Lesley Nicol (actress)

Lesley Nicol
Nicol in November 2014
Born	Lesley Nicol (1953-06-19) 19 June 1953 Plymouth, Devon, England
Nationality	British
Education	Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–present
Known for	Beryl Patmore in Downton Abbey

Lesley Nicol (born 19 June 1953 in Plymouth, Devon) is an English actress who is best known for her starring role as Beryl Patmore in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey, and for her roles as Mrs. Beaver in the 1988 BBC adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and as the Queen Giant in The Silver Chair (1990).

Nicol grew up near Manchester, the daughter of an amateur-actress mother and a GP father, and attended Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

She has guest-starred on numerous British television series. She made her film debut in 1999's East Is East, reprising her role from the stage production. She also appeared as Rosie in the West End production of Mamma Mia! from 2000-02. She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She made a guest appearance on the penultimate episode of the final series of the American sitcom Raising Hope.

Nicol's American-born niece, Brittania, had a short-lived career as an actress herself, starring in the film, The Wicker Tree.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1985	The Practice	Jan Metcalfe	TV series (13 episodes)
1986	Blackadder II	Mrs. Pants	TV series (1 episode: "Money")
1987	Comeback	Bossy Boots	TV film
	Brookside	Shelley Rimmer	TV series (1 episode: "Give Us a Clue")
1988	The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	Mrs. Beaver	TV series (5 episodes)
1989	Bradley	Nicole	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.3")
	The Nineteenth Hole	Mrs. Anderton	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.3")
	Stuff		TV series (1 episode: "Whistling Calculus for Tax Purposes")
	4 Play	Janet Holmes	TV series (1 episode: "Dawn and the Candidate")
1990	The Silver Chair	Giant Queen	TV series (2 episodes)
1991	Waterfront Beat		TV series (3 episodes)
	Paul Merton: The Series		TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.4")
	The Bill	Various	TV series (3 episodes: 1991-2008)
1994	Three Seven Eleven	Mrs. Pudsey	TV series (2 episodes)
	Casualty	Jayne Bowen	TV series (1 episode: "Chasing the Dragon")
	Heartbeat	Various	TV series (5 episodes: 1994-2008)
1995	Castles	Gilian	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.6")
	New Voices	Joan	TV series (1 episode: "Grimm")
1996	Peak Practice	Sally Buxton	TV series (1 episode: "Partners")
1998	The Grand	Mrs. Morris	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 2.10")
	Dinnerladies	Woman Worker	TV series (1 episode: "Royals")
1999	East Is East	Auntie Annie
	Extremely Dangerous	Gwenda Palmer	TV series (2 episodes)
	A Touch of Frost	Mrs. Cockroft	TV series (2 episodes: 1999-2000)
2002	Holby City	Eileen McMahon	TV series (1 episode: "Taking Cover")
	Doctors	Various	TV series (2 episodes: 2002-2009)
2004	The Last Detective	Stella Beauchamp	TV series (1 episode: "Benefit to Mankind")
	Rose and Maloney	Headteacher	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.1")
	The Courtroom	Brenda Rimmer	TV series (1 episode: "The Postman")
2005	Marple: A Murder Is Announced	Nurse McClelland	TV film
2006	Hotel Babylon	Mrs. Cord	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.4")
2007	Dead Clever: The Life and Crimes of Julie Bottomley	Jean	TV film
2008	Hancock and Joan	Nellie	TV film
	Shameless	Belle	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 5.14")
2010	West is West	Auntie Annie
	Downton Abbey	Mrs. Patmore	TV series (52 episodes: 2010–2015)
2013	Once Upon a Time	Johanna	TV series (1 episode: "The Queen Is Dead")
	Free Birds	Pilgrim Woman	Voice only
	Sarah & Duck	Scarf Lady	Recurring character
2014	Hot in Cleveland	Margaret	TV series (1 episode: The Christmas Episode. Season 6, episode 7)
2015	Supernatural	Katja	TV series (1 episode: "About a Boy")
2016	Goldie & Bear	Fairy Godmother	recurring role, credited as "Leslie Nicol"
	The Catch	Sybil Griffiths	TV series (2 episodes)
	Ghostbusters	Hotel guest	Deleted scene available on the extended cut.

External links

• Lesley Nicol at IMDb
• Mamma Mia! cast page