---
name: "Phyllis Logan"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/phyllis-logan"
fi1m_id: "phyllis-logan"
imdb_id: "nm0517642"
tmdb_id: 127164
wikidata_id: "Q117995"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "11 January 1956"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 71
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-05T16:30:13.147279+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Phyllis Logan

## Identity

Phyllis Logan

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/phyllis-logan
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** phyllis-logan
- **IMDb ID:** nm0517642
- **TMDB ID:** 127164
- **Wikidata ID:** Q117995
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Logan, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117995, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517642/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/127164

Actor. Born 11 January 1956 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 11 January 1956, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK
- **Active:** 1996–present
- **Also known as:** Филлис Логан, Філліс Логан, فیلیس لوگان
- **Frequently works with:** [Hugh Bonneville](https://film.one/person/hugh-bonneville.md), [Julian Fellowes](https://film.one/person/julian-fellowes.md), [Michelle Dockery](https://film.one/person/michelle-dockery.md)
- **BAFTA Film Awards:** 1 BAFTA (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 77 (2), 2010s 70 (2), 2020s 61 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 71 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Romance 2, Crime 1, History 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $316m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Logan, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117995, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517642/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/127164

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Secrets & Lies*](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md) (88)
- **Apple TV:** [*Downton Abbey*](https://film.one/tv/downton-abbey.md) (75)
- **Netflix:** [*Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale*](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md) (61)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Phyllis Logan

> Phyllis Logan is especially good at playing capable women who struggle to say what hurts. We value her quiet work in ensembles, particularly *Secrets & Lies*, though being cast so often for her authority can leave her too little to do.

In *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), Phyllis Logan’s Mrs Hughes talks with Jim Carter’s Carson about the house they have served for decades and what it owes them. We were moved more than we expected by two people considering what their years of work amount to. There is no need for the speeches that accompany the upstairs goodbyes. Logan is worth watching in this sort of ensemble because she makes an ordinary conversation feel consequential. The film is comfortable and thin, but this exchange deserves the attention it gets.

She had a leading role well before these supporting parts, breaking through as Janie in *Another Time, Another Place* (1983). Lady Jane Felsham in *Lovejoy* (1986–1993) brought a long television association before Mrs Hughes in *Downton Abbey* (2010–2015). Those familiar roles can make the less reassuring work easy to overlook. Between the two programmes came Monica Purley in Mike Leigh’s *Secrets & Lies* (1996). That part is a useful corrective to the idea that her chief value is keeping everyone else in order.

Her inability to talk to her husband is painfully intimate before the film asks us to account for it. It is an uncomfortable use of an actor often cast for competence: here, dealing with the person closest to her is the problem. Leigh’s ensemble gives that work room alongside Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s attentive Hortense and Timothy Spall’s burdened, warm Maurice. The writing sometimes spells out feelings we have already understood, a weakness in a film we otherwise recommend strongly. Logan’s performance is one reason the explanations can feel unnecessary.

The long run as Mrs Hughes made her authority familiar, and the subsequent offers of more housekeeper parts suggest how narrowly casting can interpret a success. Logan has said she resisted those offers and looked for other parts. The risk is that dependability becomes all a script asks of her. Simon Curtis and Julian Fellowes give her and Carter a worthwhile exchange in *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale*, but surround it with too many small stories and too little substance. For an evening that asks more of her, choose *Secrets & Lies*.

## Biography

Phyllis Logan is a Scottish actress. She is known for playing Lady Jane Felsham in the television series *Lovejoy* (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes (later Carson) in *Downton Abbey* (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her performance in the 1983 film *Another Time, Another Place*.

