Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm, and as she has not remarried, she retains her married style of Lady Holm.
Dame Penelope Alice Wilton DBE (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm, and as she has not remarried, she retains her married style of Lady Holm.
Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–1989), playing Homily in The Borrowers (1992) and The Return of the Borrowers(1993), and for her role as the widowed Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She also played the recurring role of Harriet Jones in Doctor Who (2005–2008) and Anne in Ricky Gervais' Netflix dark comedy After Life.
Wilton has had an extensive career on stage, receiving six Olivier Award nominations. She was nominated for Man and Superman (1981), The Secret Rapture (1988), The Deep Blue Sea(1994), John Gabriel Borkman (2008) and The Chalk Garden (2009) before winning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actress for Taken at Midnight. Her film appearances include Clockwise (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Calendar Girls (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Match Point (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), The Girl (2012), The BFG (2016) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Penelope Wilton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0934362
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q544165
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Filmography (Movies)
Fing!
Character:
Release Date:24/01/2026
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Character:Isobel Merton
Release Date:10/09/2025
Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale
Character:Self
Release Date:10/09/2025
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Character:Maureen Fry
Release Date:27/04/2023
Judi Dench: Our National Treasure
Character:Self
Release Date:15/07/2022
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Character:Isobel Merton
Release Date:27/04/2022
Operation Mincemeat
Character:Hester Leggett
Release Date:01/04/2022
Eternal Beauty
Character:Vivian
Release Date:21/08/2020
Summerland
Character:Older Alice
Release Date:24/07/2020
Downton Abbey
Character:Isobel Merton
Release Date:12/09/2019
Zoo
Character:Denise Austin
Release Date:08/06/2018
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
Character:Amelia Maugery
Release Date:19/04/2018
Brexit Shorts: The End
Character:Helen
Release Date:26/06/2017
The BFG
Character:The Queen
Release Date:01/06/2016
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:24/04/2016
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Character:Jean Ainslie
Release Date:26/02/2015
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Character:Delia
Release Date:02/11/2013
Belle
Character:Lady Mary Murray
Release Date:01/05/2013
The Girl
Character:Peggy Robertson
Release Date:22/10/2012
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Character:Jean Ainslie
Release Date:23/02/2012
Harold Pinter: A Celebration
Character:Self
Release Date:24/01/2010
Margot
Character:B.Q.
Release Date:30/11/2009
Half Broken Things
Character:Jean
Release Date:28/10/2007
Celebration
Character:Julie
Release Date:26/02/2007
The History Boys
Character:Mrs. Bibby
Release Date:02/10/2006
Match Point
Character:Eleanor Hewett
Release Date:26/10/2005
Pride & Prejudice
Character:Mrs. Gardiner
Release Date:16/09/2005
Falling
Character:Daisy Langrish
Release Date:06/03/2005
Shaun of the Dead
Character:Barbara
Release Date:09/04/2004
Calendar Girls
Character:Ruth
Release Date:02/09/2003
Lucky Jim
Character:Celia Welch
Release Date:11/04/2003
Iris
Character:Janet Stone
Release Date:14/12/2001
Victoria & Albert
Character:Princess Mary Louise Victoria
Release Date:26/08/2001
The Whistle-Blower
Character:Heather Graham
Release Date:14/04/2001
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
Character:Mrs. Cratchit
Release Date:25/12/2000
Rockaby
Character:Old Woman
Release Date:01/01/2000
Tom's Midnight Garden
Character:Aunt Melbourne
Release Date:02/07/1999
The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka
Character:Delfina / Paulina
Release Date:01/01/1999
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Character:White Queen
Release Date:26/12/1998
Talking Heads 2
Character:
Release Date:06/10/1998
Landscape
Character:Beth
Release Date:21/10/1995
Carrington
Character:Lady Ottoline Morrell
Release Date:25/05/1995
The Deep Blue Sea
Character:Hester Collyer
Release Date:12/11/1994
The Secret Rapture
Character:Marion French
Release Date:12/09/1993
Blame It on the Bellboy
Character:Patricia Fulford
Release Date:24/01/1992
Cry Freedom
Character:Wendy Woods
Release Date:06/11/1987
Clockwise
Character:Pat Garden
Release Date:01/03/1986
Laughterhouse
Character:Alice Singleton
Release Date:01/09/1984
The Tale of Beatrix Potter
Character:Beatrix Potter
Release Date:01/01/1983
King Lear
Character:Regan
Release Date:19/09/1982
Country
Character:Virginia Carlion
Release Date:20/10/1981
Othello
Character:Desdemona
Release Date:04/10/1981
The French Lieutenant's Woman
Character:Sonia
Release Date:28/08/1981
Pasmore
Character:Helen
Release Date:21/10/1980
Able's Will
Character:Journalist
Release Date:05/10/1977
Joseph Andrews
Character:Mrs. Wilton
Release Date:09/03/1977
King Lear
Character:Regan
Release Date:23/03/1975
Mrs. Warren's Profession
Character:Vivie Warren
Release Date:03/10/1972
Television Appearances
Dead Hot
Character:Francine
Murder Is Easy
Character:Miss Pinkerton
After Life
Character:Anne
Brief Encounters
Character:Pauline
South Riding
Character:Mrs Beddows
Downton Abbey
Character:Isobel Merton
The Passion
Character:Mary
Five Days
Character:Barbara Poole
Doctor Who
Character:
Doctor Who
Character:Harriet Jones
Comedy Connections
Character:
Bob & Rose
Character:Monica Gossage
Wives and Daughters
Character:Mrs. Hamley
Kavanagh Q.C.
Character:Barbara Watkins
The Return of the Borrowers
Character:Homily
The Borrowers
Character:Homily
Screaming
Character:
Performance
Character:Beth
Performance
Character:Hester Collyer
Talking Heads
Character:Rosemary
C.A.T.S. Eyes
Character:
Ever Decreasing Circles
Character:
The Tale of Beatrix Potter
Character:Beatrix Potter
An Audience with...
Character:Self
The Norman Conquests
Character:Annie
Play for Today
Character:Virginia Carlion
BBC Play of the Month
Character:Regan
Images
