Deborah Findlay | |
---|---|
Born | 31 December 1947 Leatherhead, Surrey, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1978–present |
Deborah Findlay (born 31 December 1947) [1] is an English actress. She has worked primarily on stage and is an Olivier Award Winner, but has also appeared in several TV series. She is known for playing the Defoe family matriarch Ruth in three series of the BBC TV legal drama The Split (2018-2022).
Findlay joined a theatre company while studying English at the University of Leeds. [2]
Findlay has worked primarily on stage, appearing in numerous productions, including the original Top Girls . In the 1980s she worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company where she appeared in Twelfth Night and The Merchant Of Venice . [3] In 1997 she won an Olivier Award, as well as Outer Critics' Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, for her performance as Hilda, the wife of the painter Stanley Spencer in Pam Gems' play Stanley. [4]
In 2008 she starred in the US premiere of Vincent River by Philip Ridley. In 2009 she appeared alongside Judi Dench in a Donmar West End revival of Madame de Sade.[ citation needed ]
In 2013 she starred in the Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus as Volumnia, a role which earned her Clarence Derwent award for best supporting actress. [5]
In 2016 she appeared on the stage of The Royal Court Theatre twice: as Sally in Caryl Churchill's Escaped Alone and as Hazel in Lucy Kirkwood's The Children . She reprised her role during The Children's Broadway run, receiving a Tony Award nomination.[ citation needed ]
In 2018, she appeared at the Bridge Theatre in London, playing the role of Sister Gilchrist in Alan Bennett's Allelujah! [6]
Findlay's TV credits include Nurse Motte 1992 Maigret with Michael Gambon; Gillian in the ITV drama The Last Train (1999); and the recurring character Greer Thornton in four of the six episodes of State of Play and in the episode "The French Drop" (2004) in Foyle's War . [ citation needed ]
She appeared in four episodes of the 2001 series of The Armstrong and Miller Show and one episode of the acclaimed and original entry of the Messiah TV series. In autumn 2007 she appeared with Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton and Francesca Annis in the BBC1 costume drama series Cranford, playing the role of the spinster Miss Tompkinson, as well as in Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale . She reprised her (in this case more prominent) role as Miss Tompkinson [7] in the two-part Christmas special Return to Cranford .[ citation needed ]
She portrayed Home Secretary Denise Riley in Torchwood's 2009 third series Children of Earth . She was featured in separate episodes as agent Mary Carter in October 2003 and lawyer Gemma King in January 2010 of the BBC1 series Silent Witness . In 2010 she also appeared in Agatha Christie’s Poirot “Hallowe’en Party” as Rowena Drake. She also appeared in two episodes of the ITV series Midsomer Murders: as Hilary Richards in "Blue Herrings" (2000) and as Lorna Sloane in "Murder by Magic" (2015).[ citation needed ]
Findlay played Sarah Cushing in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes episodeThe Cardboard Box, which aired on television on the 11 April 1994. [8]
In episodes aired in 2018, 2020 and 2022 she portrayed Ruth in three series of the BBC TV legal drama The Split.[ citation needed ]
Findlay's radio credits include Sally in Closed to Visitors by Dawn Lowe-Watson on BBC Radio 4 in 1992 and Hermione Pink in the BBC Radio 4 Drama The Ferryhill Philosophers, starting in 2015. [9] Findlay played Miss Dredger in BBC Radio 4 Drama Mr Pye 2023.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Truly Madly Deeply | Claire | |
1995 | Jack & Sarah | Miss Cartwright | |
1999 | The End of the Affair | Miss Smythe | |
2001 | Me Without You | Judith | |
A Loving Act | Dr. Emily Smith | Short film | |
2004 | Vanity Fair | Mrs. Sedley | |
2008 | Summer | Doctor Price | |
One of Those Days | Supervisor | Short film | |
2011 | Arthur Christmas | General (voice) | |
2014 | National Theatre Live: Coriolanus | Volumnia | |
Suite Française | Madame Joseph | ||
2015 | The Lady in the Van | Pauline | |
The Ones Below | Tessa | ||
2016 | Jackie | Maud Shaw | |
Kaleidoscope | Maureen | ||
