Patricia Hodge

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Patricia Ann Hodge (born 29 September 1946) is an English actress. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in Rumpole of the Bailey (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), Penny in Miranda (2009–2015) and Mrs Pumphrey in All Creatures Great and Small (2021–present).

Hodge made her West End debut in 1972, and the next year, starred in the West End production of Pippin directed by Bob Fosse. Hodge has received two nominations for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and in 2000, she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the play Money.

Hodges' other screen credits include the 1983 film Betrayal, the 1986 TV adaptation of The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, and the TV film Hotel du Lac (1986). For her role in Hotel du Lac, Hodge received a nomination for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress.

Early life

Hodge was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> daughter of Eric Hodge and Marion, née Phillips. Eric Hodge was from Birkdale, Southport,<ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Monday 31 July 1944, page 4</ref> and served in the RAF for ten years, becoming a Flight Lieutenant.<ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Thursday 13 October 1955, page 9</ref> The Hodges were the managers of the Royal Hotel in Grimsby,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and later ran the Wortley Hotel in Scunthorpe,<ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Friday 25 February 1966, page 1</ref><ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Friday 20 November 1970, page 10</ref> then the Broadway Hotel in Letchworth.<ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Saturday 5 December 1970, page 4</ref><ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Friday 12 September 1969, page 5</ref>

Hodge attended Wintringham Girls' Grammar School in Park Avenue in Grimsby and then St Helen's School, Northwood, Middlesex, before attending Maria Grey College in Twickenham (later part of Brunel University London) to train as a teacher.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She taught English and drama at Russell County Primary School in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, while also applying to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She started at LAMDA when she was 22 and was awarded the Eveline Evans Award for Best Actress on graduation.<ref name="LTG1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Hodge made her professional stage debut in the Howard Barker play No-One Was Saved at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1971. She made her West End debut in Rookery Nook in 1972 and worked with Bob Fosse in 1973 on Pippin. However, when applying for television work, she found she had become classed as a theatre actress. Having made the breakthrough in the role of Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown in Rumpole of the Bailey, she found when trying to make the occasional return to theatre work that she had been classed as a television actress.

She has appeared in roles in The Naked Civil Servant opposite John Hurt, shortly after she featured in the BBC 2 1975 Christmas production Great Big Groovy Horse, a rock opera based on the story of the Trojan Horse starring Julie Covington, Bernard Cribbins and Paul Jones.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was repeated on BBC1 in 1977.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She featured as Myra Arundel in the 1984 BBC version of Noël Coward's Hay Fever, as Margaret Thatcher in The Falklands Play, and in 2007 as Betty, the wife of tycoon Robert Maxwell, in the BBC TV drama Maxwell opposite David Suchet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She took the female lead in the 1983 film, Betrayal (based on Harold Pinter's play Betrayal), a roman à clef derived from the playwright's affair with broadcaster Joan Bakewell.

She was nominated for a BAFTA for her role in a television adaptation of Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac in 1987, and was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the production of Money at the National Theatre.<ref>O'Toole honoured at Oliviers BBC News – 18 February 2000</ref>

She bought the rights of the book Portrait of a Marriage and is credited with developing a TV series of the same name in association with the BBC in 1990<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Wolf>Template:Cite news</ref> adapted by writer Penelope Mortimer.

She co-starred with Dame Judi Dench in the 1995 London revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, at the National Theatre, as Countess Charlotte Malcolm. In 2003, Hodge featured in His Dark Materials, one of Nicholas Hytner's early productions as its Artistic Director, her third role on the Olivier Theatre stage.

Hodge is an Honorary Graduate (DLitt) of Brunel University and one of the founder members of the Brunel Club.<ref>Southbank Sinfonia and Patricia Hodge Template:Webarchive Brunel University – 2004</ref> From 2009 to 2015, she played a comedy role in the BBC sitcom Miranda, as the mother of the eponymous main character. Hodge reprised the role alongside the rest of the cast for the 2017 Royal Variety Performance. In 2012 she toured in Christopher Luscombe's revival of Dandy Dick, starring alongside Nicholas Le Prevost. She is Joint President of Grimsby's Caxton Theatre and a Trustee of LAMDA, her alma mater.

