# Phyllis Logan

Phyllis Logan (born 11 January 1956) is a Scottish actress, widely known for her roles as Lady Jane Felsham in Lovejoy (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for the 1983 film Another Time, Another Place and was nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the same film. Her other film appearances include Secrets & Lies (1996), Shooting Fish (1997), Downton Abbey (2019) and Misbehaviour (2020).

## Early life

Logan's father, David, was a Rolls-Royce engineer and a trade-union leader and became the secretary of his local branch of the AUEW (Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers). Phyllis is the youngest in her family and has a brother and a sister. Her father died at the age of 59 while she was at drama school.

## Education

Logan was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, and grew up in nearby Johnstone, where she was educated at Johnstone High School. She studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and graduated with the James Bridie gold medal in 1977.

## Career

After graduation Logan joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre. She left in 1979 to work on stage in Edinburgh. She also worked regularly on Scottish television. On the BBC Scotland production, The White Bird Passes, she first met writer-director Michael Radford. For his first feature film, Another Time, Another Place (1983), he cast Logan in the leading role of Janie, for which she won a Gold Award for Best Actress at the Taormina Film Festival and the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress in 1983 and the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles in 1984. She was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Before her success in Downton Abbey, where she played the housekeeper Mrs Hughes, Logan was widely known for the role of Lady Jane Felsham, co-starring with Ian McShane for eight years in nearly 50 episodes of Lovejoy, a comedy-drama for television.
Her character in Downton Abbey, Mrs Hughes, was voted the best Downton Abbey character of all time in a poll conducted by RadioTimes.com (the official website of Radio Times).
She also starred in the 1996 Mike Leigh film Secrets & Lies alongside Timothy Spall and Brenda Blethyn. Logan provided the broadcast voice of Ingsoc in a film version of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) and the Loch Ness Monster (Nessie) in the animated film Freddie as F.R.O.7 (1992). She was in the radio series Coming Alive and Baggage. She played Inspector Frost's love interest and eventual wife in If Dogs Run Free, the last story in the A Touch of Frost series.
Logan played Maggie Smart in The Good Karma Hospital (7 episodes, 2017–2018) on the ITV drama series which was later made available on Acorn TV. She also starred in a main role as Linda Hutchinson in the ITV drama series Girlfriends which was created and directed by Kay Mellor, alongside Miranda Richardson and Zoë Wanamaker.
She played Andinio in "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos", the tenth episode in the eleventh series of Doctor Who.
She starred as Maggie Lynch in the second series of the television series Guilt, which was shown on both BBC Two and BBC Scotland in 2021. At the British Academy Scotland Awards 2022, Logan won the award for Best Actress – Television for the role. She also starred in the third and final series which was released in April 2023, premiering on BBC Scotland on 25 April 2023.
In 2024, she played Grace Bain in series 8 of Shetland.