Her other screen credits include the films *Secrets & Lies* (1996), *Downton Abbey* (2019), *Downton Abbey: A New Era* (2022) and *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), in which she reprised the role of Elsie Hughes. She has also appeared in episodes of *Doctor Who* (2005) and *Midsomer Murders* (1997). Logan is married to actor Kevin McNally.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), Fi1m 61, as Elsie Hughes — [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md)
- *Downton Abbey* (2019), Fi1m 64, as Mrs Hughes — [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-2019.md)
- *Downton Abbey* (2010), Fi1m 75, as Mrs. Hughes — [page](https://film.one/tv/downton-abbey.md)
- *Midsomer Murders* (1997), Fi1m 66, as Kate Merrill — [page](https://film.one/tv/midsomer-murders.md)
- *Secrets & Lies* (1996), Fi1m 88, as Monica Purley — [page](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md)

## Complete filmography (101)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *A Taste for Murder* (2026), series, as Elena Da Vinale
- *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), as Elsie Hughes — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md)
- *Murder Most Puzzling* (2025), series, as Cora Felton
- *The Bombing of Pan Am 103* (2025), series, as Moira Shearer
- *Miss Austen* (2025), series, as Mrs. Austen
- *No Way Up* (2024), as Mardy
- *Surprised by Oxford* (2023), as Provost Regina Knight
- *Rocketry: The Nambi Effect* (2022), as Mrs Cleaver
- *Harold & Mary* (2022), as Mary
- *Downton Abbey: A New Era* (2022), as Mrs Hughes
- *Last Train to Christmas* (2021), as Auntie Vi
- *Ladybaby* (2021), as Sheena Dunbar
- *The Last Bus* (2021), as Mary
- *You Really Got Me* (2021), as Older Linda
- *Elliott from Earth* (2021), series, Actor
- *Our Queen at War* (2020), as Narrator (voice)
- *Misbehaviour* (2020), as Evelyn Alexander
- *The Adventures of Paddington* (2019), series, as Mrs. Bird (voice)
- *Guilt* (2019), series, as Maggie Lynch
- *Downton Abbey* (2019), as Mrs Hughes — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-2019.md)
- *Girlfriends* (2018), series, as Linda
- *The Good Karma Hospital* (2017), series, as Maggie Smart
- *Day of the Flowers* (2013), as Brenda
- *Shetland* (2013), series, as Grace Bain — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/tv/shetland.md)
- *Vera* (2011), series, as Shirley — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/vera.md)
- *Lip Service* (2010), series, Actor
- *Downton Abbey* (2010), series, as Mrs. Hughes — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/tv/downton-abbey.md)
- *Nativity!* (2009), as Mrs. Lore
- *Honest* (2008), series, Actor
- *Missing* (2006), as Karen Foster
- *Missing: All Secrets Have a Price* (2006), series, Actor
- *Bones* (2005), series, as Sandra Zins — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/bones.md)
- *Beneath the Skin* (2005), as DCI Grace Shilling
- *Doctor Who* (2005), series, as Andinio — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md)
- *Murder in Suburbia* (2004), series, as Wendy
- *Sea of Souls* (2004), series, as Elaine
- *New Tricks* (2004), series, as Dr. Mathieson
- *Alibi* (2003), as Linda Brentwood
- *The Royal* (2003), series, as Lady George Fawcett
- *The Real Jane Austen* (2002), as Mrs. Austen
- *Fields of Gold* (2002), as Rachel Greenlaw
- *Spooks* (2002), series, as Diana Jewell — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/spooks.md)
- *Dickens* (2002), series, as Georgina Hogarth
- *The Inspector Lynley Mysteries* (2002), series, as Miriam Whitelaw
- *Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)* (2000), series, Actor
- *All the King's Men* (1999), as Mary Beck
- *Hope and Glory* (1999), series, as Annie Gilbert
- *The Game* (1998), as Betty
- *Invasion: Earth* (1998), series, as Sqn. Ldr. Helen Knox
- *An Unsuitable Job for a Woman* (1997), series, as Elizabeth Leaming
- *Shooting Fish* (1997), as Mrs Ross
- *Midsomer Murders* (1997), series, as Kate Merrill — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/midsomer-murders.md)
