Penny Downie
Acting
Biography
Penny Downie is an Australian actress known for her stage and television appearances in the United Kingdom. From 2017 until 2021 she played Ellen in the British TV sitcom Back. She plays the US ambassador’s house manager Frances Munning in the 2023 Netflix political thriller series The Diplomat.
Born: January 1, 1954
Place of Birth: Queensland, Australia
Known For
The Cazalets
The Cazalets is a 2001 television drama series about the life of a large privileged family in the years 1937 to 1947. Most of the action takes place in London, and at the family's large estate in Sussex. The drama was based on the novels of Elizabeth Jane Howard, and adapted by the screenwriter Douglas Livingstone. The series was originally produced by Cinema Verity for BBC One and is available on DVD.
The Crown
The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny. The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown.
Agatha Christie's Poirot
From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.
Downton Abbey
A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.
Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis, as well as a large cast of notable actors and actresses.
Spooks
Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid.
Father Brown
Father Brown is based on G. K. Chesterton's detective stories about a Catholic priest who doubles as an amateur detective in order to try and solve mysteries.
The Diplomat
Amid an international crisis, a US diplomat contends with her high-profile job as ambassador to the UK and her strained marriage to a political star.
Silk
Silk is a British television drama series produced by the BBC and first shown in 2011. Written by Peter Moffat, the series follows a set of barristers, and what they do to attain the rank of Queen's Counsel, known as 'taking silk'. Passionate defence barrister Martha Costello faces challenging cases and surprising clients, which test her faith in the criminal justice system. Gifted colleague Clive Reader is called to the bar with her. They work hard with pupils, Nick Slade and Niamh Cranitch, but ultimately only one can eventually be taken on as a member of chambers.
Breathe
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Filmography
as Mrs. Pennington
as Frances Munning
as Hilary Carmichael
as Izzy
as Tid
as Valerie Chandris
as Ellen
as Janet Lee
as Duchess of Gloucester
as Mrs. Sulzbach
as Home Secretary Rose Kenter
as Rev. Mother Augustine
as Flora Gable
as Dr. Vargas
as Veronica
as Helen Guthrie
as Lady Sinderby
as Gertrude
as Mrs. Pienaar
as Honor Scammel
as Evelyn
as Evelyn
as Ruth
as Hazel Kent
as Caecilia
as Judith Massingham
as Lady Judith Milbanke
as Lady Judith Milbanke
as Self - Narrator
as Prosecution QC
as Sid
as Bonnie Yorke
as Judy Trenor
as Aileen Longden
as Katerina
as Mary
as Phoebe Maybury
as Anderton
as Mrs. Rosalind McEnery
as Linda
as Susan Duke
as Sheila
as Frances Cloade
as Kate Miskin
as Madelaine
as Nurse Wendy Hazlitt
as Chrissie
as Kate Miskin
as Cindy
as Caecilia
as Dee Rogers