Ella Maisy Purvis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2003 (age 21–22) |
| Education | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2022–present |
| Television | A Kind of Spark Patience |
Ella Maisy Purvis (born 2003) is an English actress. She is known for her role as an autistic police archivist in the 2025 TV series Patience .
Ella Maisy Purvis was born in 2003 in South London, to an urban planner mother and a business coach father. [1]
She trained as a classical ballet dancer before pursuing acting as a career. [2] She studied acting at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. [3]
She was diagnosed with autism at the age of 17 and has said the diagnosis helped her; with it, life became "a lot easier to navigate because you don’t blame yourself". [4]
Purvis had television roles in Heartstopper and in A Kind of Spark . [5] In 2024, she was nominated for The Breakthrough Award by the Northern Ireland Royal Television Society for her work on A Kind of Spark. [6]
In 2025, she appeared in her first lead role in Channel 4 crime drama Patience , in which she plays a crime-solving neurodivergent police archivist called Patience Evans alongside a detective, Bea Metcalfe (Laura Fraser). [7] Carol Midgely in The Times said that Purvis does not "overact" the character's condition, "showing it in overt and subtle ways". [8] Purvis herself is autistic and has ADHD, which she was quoted as saying could "bring a level of authenticity to the narrative that would otherwise be lacking, which just makes for a more engaging and meaningful story". [9] The series was renewed for a second season. [10]
Purvis featured in the 2025 reboot of crime drama Bergerac , and has a role in romantic comedy film CC: Emily . [11]
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Heartstopper | Girl 1 | Series 1; episode 4: "Secret" |
| 2023 | Malpractice | Josephine Paige | Episode 2 |
| Blueprint | Cass | Short film | |
| 2023–2024 | A Kind of Spark | Elinor Fraser / Bonnie Bridges | Series 1 & 2; 19 episodes |
| 2025 | Patience | Patience Evans | Lead role; episodes 1–6 |
| Bergerac | Sophie Armstrong | Reboot of original series; episode 4 | |
| 2026 | Finding Emily † | Meg | Post-production |
Born in south London in 2003,