In 2008, she guest-starred in an episode of Hustle within the 4th series, playing the character of Veronica Powell. After the BBC commissioned the show for a 5th series in February 2008, it was planned Hodge would make an additional appearance, however due to on-set filming issues the episode her character would have appeared in was never finished, and subsequently never aired. The release of the 5th series was delayed as a result.

In 2018, Hodge played Ursula, the mother of Liberal MP and party leader Jeremy Thorpe (played by Hugh Grant) in BBC Television's A Very English Scandal.

In April 2021, it was announced that Hodge would play the role of Mrs. Pumphrey in the television series All Creatures Great and Small, taking over from Diana Rigg, who had died the previous year.<ref> Template:Cite news</ref>

Delayed for a year from autumn 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hodge was invited by Nigel Havers to star opposite him in Noël Coward's Private Lives, the inaugural production of the Nigel Havers Theatre Company, directed by one of her previous collaborators Christopher Luscombe.

Hodge was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to drama.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Template:Sortname	Young Wife
1978	Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse	Sister Belter
	Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang	Courtroom Choir Singer
1980	Template:Sortname	Screaming Mum
1981	Charlotte	Teacher
	Riding High	Miss Hemmings
1983	Betrayal	Emma
1986	Hud	Edward's Wife
1988	Sunset	Christina Alperin
	Just Ask for Diamond	Betty Charlady/Brenda von Falkenberg
1996	Template:Sortname	Delevene
1998	Jilting Joe	Gwennie
	Prague Duet	Olivia Walton
2002	Before You Go	Violet Mary Heaney
2018	Surviving Christmas with the Relatives	Aunt Peggy
2021	Template:Sortname	Amy Graves
2024	Arthur's Whisky	Joan	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Menace	Charmian	Episode: "Valentine"
1975	Template:Sortname	Anne Baberton	All 3 episodes
	Quiller	Kate	Episode: "Night of the Father"
	Template:Sortname	Ballet Teacher	TV film
	Great Big Groovy Horse		TV film
1976	Softly, Softly: Task Force	Chris Stroud	Episode: "A Shot in the Dark"
1977	Jackanory Playhouse	Tisiphone	Episode: "The Apple of Discord"
1978	Target	Laura Bentley	Episode: "Figures of Importance"
	Disraeli	Rosina Bulwer Lytton	2 episodes
	Edward & Mrs. Simpson	Lady Diana Cooper	3 episodes
	Template:Sortname	Maisie	TV film
1978–1992	Rumpole of the Bailey	Phyllida Erskine-Brown	17 episodes
1979	Lieutenant Kije	Princess Sasha	Voice; TV film
1980	Template:Sortname	Ann Holly	Episode: "Involvement"
1980–1981	Template:Sortname	Sybilla Howarth	6 episodes
1980–1982	Holding the Fort	Penny Milburn	All 20 episodes
1981	Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years	Lady Londonderry	Episode: "His Own Funeral"
1981–1982	Nanny	Dorinda Sackville	4 episodes
1983	Jemima Shore Investigates	Jemima Shore	All 12 episodes
1984	Hay Fever	Myra Arundel	TV film
1985	Time for Murder	Margaret Tutting	Episode: "Dust to Dust"
	Behind Enemy Lines	Elizabeth Beaumont	TV film
1986	Template:Sortname	Mary Fisher	All 4 episodes
	The Return of Sherlock Holmes	Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope	Episode: "The Second Stain"
	Robin of Sherwood	Queen Hadwisa	Episode: "The Pretender"
	Screen Two	Monica	Episode: "Hotel du Lac"
1987	Template:Sortname	Anna Quayne	TV film
	First Sight	Estelle	Episode: "Exclusive Yarns"
1988	Thieves in the Night	Lady Joyce	TV film
1989	Inspector Morse	Lady Hanbury	Episode: "Ghost in the Machine"
	Template:Sortname	Olivia	TV film
	Victoria Wood	Moira	Episode: "Staying In"
	Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming	Lady Evelyn	TV film
1990	Heat of the Day	Stella	TV film
1991	Rich Tea and Sympathy	Julia Merrygrove	All 6 episodes
1992	Template:Sortname	Joanna May	Both 2 episodes
1996	Template:Sortname	Geraldine Hackstraw	All 7 episodes
	Template:Sortname	Lady Julia Verinder	TV film
1999	Template:Sortname	Procula Pilate	TV film
1999	Lesley Garrett Tonight	(Programme 2)	BBC2 TV (singing 'Three little maids from school', with Lily Savage)<ref>Blyth, Alan. Opera on television - Lesley Garrett; BBC2 and ITV, November 14, 21 and 22. Opera, January 1999, Vol.50 No.1, p.116.</ref>
2002	Template:Sortname	Rt Hon. Margaret Thatcher MP	TV film
	Waking the Dead	Lady Alice Beatty	Episode: "Special Relationship"
2003	Sweet Medicine	Georgina Sweet	All 10 episodes
2006	Agatha Christie's Marple	Mrs Evadne Willett	Episode: "The Sittaford Mystery"
2007	Hustle	Veronica Powell	Episode: "Getting Even"
	Maxwell	Betty Maxwell	TV film
2009–2015	Miranda	Penny	All 20 episodes
2012	In Love With...	Clare	Episode: "In Love with Coward"
2013	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Madame Olivier	Episode: "The Big Four"
2015	Downton Abbey	Mrs Miranda Pelham	Episode: "The Finale"
2018	Template:Sortname	Ursula Thorpe	3 episodes
2019	Four Weddings and a Funeral	Mrs Thorpe-Blood	Episode: "The Winner Takes It All"
2020	Roadkill	Lady Roche	2 episodes
2021–	All Creatures Great and Small	Mrs Pumphrey	Series 2 onwards
2022	Murder in Provence	Florence Bonnet	Recurring
2023	For the Love of Paul O'Grady	Narrator	TV Special
2025	Death Valley	Helena	Episode 5

