People
Penelope Wilton
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
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.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
Shaun of the Dead
Appears in a KinoChain journey
The History Boys
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Pride & Prejudice
As Mrs. Gardiner
The BFG
As The Queen
Match Point
As Eleanor Hewett
The Pearcross Girls
As Anna Pearcross / Helen Charlesworth / Julia Pearcross / Lottie Merchant
Downton Abbey
As Isobel Merton
Operation Mincemeat
As Hester Leggett
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
The University of British Cinema
From the dreaming spires of Cambridge to the redbrick campuses of the provinces, a journey through the British university film and what it reveals about class,...
8 films
20 Home Video Releases Every Film Obsessive Should Own
There was a brief, glorious period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when buying a film on home video felt less like acquiring a product and more like being han...
20 films
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
2025 · Isobel Merton
Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale
2025 · Self
Downton Abbey: A New Era
2022 · Isobel Merton
Operation Mincemeat
2022 · Hester Leggett
Downton Abbey
2019 · Isobel Merton
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
2018 · Amelia Maugery
The BFG
2016 · The Queen
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2015 · Jean Ainslie
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2012 · Jean Ainslie
The History Boys
2006 · Mrs. Bibby
Match Point
2005 · Eleanor Hewett
Pride & Prejudice
2005 · Mrs. Gardiner
Shaun of the Dead
2004 · Barbara
Calendar Girls
2003 · Ruth
Blame It on the Bellboy
1992 · Patricia Fulford
Clockwise
1986 · Pat Garden
The Pearcross Girls
1973 · Anna Pearcross / Helen Charlesworth / Julia Pearcross / Lottie Merchant