Lisa Palfrey

{{Infobox person

| name = Lisa Palfrey

| image = Lisa Palfrey, Tanjimei.jpg

| caption = Palfrey in 1987

| birthname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|2|9|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Wales, United Kingdom

| occupation = Actress

| yearsactive = 1987–present

| children = 1

}}

Lisa Palfrey (born 9 February 1967) is a Welsh actress. She is known for playing the roles of Gwenny in House of America (1997), Mrs. Nice in Guest House Paradiso (1999), Maureen in Pride (2014), Mrs. Dai Bread 1 in Under Milk Wood (2015), Cynthia in the Netflix original television series Sex Education and Eleanor James in the Sky One original television series COBRA.

Early life

Palfrey was born in Wales on 9 February 1967, her mother is Eiry Palfrey, an actress and author. She attended Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen, a Welsh-medium secondary school near Pontypridd.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymru/adloniant/theatr/adolygiadau/blink.shtml|title=Blink - Gofidio nad oes llwyfan i addasiad Cymraeg|publisher=BBC|language=Welsh|access-date=22 June 2010|archive-date=23 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523215559/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cymru/adloniant/theatr/adolygiadau/blink.shtml|url-status=live}}

Career

Palfrey started acting at the age of 20 when she played the role of 15-year-old girl, Jane Sanderson, in the BBC One television series The District Nurse. Her first major role was in the film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain.{{cite web |last=Ferguson |first=John |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/cn9jx/the-englishman-who-went-up-a-hill-but-came-down-a-mountain |title=The Englishman Who Went up a Hill, but Came down a Mountain (1995) |publisher=Radio Times |date=1995-08-04 |accessdate=2022-02-13 |archive-date=21 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121071356/http://www.radiotimes.com/film/cn9jx/the-englishman-who-went-up-a-hill-but-came-down-a-mountain |url-status=live }} She has gone on to star in the cult film House of America,{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/rare-bit-of-welsh-drama-1.384669|title=Rare bit of Welsh drama|date=14 August 1997|work=The Herald|access-date=22 June 2010|archive-date=4 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004212440/http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/rare-bit-of-welsh-drama-1.384669|url-status=live}} and appeared as Melanie Collier in the medical drama television series Casualty as well as Inspector Tracey McAndrew in the third series of the police procedural television series Line of Duty. She played the role of Rhiannedd Frost in the Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/leisure/tv-wales/programme-news/2009/11/14/comedian-tudur-owen-is-getting-serious-55578-25160310/|title=Comedian Tudor Owen is getting serious|date=14 November 2009|work=The Daily Post|access-date=22 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729113500/http://www.dailypost.co.uk/leisure/tv-wales/programme-news/2009/11/14/comedian-tudur-owen-is-getting-serious-55578-25160310/|archive-date=29 July 2012}}

Palfrey has performed in a number of plays, including the original production of David Eldridge's Festen,[https://web.archive.org/web/20240501184207/https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8821074767902/Asher,+Lee+Miller+&+Hardy+Celebrate+Almeida+Festen.html/] The Iceman Cometh,{{cite web |last1=Wolf |first1=Matt |title=The Iceman Cometh |url=https://variety.com/1998/legit/reviews/the-iceman-cometh-2-1200453377/ |work=Variety |access-date=4 June 2020 |date=16 April 1998 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811171318/https://variety.com/1998/legit/reviews/the-iceman-cometh-2-1200453377/ |url-status=live }} Under The Blue Sky,{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vDZIbyPZ2K8C&q=lisa+palfrey+under+the+blue+sky+cast&pg=PA5|title = The Methuen Drama Book of Royal Court Plays 2000-2010: Under the Blue Sky; Fallout; Motortown; My Child; Enron|isbn = 9781408123935|last1 = Eldridge|first1 = David|last2 = Williams|first2 = Roy|last3 = Stephens|first3 = Simon|last4 = Bartlett|first4 = Mike|last5 = Prebble|first5 = Lucy|date = 2 July 2010| publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |access-date = 21 March 2021|archive-date = 13 February 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220213171417/https://books.google.com/books?id=vDZIbyPZ2K8C&q=lisa+palfrey+under+the+blue+sky+cast&pg=PA5|url-status = live}} and Tom Wells's The Kitchen Sink.

In 2019, Palfrey played the role of Cynthia in the Netflix original series Sex Education.