2017 | Hampstead | Mary Neal | |
2018 | National Theatre Live: Allelujah! | Sister Gilchrist | |
2019 | Making Noise Quietly | Helene Ensslin | |
2021 | From A Strange Land | Margaret | Short film |
2022 | Up on the Roof | Claire | |
TBA | Such A Lovely Day | Granny | Pre-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1978–1980 | The English Programme | Unknown | 3 episodes |
1982 | Play for Today | Ingy | Episode: "Commitments" |
1983 | Busted | Angela | Television film |
1984 | Shroud for a Nightingale | Heather Pearce | 2 episodes |
Dramarama | Nurse | Episode: "Rachel and Rosie" | |
1986 | Ladies in Charge | Hetty | Episode: "Zoe's Fever" |
What If It's Raining | Marilyn | 3 episodes | |
1989 | First and Last | Lisa | Television film |
1991 | All Good Things | Doll | 5 episodes |
Performance | Isabella / Joyce / Mrs. Kidd | Episode: "Top Girls" | |
The House of Bernarda Alba | Martirio | Television film | |
1992 | Anglo Saxon Attitudes | Kay Consett | 3 episodes |
Natural Lies | Grace | 3 episodes | |
Downtown Lagos | Celia Dawson | 3 episodes | |
1993 | Maigret | Juliette Motte | Episode: "Maigret on the Defensive" |
15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight | Cheryl Morris | Television film | |
1994 | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes | Sarah Cushing | Episode: "The Cardboard Box" |
Milner | Sylvia Milner | Television film | |
1994, 1997 | Casualty | Caroline Palmer / Debbie Cookson | 2 episodes |
1996 | The Vet | Anna Walker | Episode: "Out of the Past" |
1997 | Jane Eyre | Mrs Reed | Television film |
1998 | Heat of the Sun | Matilda Watcham | Episode: "Hide in Plain Sight" |
Kavanagh QC | Susannah Emmott | Episode: "Bearing Witness" | |
Trial and Retribution | DC Jill Ashton | 2 episodes | |
1999 | The Last Train | Gillian | Episode: "Episode #1.5" |
Wives and Daughters | Miss Phoebe | 4 episodes | |
2000 | Anna Karenina | Countess Lydia | 4 episodes |
The Bill | DSU Wray | Episode: "Fifty-Fifty" | |
Comedy Lab | Roxanne Anderson | Episode: "Anderson" | |
2000−2015 | Midsomer Murders | Lorna Sloane / Hilary Richards | 2 episodes |
2001 | The Armstrong and Miller Show | Various | 4 episodes |
Messiah | Clarissa Buchanan | Episode: "The First Killings" | |
2003 | State of Mind | D.C.I. Stella Munroe | Television film |
State of Play | Greer Thornton | 4 episodes | |
Home | Margaret Ballantyne | Television film | |
2003–2010 | Silent Witness | Gemma King / Mary Carter | 4 episodes |
2004 | Foyle's War | Mrs Thorndyke / Evelyn Cresswell | Episode: "The French Drop" |
2006 | Thin Ice | Jeanette | TV miniseries |
The Family Man | Mary | Television film | |
2007 | This Life + 10 | Doctor | Television film |
The Yellow House | Madame Roulin | Television film | |
The Good Samaritan | Eileen Mayhew | Television film | |
Who Gets the Dog? | Pamela Wilson | Television film | |
Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale | Susan Owen | Television film | |
2007–2009 | Cranford | Miss Tomkinson | 7 episodes |
2008 | Lewis | Lady Hugh | Episode: "Life Born of Fire" |
Heartbeat | Eva Knight | Episode: "Out of the Long Dark Knight" | |
2009 | Gunrush | Jill | Television film |
Torchwood | Denise Riley | 2 episodes | |
2010 | Poirot | Rowena Drake | Episode: "Hallowe'en Party" |
Law & Order: UK | Kim Sharkey | Episode: "Broken" | |
2011 | The Trouble with Tolstoy | Sophia Tolstoy (voice) | Television film |
New Tricks | Helen Gilder | Episode: "Setting Out Your Stall" | |
2012 | Holby City | Philippa Pawlowski | 2 episodes |
Leaving | Vanessa | 3 episodes | |
2013 | Starlings | Sandra | Episode: "Episode #2.6" |
2015 | Life in Squares | Aunt Jane | Episode: "Episode #1.1" |
Coalition | Harriet Harman | Television film | |
Comedy Blaps | Harriet | Episode: "High and Dry Blap" | |
2016 | Lovesick | Fiona | Episode: "Jonesy?" |
2018 | Collateral | Eleanor Shaw | 2 episodes |
2018–2022 | The Split | Ruth | 18 episodes |
2021 | The Drowning | Lynn | 4 episodes |
Romeo and Juliet | Nurse | Television film | |
2023 | Dalgliesh | Miss Willard | 2 episodes |
Dame Judith Olivia Dench is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage. Dench has garnered various accolades throughout a career that spanned seven decades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards, and seven Olivier Awards.