## Personal life

Logan met her now husband, actor Kevin McNally in the 1994 mini-series Love and Reason. They married in 2011 and have one son. They live in Chiswick.
She supports several charities that support the welfare of dementia patients and is also a supporter of SSPCA.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | Another Time, Another Place | Janie | BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress Rimini Film Festival Award for Best Actress Taormina Film Fest Golden Mask Award Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated – David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress |
| 1983 | Every Picture Tells a Story | Agnes Scott | |
| 1984 | The Chain | Alison | |
| 1984 | Nineteen Eighty-Four | Telescreen Announcer | Voice |
| 1985 | The Doctor and the Devils | Elizabeth Rock | |
| 1987 | The Inquiry | Claudia Procula | |
| 1987 | The Kitchen Toto | Janet Graham | |
| 1989 | The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway | Mary Welsh | |
| 1989 | The Angry Earth | Mary Penrys Jones | |
| 1990 | The Dark Sun | Camilla Staffa | |
| 1992 | Freddie as F.R.O.7. | Nessie (voice) | |
| 1992 | Soft Top Hard Shoulder | Karla | |
| 1993 | Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life | Frau Brunofsky | Short film |
| 1996 | Secrets & Lies | Monica Purley | |
| 1997 | Shooting Fish | Mrs. Ross | |
| 2003 | Crust | Bill's Girlfriend | |
| 2009 | Nativity! | Mrs. Lore | |
| 2012 | Day of the Flowers | Brenda | |
| 2019 | Downton Abbey | Elsie Hughes-Carson | |
| 2020 | Misbehaviour | Evelyn Alexander | |
| 2021 | The Last Bus | Mary | |
| 2021 | Last Train to Christmas | Auntie Vi | |
| 2022 | Downton Abbey: A New Era | Elsie Hughes-Carson | |
| 2022 | Rocketry: The Nambi Effect | Mrs. Cleaver | |
| 2023 | Surprised by Oxford | Provost Regina Knight |
| 2024 | No Way Up | Mardy 'Nana' | |
| 2025 | Untitled Downton Abbey: A New Era sequel | Elsie Hughes-Carson | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | Shoestring | Linda | Episode: "Mocking Bird" |
| 1980 | The White Bird Passes | Janie (age 16) | TV film |
| 1981 | Beginnings | Nell | TV film |
| 1981 | Play for Today | Nancy Park | Episode: "The Good Time Girls" |
| 1982 | Scotch and Wry | Various | Episode: "Hogmanay 1982" |
| 1985 | Time and the Conways | Kay Conway | TV film |
| 1985 | Off Peak | Janet | TV film |
| 1986 | Screen Two | Anne | Episode: "The McGuffin" |
| 1986–1994 | Lovejoy | Lady Jane Felsham | Main role (series 1–5), guest (season 6) |
| 1987 | First Sight | Kathy | Episode: "Extras" |
| 1987 | Bust | Sheila Walsh | TV series |
| 1987 | When Reason Sleeps: Out of Time | Helen Wilmot | TV film |
| 1988 | Hannay | Alison Ross | Episode: "Act of Riot" |
| 1989 | Screen Two | Alison | Episode: "Sitting Targets" |
| 1989 | Screen Two | Lee | Episode: "Defrosting the Fridge" |
| 1989 | And a Nightingale Sang | Helen Stott | TV film |
| 1989 | Goldeneye | Ann Fleming | TV film |
| 1991 | Screen One | Dora | Episode: "Happy Feet" |
| 1991 | Play on One | Andrea | Episode: "And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon" |
| 1991 | Play on One | Dr Ruth Kovacs | Episode: "Effie's Burning" |
| 1993 | Love and Reason | Lou Larson | TV miniseries |
| 1993 | Silent Cries | Nancy Muir | TV film |
| 1995 | Kavanagh QC | Samantha Fisher | Episode: "A Family Affair" |
| 1995 | The Big One | Mrs. Wilde | TV film |
| 1995 | Chiller | Anna Spalinsky | Episode: "Here Comes the Mirror Man" |
| 1996 | Pie in the Sky | Det. Supt. Chalmers | Episode: "Coddled Eggs" |
| 1996 | Inspector Morse | Julia Stevens | Episode: "The Daughters of Cain" |
| 1997 | Scene | Anna | Episode: "Skinny Marink" |
| 1997 | An Unsuitable Job for a Woman | Elizabeth Leaming | Episode: "Sacrifice" |
| 1998 | The Game | Betty McCallum | TV film |
| 1998 | Invasion: Earth | Helen Knox | TV miniseries |
| 1999 | Holby City | Muriel McKendrick | Main role (series 1) |
| 1999 | Midsomer Murders | Kate Merrill | Episode: "Strangler's Wood" |
| 1999 | Rab C Nesbitt | Jenny Welthorpe | Episode: "Commons" |
| 1999 | All the King's Men | Mary Beck | TV film |
| 1999 | Heartbeat | Julia Kendall | Episode: "Stag at Bay" |
| 2000 | Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) | Harriet Banks-Smith | Episode: "The Best Years of Your Death" |
| 2000 | Hope and Glory | Annie Gilbert | Main role (series 3) |
| 2001 | NCS: Manhunt | Anne Warwick | TV film |
| 2002 | Dickens | Georgina Hogarth | Episode: "Terror to the End" |
| 2002 | Fields of Gold | Rachel Greenlaw | TV film |
| 2002 | The Real Jane Austen | Mrs. Austen | TV film |
| 2003 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Miriam Whitelaw | Episode: "Playing for the Ashes" |
| 2003 | Alibi | Linda Brentwood | TV film |
| 2003 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Nurse Hopkins | Episode: "Sad Cypress" |
| 2004 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Jenny Ettrick | Episode: "A Game of Soldiers" |
| 2004 | Murder in Suburbia | Wendy | Episode: "Noisy Neighbours" |
| 2004 | Silent Witness | Helen Wharton | Episodes: "Death by Water: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2005 | Beneath the Skin | DCI Grace Shilling | TV film |
| 2005, 2006 | Spooks | Diana Jewell | Episodes: "4.8", "5.10" |
| 2006 | Missing | Karen Foster | TV film |
| 2006 | Sea of Souls | Elaine | Episode: "Sleeper" |
| 2006 | Heartbeat | Diane Bell | Episode: "Get Back" |
| 2007 | Richard is My Boyfriend | Laura | TV film |
| 2007 | Trial & Retribution | Anna Wildsmith | Episodes: "Curriculum Vitae: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2008 | Honest | Jenny | Episode: "1.4" |
| 2008 | Taggart | Kathy Moffat | Episode: "Trust" |
| 2008 | New Tricks | Dr. Mathieson | Episode: "Mad Dogs" |
| 2008 | The Royal | George Fawcett | Episode: "Pastures New" |
| 2010 | Maid in Britain | | TV movie documentary |
| 2010 | Silent Witness | Jennifer Mears | Episodes: "Shadows: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2010 | Heartbeat | Rose Brown | Episode: "The War of the Roses" |
| 2010 | Wallander | Inga Wallander | Episode: "The Fifth Woman" |
| 2010 | A Touch of Frost | Christine Moorhead | Episodes: "If Dogs Run Free: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2010, 2012 | Lip Service | Judy | Episodes: "1.4", "2.2" |
| 2010–2015 | Downton Abbey | Elsie May Carson (Mrs. Hughes) | Regular role |
| 2012 | Vera | Shirley | Episode: "A Certain Samaritan" |
| 2014 | Bones | Sandra Zins | Episode: "The Lost Love in the Foreign Land" |
| 2017–2018 | The Good Karma Hospital | Maggie Smart | Main role (series 1), guest (series 2) |
| 2018 | Girlfriends | Linda Hutchinson | Main role |
| 2018 | Doctor Who | Andinio | Episode: "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos" |
| 2019 | The Adventures of Paddington | Mrs. Bird | Voice |
| 2020 | Our Queen at War | Narrator | TV movie documentary |
| 2020 | The Highland Vet | Narrator | TV documentary series |
| 2021 | Intergalactic | Phoebe Skov-King | Episode: 1.5 |
| 2021 | Ladybaby | Sheena Dunbar | |
| 2021 | Guilt | Maggie Lynch | Series 2 and 3 |
| 2025 | Miss Austen | Mrs Cassandra Austen | Series 1 |
| TBA | Lockerbie | TBA | Filming |

