As of July 2026, Penelope Wilton is best known for Doctor Who and Downton Abbey. Find every show and movie Penelope Wilton has starred in — and where to watch them — below.
Penelope Wilton

Penelope Wilton

Actress Born 1946 Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK 12 TV Shows 8 Movies

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.

Penelope Wilton's screen work to date leans strongly toward Drama and Romance, a consistent thread across her credits so far.

Penelope Wilton's most notable role to date came in Shaun of the Dead (2004), where she played Barbara. She also appeared in Pride & Prejudice (2005) as Mrs. Gardiner. Most recently appeared in Match Point (2005) as Eleanor Hewett.

Fans wanting to catch up on Penelope Wilton's work can find exactly where her shows and movies are streaming below — and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to keep track of them all. Just search the title, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers what you've already watched.

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📺 Penelope Wilton's TV Shows

Doctor Who
Harriet Jones
2005
Downton Abbey
Isobel Merton
2010
After Life
Anne
2019
Five Days
Barbara Poole
2007
Wives and Daughters
Mrs Hamley
1999
Bob & Rose
Monica Gossage
2001
South Riding
Mrs Beddows
2011
Murder Is Easy
Miss Pinkerton
2023
The Passion
Mary
2008
The Borrowers
Homily
1992
Ever Decreasing Circles
1984
Brief Encounters
Pauline
2016

🎬 Penelope Wilton's Movies

Pride & Prejudice
Mrs. Gardiner
2005
Shaun of the Dead
Barbara
2004
The BFG
The Queen
2016
Match Point
Eleanor Hewett
2005
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Isobel Merton
2022
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Isobel Merton
2025
Downton Abbey
Isobel Merton
2019
Belle
Lady Mary Murray
2013

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