Lesley Nicol

Lesley Nicol Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: June 19, 1953

Age: 71 years old

Birth Place: Manchester, England, UK

A veteran performer on the English stage and television since the mid-1980s, actress Leslie Nicol vaulted to international fame as the imperious cook, Mrs. Patmore, on "Downton Abbey (ITV/PBS, 2010-16). For much of her early career, Nicol divided her time between bit and supporting roles on television and in theater productions, with her first feature coming more than a decade after her first small-screen appearance on the hit U.K. comedy "East is East" (1999).

By the year 2000, she had advanced to major roles in musicals like "Mamma Mia!" and a recurring turn in TV advertisements for Tetley Tea. But it was "Downton Abbey" that thrust Nicol, like many of its performers, into the international spotlight, where public television viewers around the world delighted in her iron rule of the Crawley estate's kitchen staff, as well as her increasingly matronly relationship with Sophie McShera's maid, Daisy. The exposure afforded by "Downton" led to roles in American television, but more importantly, a second act to a career that seemed at long last pointed towards more substantive stardom.

Born in Manchester, England in 1953, Lesley Nicol was the daughter of a Scottish doctor and Welsh actress who imbued upon her daughter a remarkable knack for the diverse array of United Kingdom accents. She fell in love with acting as a teenager at St. Elphin's Boarding School in Derbyshire, and made her first stage appearance as a 12-year-old boy in a production of George Bernard Shaw's "Androcles and the Lion" with the Manchester Library Theatre.

Nicol then studied acting for three years at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama before launching her acting career. She worked primarily in theater before making her television debut in 1986's "Blackadder II" (BBC, 1986), starring Rowan Atkinson. More television roles followed, including Mrs. Beaver in the Emmy-nominated "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" (BBC, 1988) and multiple episodes of the police drama "The Bill" (ITV, 1984-2010) before Nicol made her feature debut reprising her stage role in a film version of Ayub Khan-Din's play "East is East" (1999), about a Anglo-Pakistani family in London.

Nicol divided her time in the new millennium between U.K. television and the stage, appearing in such popular plays and musicals as "Mamma Mia!" (2000), "Our House" (2002) and a 2005 production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore," while also enjoying a series of television advertisements for Tetley Tea which cast her as the kindly "Aunt Tea."

In 2010, she reprised her role as Aunt Annie in "West is West," the sequel to "East is East," before joining the cast of "Downton Abbey" as the formidable Mrs. Patmore. Initially portrayed as a domineering and perfectionist cook in the Crawley household, Mrs. Patmore softened as the series progressed, most notably in her relationship with scullery maid Daisy (Sophie McShera).

In later episodes, Mrs. Patmore's eyesight began to deteriorate, which required cataract surgery. She further showed her sensitive side after learning that her nephew had been shot for cowardice while serving in World War I. The show's worldwide popularity among public television fans led to not only her debut on American television in an episode of "Once Upon a Time" (ABC, 2011- ), but also a 2013 Screen Actors Guild nomination along with her castmates for Best Ensemble in a Drama. By Paul Gaita

Credits

Downton Abbey 3

Actor
Mrs Patmore
Movie
2025

Joy -- Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir

Music Performer
Show
2024

My Mother Said I Never Should

Voice
Doris
Show
2024

Mr Bates vs The Post OfficeStream

Actor
Pam Stubbs
Miniseries
2024
95%

Downton Abbey: A New EraStream

Actor
Mrs Patmore
Movie
2022
87%

GMA3: What You Need to Know

Guest
Show
2020

Piney: The Lonesome Pine

Voice
Forever Tree
Movie
2020

The Kelly Clarkson Show

Guest
Talk
2019

Downton Abbey Live!

Guest
Show
2019

Beecham HouseStream

Actor
Henrietta Beecham
Series
2019
46%

Downton AbbeyStream

Actor
Mrs. Patmore
Movie
2019
84%

Summer Camp IslandStream

Actor
Series
2018

VampirinaStream

Guest Voice
Mary-Margaret Mummyton
Series
2017

Megyn Kelly Today

Guest
Talk
2017

Jill Robinson: To the Moon and Back

Actor
Show
2017

Celebrity PageStream

Guest
News
2016

The CatchStream

Guest Star
Series
2016
74%

Goldie & BearStream

Guest Voice
Fairy Godmother
Series
2015

The Odd CoupleStream

Guest Star
Series
2015

q

Guest
Show
2014

Sarah & Duck

Actor
Show
2013

Sarah & Duck

Voice
Scarf Lady
Show
2013

Father BrownStream

Actor
Majorie Chummy
Series
2013

Entertainment Studios.TV

Guest
Show
2012

Doc McStuffinsStream

Guest Voice
Pip
Series
2012

Sunday Brunch

Guest
Show
2011

Once Upon a TimeStream

Guest Star
Series
2011
78%

The Chew

Guest
Talk
2011

Downton Abbey

Actor
Mrs. Patmore
Show
2011

Downton AbbeyStream

Actor
Mrs. Patmore
Series
2010
87%

Raising HopeStream

Guest Star
Series
2010
96%

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

Lorraine

Guest
Show
2010

Hot in ClevelandStream

Guest Star
Margaret
Series
2010

West Is West

Actor
Auntie Annie
Movie
2010

Skavlan

Guest
Show
2009

Words and Music

Narrator
Show
2007

Dead Clever: The Life and Crimes of Julie Bottomley

Actor
Jean
Movie
2007

All Star Family Fortunes

Contestant
Show
2006

SupernaturalStream

Guest Star
Series
2005
93%

Doc MartinStream

Actor
Mrs Irene Moore
Series
2004

Holby City

Actor
Eileen McMahon
Show
1999

East Is East

Actor
Auntie Annie
Movie
1999

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

Access Hollywood

Guest
News
1996

HeartbeatStream

Guest Star
Soap
1992

This Morning

Guest
Show
1988

The Bill

Actor
Mrs. Rogers
Show
1984

Brookside

Actor
Shelley
Show
1982

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