Dervla Kirwan is an Irish actress. She has received a number of accolades, including two IFTA Awards for her performances in the film Ondine (2009) and the RTÉ thriller series Smother (2021–2023) respectively.
Rachael Atlanta Stirling is an English stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Laurence Olivier Award for her stage work. She played Nancy Astley in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet, and Millie in the ITV series The Bletchley Circle. She has also guest starred in Lewis and one episode of Doctor Who, co-starring with her mother Diana Rigg.
Selina Jane Griffiths is a British actress mostly known for her performances in sitcoms. She played Pauline Maltby in the ITV comedy series Benidorm. She is the daughter of Annette Crosbie.
Jenny Victoria Funnell is a British actress. Her roles include Sandy in the British sitcom As Time Goes By from 1992 to 2005.
Stephen Phillip Tompkinson is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in Chancer (1990), Damien Day in Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in Ballykissangel (1996–98), Trevor Purvis in Grafters (1998–1999), Danny Trevanion in Wild at Heart (2006–2013) and Alan Banks in DCI Banks (2010–2016). He won the 1994 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor. He also starred in the films Brassed Off (1996) and Hotel Splendide (2000).
Pauline James is an English actress with a career in theatre, film, television, and radio.
Tara Cressida "Finty" Williams is an English actress. She is best known as the voice of Angelina Ballerina. Her mother, Judi Dench, voiced Angelina's ballet teacher, Miss Lilly.
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFTA Award nominated role as Hester Fields in the sitcom Fresh Fields (1984–1986) and its sequel French Fields (1989–1991), and as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple (2009–2013).
Ronald G. Cook is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s.
Victoria Hamilton is an English actress.
Jenny Galloway is a British actress and singer best known for her stage career, which includes Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables.
Vincent Regan is a Welsh film and television actor, best known for his roles in 300, Troy, Unleashed, Clash of the Titans, Lockout and One Piece.
Heidi Thomas is an English screenwriter and playwright.
Cranford is a British television series directed by Simon Curtis and Steve Hudson. The teleplay by Heidi Thomas was adapted from three novellas by Elizabeth Gaskell published between 1849 and 1858: Cranford, My Lady Ludlow and Mr Harrison's Confessions. "The Last Generation in England" was also used as a source.
Andrew Neil Buchan is an English actor and writer. He is known for his roles as Mark Latimer in the ITV drama Broadchurch (2013–17), Scott Foster in the BBC political drama Party Animals (2007), John Mercer in ITV drama series The Fixer (2008–09), and William Garrow in BBC period drama Garrow's Law (2009–11).
Screen One is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films, several of which were broadcast as stand-alone specials. The series was born following the demise of the BBC's Play for Today, which ran from 1970 to 1984. Producer Kenith Trodd was asked to formulate a new series of one-off television dramas, the result of which was Screen Two, which began broadcasting on BBC2 in 1985. However, while Play for Today's style had often been a largely studio-based form of theatre on television, Screen Two was shot entirely on film. Three of the episodes won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama.
Simon Curtis is an English director and producer. He has directed theatre productions and the television dramas David Copperfield (1999) and Cranford. His feature films include the biographical dramas My Week with Marilyn (2011), Woman in Gold (2015), and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).
Eileen Davies is an English actress, nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the British Independent Film Awards 2012 for her performance in the film Sightseers, her roles have included “Flora McArdle” in the TV serial Coronation Street and as Joan Murfield in EastEnders and Molly in Allelujah (2022).
Bally Gill is a British actor. He won the 2018 Ian Charleson Award for his performance as Romeo in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Romeo and Juliet. Best known for his role as Neel Fisher in BBC drama Sherwood, he has also appeared as Agent Singh in Slow Horses, in the ITV crime series Manhunt, as well as the BBC medical comedy-drama This Is Going to Hurt. He makes his film debut in the adaptation of the Alan Bennett play Allelujah in the role of Dr Valentine.