Actor profile

Penny Downie

1st January 1954 Queensland, Australia Acting

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.

23 Movies 34 TV Shows 1 In Production 59 Credits

Filmography

Movies & TV Shows

The Jester from Transylvania poster

The Jester from Transylvania 20th September 2024 as Mrs. Pennington

Breathe poster

Breathe 13th October 2017 as Tid

Jackie poster

Jackie 2nd December 2016 as Janet Lee

London Has Fallen poster

London Has Fallen 2nd March 2016 as Home Secretary Rose Kenter

W.E. poster

W.E. 1st September 2011 as Dr. Vargas

Hamlet poster

Hamlet 26th December 2009 as Gertrude

Invictus poster

Invictus 11th December 2009 as Mrs. Pienaar

All About George poster

All About George 29th October 2005 as Evelyn

The Girl in the Café poster

The Girl in the Café 25th June 2005 as Ruth

Falling poster

Falling 6th March 2005 as Hazel Kent

Murder in Rome poster

Murder in Rome 4th March 2005 as Caecilia

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking poster

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking 26th December 2004 as Judith Massingham

Byron poster

Byron 27th September 2003 as Lady Judith Milbanke

Vivian Stanshall: The Canyons of his Mind poster

Vivian Stanshall: The Canyons of his Mind 1st January 2003 as Self - Narrator

The House of Mirth poster

The House of Mirth 13th October 2000 as Judy Trenor

Lost for Words poster

Lost for Words 3rd January 1999 as Aileen Longden

Crime and Punishment poster

Crime and Punishment 11th October 1998 as Katerina

Food of Love poster

Food of Love 19th October 1997 as Mary

Paradise poster

Paradise 17th August 1994 as Linda

Ex poster

Ex 29th September 1991 as Sheila

Lionheart poster

Lionheart 14th August 1987 as Madelaine

Wetherby poster

Wetherby 19th June 1985 as Chrissie

Crosstalk poster

Crosstalk 8th October 1982 as Cindy

The Diplomat poster

The Diplomat 20th April 2023 as Frances Munning

The Chelsea Detective poster

The Chelsea Detective 7th February 2022 as Hilary Carmichael

Whitstable Pearl poster

Whitstable Pearl 24th May 2021 as Izzy

Absentia poster

Absentia 25th September 2017 as Valerie Chandris

Back poster

Back 6th September 2017 as Ellen

The Crown poster

The Crown 4th November 2016 as Duchess of Gloucester

Houdini & Doyle poster

Houdini & Doyle 13th March 2016 as Mrs. Sulzbach

Siblings poster

Siblings 7th August 2014 as Dr Barker

Father Brown poster

Father Brown 14th January 2013 as Rev. Mother Augustine

Ripper Street poster

Ripper Street 30th December 2012 as Flora Gable

Vera poster

Vera 1st May 2011 as Veronica

Silk poster

Silk 22nd February 2011 as Helen Guthrie

Downton Abbey poster

Downton Abbey 26th September 2010 as Lady Sinderby

New Street Law poster

New Street Law 4th May 2006 as Honor Scammel

All About George poster

All About George 29th September 2005 as Evelyn

Murder in Suburbia poster

Murder in Suburbia 13th March 2004 as Zenith

Trust poster

Trust 9th January 2003 as Anita Matteo

Byron poster

Byron 1st January 2003 as Lady Judith Milbanke

Spooks poster

Spooks 13th May 2002 as Prosecution QC

The Cazalets poster

The Cazalets 22nd June 2001 as Sid

Waking the Dead poster

Waking the Dead 18th June 2001 as Bonnie Yorke

A Certain Justice poster

A Certain Justice 28th July 1998 as Venetia Aldridge

The Ice House poster

The Ice House 5th April 1997 as Phoebe Maybury

Madson poster

Madson 17th April 1996 as Anderton

Kavanagh Q.C. poster

Kavanagh Q.C. 3rd January 1995 as Mrs. Rosalind McEnery

Underbelly poster

Underbelly 17th February 1992 as Barbara Manning

Stanley and the Women poster

Stanley and the Women 28th November 1991 as Susan Duke

Screen One poster

Screen One 10th September 1989 as Sheila

Agatha Christie's Poirot poster

Agatha Christie's Poirot 8th January 1989 as Frances Cloade

A Taste for Death poster

A Taste for Death 14th October 1988 as Kate Miskin

Inspector Morse poster

Inspector Morse 6th January 1987 as Nurse Wendy Hazlitt

Dalgliesh poster

Dalgliesh 8th April 1983 as Kate Miskin

Timewatch poster

Timewatch 29th September 1982 as Caecilia

Minder poster

Minder 29th October 1979 as Dee Rogers

Boss Cat poster

Coming soon

Boss Cat 3rd December 2026 as Doris