown	Episode: "Episode #7.6"
	The Queen's Sister	Gillian Fleming	Television film
	Planet Sketch	Various (voice)	26 episodes
2006	Johnny and the Bomb	Mildred Seeley	2 episodes
	Uncle Dad	Mrs. Farquharson	Television series
	My Family	Lydia	Episode: "Dentally Unstable"
	Confetti	Vivian
2006–2007	Suburban Shootout	Barbara du Prez	11 episodes
2007	I Want Candy	Val, Joe's Mum
	Daphne	Director, 'September Tide'	Television film
2008	M.I. High	Big Sister/Mary Taylor	Episode: "Big Sister"
	How to Lose Friends & Alienate People	Clipboard Nazi
2009	No Holds Bard	Paula Pickford	Television film
	Off the Hook	Danny's Mum/Mrs. Gordon	2 episodes
	Outnumbered	Mrs. Bain	Episode: "The Robbers"
2010	Skins	Anne	Episode: "Emily"
	The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	Ms Whitehead	Episode: "The Snooker Player, the Black Canadian, the Turkish Terrorist, and the Peanut"
2011	North by Northamptonshire	Jan (voice)	Radio series
	Lead Balloon	Libby	Episode: "Off"
	Happy Clapper	Cath	Short film
	Comedy Showcase	Meriel	Episode: "Chickens"
	Chickens	Meriel	Episode: "Pilot"
	Rab C. Nesbitt	Reverend Biddulph	Episode: "Stool"
2011–2012	Little Crackers	Mrs. Peters/Mrs. Phipps	2 episodes
2012	Parents	Mary	Episode: "Episode #1.6"
	Just Desserts	Carol	Short film
2012–2013	Watson & Oliver	Various	2 episodes
2013	It's Kevin	Various	Episode: "Episode #1.2"
	Playhouse Presents	Meg	Episode: "Stage Door Johnnies"
	Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa	Lynn Benfield
	You, Me & Them	Mags	Episode: "Three Dinners"
2014	The Slammer	Polly Meadows	Episode: "Polly Meadows"
	The Boy in the Dress	Miss Price	Television film
	Mapp & Lucia	Godiva "Diva" Plaistow	3 episodes
2014–2016	Hank Zipzer	Miss Adolf	38 episodes
2015	Funny Valentines	Isabel	Episode: "Last Chance"
	Two Down	Mrs. Hannon
	BBC Comedy Feeds	Joy	Episode: "Fishbowl"
2016	Dad's Army	Elizabeth Mainwaring
	The Alan Dimension	Wendy (voice)	Short film
	Brief Encounters	Joan	5 episodes
	Hank Zipzer's Christmas Catastrophe	Miss Adolf	Television film
2016–2019	The Durrells	Cousin Prue	4 episodes
2017	Husk	Mother	Short film
	Porridge	Caroline Hawley	Episode: "The Witness"
	The End of the F***ing World	Jocelyn	Episode: "Episode #1.6"
	Chinese Burn	Sue	Episode: "Pilot"
2017-2018	The Tunnel	Winnie Miles	6 episodes
2018	Urban Myths	Paula Strasberg	Episode: "Marilyn Monroe and Billy Wilder"
	Vanity Fair	Arabella Briggs	4 episodes
	Butterfly	Alice	2 episodes
	Zapped	Head Librarian	Episode: "Book"
	Sally4Ever	Eleanor	7 episodes
	Death on the Tyne	Denise	Television film
	It's Me, Sugar	Paula Strasberg	Short film
2019	The Road to Brexit	Jill Spiller	Television film
	Lasagne	Betty	Short film
	Four Weddings and a Funeral	Duffy's Mom	Episode: "New Jersey"
	National Theatre Live: A Midsummer Night's Dream	Quince
2019–2021	This Time with Alan Partridge	Lynn Benfield	12 episodes
2020	Resistance	Mrs. Garner (Emma's Mother)
	Heart to Heart	Hen Holligan	Short film
	Miss Marx	Helen Demuth
2021	The Announcement	Patricia	Short film
	Censor	Valerie
	Brassic	Lesley Anne	Episode: "Episode #3.1"
	Landscapers	Patricia Wycherley	3 episodes
2022	Sister Boniface Mysteries	Canoness Basil	Episode: "Lights, Camera, Murder!"
	Hullraisers	Gloria	2 episodes
	The Train	Tina	4 episodes
2023	Tom Jones	Bridget Allworthy	Episode: "Episode #1.1"
	Black Ops	Superintendent Edwards	6 episodes
	Beyond Paradise	Margo Martins	6 episodes

External links

• Felicity Montagu at IMDb
• Felicity Montagu at British Comedy Guide