### Radio appearances

* Baggage as Fiona
* Coming Alive on BBC Radio 4
* BBC Radio Shakespeare: Macbeth (Dramatised) on BBC Radio 3 as Lady Macbeth
* R.L. Stevenson's Weir Of Hermiston on BBC Radio 4 as Kirstie
* Classic BBC Radio Horror: Dracula on BBC Radio 4
* Dr Finlay: Adventures of a Black Bag on BBC Radio 4

## Selected stage roles

| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
| 1980 | The Case of David Anderson Q. C. | | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 1980 | Threads | Bernadette | Hampstead Theatre |
| 1983 | The Communication Cord | Susan | Hampstead Theatre |
| 1993 | Marvin's Room | Lee Wakefield Lacker | Hampstead Theatre and Comedy Theatre, London |
| 1994 | Gaucho | Steph/Stephanie | Hampstead Theatre |
| 2002 | Richard III | Queen Elizabeth | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| 2008 | 2000 Feet Away | Nan | Bush Theatre |
| 2016 | Present Laughter | Monica Reed | Richmond Theatre |
| 2018 | Switzerland | Patricia Highsmith | Ambassadors Theatre, London and Theatre Royal, Bath |

## Awards and nominations

In addition to the role-related awards listed below, Logan is 2023 winner of the St Andrew's Society of New York's Mark Twain Award in honor of her significant and positive impact on the Scots community around the world.
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1983 | Taormina Film Fest | Golden Mask | Another Time, Another Place | Won |
| 1984 | Rimini Film Festival | Best Actress | Another Time, Another Place | Won |
| 1984 | Evening Standard British Film Awards | Best Actress | Another Time, Another Place | Won |
| 1984 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Actress | Another Time, Another Place | Nominated |
| 1984 | British Academy Film Awards | Most Outstanding Newcomer to Film | Another Time, Another Place | Won |
| 1986 | David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Actress | Another Time, Another Place | Nominated |
| 1991 | British Academy Television Awards — Scotland | Scotland — Actress in 1991 | The Play On One: And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon | Nominated |
| 2012 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won |
| 2014 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won |
| 2016 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won |
| 2017 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated |
| 2022 | British Academy Scotland Awards | Best Actress — Television | Guilt | Won |