- *Secrets & Lies* (1996), as Monica Purley — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md)
- *Dalziel and Pascoe* (1996), series, as DS Jenny Ettrick
- *Silent Witness* (1996), series, as Helen Wharton
- *Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life* (1995), as Frau Bunofsky
- *Mirror Man* (1995), as Anna Spalinsky
- *Chiller* (1995), series, as Anna Spalinsky
- *Rik Mayall Presents: The Big One* (1995), as Mrs Wilde
- *Kavanagh Q.C.* (1995), series, as Samantha Fisher
- *Pie in the Sky* (1994), series, as Det. Supt. Chalmers
- *Rik Mayall Presents* (1993), series, as Mrs. Wilde
- *Silent Cries* (1993), as Nancy Muir
- *Soft Top Hard Shoulder* (1993), as Karla
- *A Touch of Frost* (1992), series, as Christine Moorhead — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/a-touch-of-frost.md)
- *Freddie As F.R.O.7.* (1992), as Nessie (voice)
- *Heartbeat* (1992), series, as Diane Bell, Julia Kendall, Rose Brown
- *Effie's Burning* (1991), as Dr Ruth Kovacs
- *And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon* (1991), as Andrea
- *Happy Feet* (1991), as Dora Jackson
- *The Dark Sun* (1990), as Attorney Camilla Staffa
- *Screen One* (1989), series, as Dora
- *Goldeneye* (1989), as Ann Fleming
- *And a Nightingale Sang* (1989), as Helen
- *Defrosting the Fridge* (1989), as Lee
- *Sitting Targets* (1989), as Alison
- *Agatha Christie's Poirot* (1989), series, as Nurse Hopkins — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/agatha-christies-poirot.md)
- *The Angry Earth* (1989), as Mary Penrys Jones
- *The Kitchen Toto* (1988), as Janet Graham
- *The Play on One* (1988), series, as Andrea, Dr Ruth Kovacs
- *Hannay* (1988), series, Actor
- *The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway* (1988), as Mary Welsh
- *Bust* (1987), series, as Sheila Walsh
- *First Sight* (1987), series, as Kathy
- *The Inquiry* (1986), as Claudia Procula
- *The McGuffin* (1986), as Anne
- *Lovejoy* (1986), series, as Lady Jane Felsham (archive footage), Lady Jane Felsham
- *The Doctor and the Devils* (1985), as Elizabeth Rock
- *Time and the Conways* (1985), as Kay Conway
- *Screen Two* (1985), series, as Anne, Alison, Lee
- *Off Peak* (1985), as Janet
- *Every Picture Tells a Story* (1984), as Agnes Scott
- *Nineteen Eighty-Four* (1984), as The Telescreen Anouncer (voice)
- *The Chain* (1984), as Alison
- *End of the Line* (1984), as Rose
- *The Dress* (1984), as Julia
- *Another Time, Another Place* (1983), as Janie
- *The Good Time Girls* (1981), as Nancy Park
- *The White Bird Passes* (1980), as Janie (age 16)
- *Shoestring* (1979), series, as Linda
- *Play for Today* (1970), series, as Nancy Park

## Gallery

- ![The Television Academy Hosts An Afternoon of Tea, Scones and Chatting with Downton Abbey Cast and Creators at Paramount Studios. (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/7996/gallery-df2f35b8b00c.jpg) The Television Academy Hosts An Afternoon of Tea, Scones and Chatting with Downton Abbey Cast and Creators at Paramount Studios. (2014) — Mingle MediaTV, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Phyllis_Logan_May_2014.jpg/1280px-Phyllis_Logan_May_2014.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Phyllis Logan](https://film.one/media/person/7996/gallery-a68dd3f38300.jpg) Phyllis Logan — Mingle MediaTV, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Phyllis_Logan_May_2014_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Phyllis Logan](https://film.one/media/person/7996/gallery-71bc3d03e352.jpg) Phyllis Logan — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### BAFTA Film Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1984: Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (won), for *Another Time, Another Place*
- 1984: Best Actress in a Leading Role (nominated), for *Another Time, Another Place*

### SAG Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 2014: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (nominated), for *Downton Abbey*
- 2013: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (won), for *Downton Abbey*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/phyllis-logan