Stage

• No-One Was Saved, 1971
• Rookery Nook, 1972
• Popkiss, 1972
• Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1973
• Pippin, 1973
• Hair, 1974
• The Beggar's Opera, 1975
• Pal Joey, 1976
• Look Back in Anger, 1976
• Then and Now, 1979
• The Mitford Girls, 1981 (Nancy abd Muv)
• As You Like It, 1983 (Rosalind)
• Benefactors, 1984
• Lady in the Dark, 1988 (Liza Elliott)<ref>Milnes, Rodney. Lady in the Dark. Scottish Opera at the Usher Hall, August 31. Opera, Autumn 1988 Festival Issue, p.36.</ref>
• Noël and Gertie, 1989–90
• Shades, 1992
• Separate Tables, 1993
• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 1994–95
• A Little Night Music, 1995–96 (Countess Charlotte Malcolm)<ref name="NTAHodge"/>
• Money, 1999 (Lady Franklin)<ref name="NTAHodge"/>
• Summerfolk, 1999–2000 (Maria Lvovna)<ref name="NTAHodge"/>
• Noises Off, 2000–01 (Dotty Otley)<ref name="NTAHodge">Search results for Patricia Lodge in the National Theatre Archive, accessed 23 August 2025.</ref>
• His Dark Materials, 2003–04 (Mrs Coulter)<ref name="NTAHodge"/>
• Dream Me a Winter, 2006 (part of the Old Vic's '24 Hour Plays')
• Boeing Boeing, 2007
• The Country Wife, 2007–08
• The Clean House, 2008
• Calendar Girls, 2008–09 (Annie)
• The Breath of Life, 2011
• Dandy Dick, 2012
• Relative Values, 2013–14
• Travels with My Aunt, 2016<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Copenhagen, 2018
• A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, 2019
• Private Lives, 2021–22
• Watch on the Rhine, 2022–23
• Private Lives, 2023
• Pippin, 2024 (50th anniversary concert)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Result
1981	Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical	The Mitford Girls	Template:Nom
1987	BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress	Hotel du Lac	Template:Nom
1990	Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical	Noel and Gertie	Template:Nom
2000	Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress	Money	Template:Won

External links

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