In 2020, Palfrey played the role of government minister Eleanor James in the Sky One original television drama series COBRA, written by Ben Richards and starring Robert Carlyle as British Prime Minister Robert Sutherland. She played the part of Pam Green in the BBC Drama Chloe in 2022. In 2023 she filmed the BBC television feature Men Up, about the first clinical trials for the drug Viagra that took place in Swansea in 1994.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/men-up-viagra-drama-russell-t-davies-matthew-barry-bbc-1235338578/amp/|accessdate=May 24, 2023|website=Hollywood Reporter|date=March 1, 2023|first=Alex|last=Ritman|title= Viagra Trial Drama 'Men Up' Coming to BBC From Russell T. Davies, 'Industry' Writer, 'It's a Sin' Producer}}

Filmography

= Film =

class="wikitable sortable"
Year !Title !Role !class="unsortable"\|Notes
1995 \|The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain \|Blod Jones \|
rowspan="2" \|1997 \|House of America \|Gwenny \|
The Deadness of Dad \|Mam \|Short film
rowspan="2" \|1999 \|Guest House Paradiso \|Mrs. Nice \|
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem \|Michelle \|Short film
2000 \|Maybe Baby \|Jan \|
2003 \|Y Mabinogi \|Arianrhod \|Voice role
2008 \|Poncho Mamgu \|Nel \|Documentary
2011 \|360 \|Psychologist \|
2014 \|Pride \|Maureen \|
rowspan="2" \|2015 \|Under Milk Wood \|Mrs. Dai Bread 1 \|
Visiting Mr Keats \|Professor Bell \|Short film
2018 \|National Theatre Live: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof \|Big Mama \|
2019 \|Make Up \|Shirley \|
2021 \|The Feast \|Mair Bowen \|
2022 \|Prey for the Devil \|Sister Euphemia \|

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

!Title

!Role

!class="unsortable"|Notes

1995

|The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

|Blod Jones

rowspan="2" |1997

|House of America

|Gwenny

The Deadness of Dad

|Mam

|Short film

rowspan="2" |1999

|Guest House Paradiso

|Mrs. Nice

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

|Michelle

|Short film

2000

|Maybe Baby

|Jan

2003

|Y Mabinogi

|Arianrhod

|Voice role

2008

|Poncho Mamgu

|Nel

|Documentary

2011

|360

|Psychologist

2014

|Pride

|Maureen

rowspan="2" |2015

|Under Milk Wood

|Mrs. Dai Bread 1

Visiting Mr Keats

|Professor Bell

|Short film

2018

|National Theatre Live: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

|Big Mama

2019

|Make Up

|Shirley

2021

|The Feast

|Mair Bowen

2022

|Prey for the Devil

|Sister Euphemia

= Television =

class="wikitable sortable"
Year !Title !Role !class="unsortable"\|Notes
1987 \|The District Nurse \|Jane Sanderson \|Episode: "A Flick of the Coin"
1993 \|Thicker Than Water \|Young Mother \|TV film
1996 \|Lord of Misrule \|Amy Clarke \|TV film
rowspan="2" \|1997 \|Soldier Soldier \|Private Diane Saltmarsh \|Episode: "Fit to Explode"
The Investigator \|Sergeant Kathy Bartlett \|TV film
1999 \|Split Second \|Christine Montgomery \|TV film
rowspan="2" \|2001 \|Mind Games \|DC Rebecca Longton \|TV film
The Bench \|Jules Bowen \|Episodes: S01 E01, S01 E03
rowspan="3" \|2002 \|Outside the Rules \|Lola Davies \|TV series
Green-Eyed Monster \|DC Karen Carter \|TV film
Casualty \|Melanie Collier \|8 episodes
2003 \|High Hopes \|Dominique \|Episode: "Pretty Woman"
rowspan="2" \|2004 \|The Bill \|Fee Paterson \|Episode: "187: Shaken"
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries \|Lizzie Shakespeare \|Episode: "If Wishes Were Horses"
2006–2007 \|Pobol y Cwm \|Rhiannedd Frost \|Welsh TV series
2010 \|Pen Talar \|Doctor \|Episode: "Part 8"
2013 \|Family Tree \|Luba Chadwick \|Recurring role, 4 episodes
2015 \|The Bastard Executioner \|Nia's mother \|Episode: "Effigy/Ddelw"
rowspan="3" \|2016 \|Line of Duty \|Inspector Tracey McAndrew \|3 episodes
Aberfan: The Green Hollow \|Edna \|TV movie, documentary
Hinterland \|Sioned Jones \|Episode: "Aftermath"
2019–2020 \|Sex Education \|Cynthia \|Main role
2019 \|Wild Bill \|Audrey Merrick \|Episode: "Bad Blood in the Soil"
2020 \|COBRA \|Eleanor James \|Main role
2021 \|Intergalactic \|Zeeda \|Episode: S01 E02, S01 E02
2022 \|Pact \|Beth \|Main role
2023 \|Men Up \|Teresa Rigby \|Television film

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

!Title

!Role

!class="unsortable"|Notes

1987

|The District Nurse

|Jane Sanderson

|Episode: "A Flick of the Coin"

1993

|Thicker Than Water

|Young Mother