Raquel Cassidy

{{Infobox person

| name = Raquel Cassidy

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|1|22|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Fleet, Hampshire, England

| education = Farnborough Hill

| alma_mater = Girton College, Cambridge

| occupation = Actress

| years_active = 1997–present

}}

Raquel Cassidy is an English actress. She played the role of Phyllis Baxter in the television series Downton Abbey (2013–2015), winning a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She has reprised the role for both the 2019 feature film of the same name and its 2022 sequel.

She has played leading roles in other television series including Teachers, Party Animals, Moving Wallpaper, Lead Balloon, The Worst Witch and The Good Karma Hospital.

Early life and education

Born to a Spanish mother and an English father, she was the third child and only daughter born to the couple.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/11963674.schools-out-forever-raquel-cassidy-has-graduated-from-teachers-to-glasgows-tron-reports-neil-cooper/|title=School's out forever Raquel Cassidy has graduated from Teachers to Glasgow's Tron, reports Neil Cooper|website=HeraldScotland|date=17 September 2002 |access-date=26 April 2019}} Born and brought up in Fleet, Hampshire,[http://www.fleet-people.co.uk/Celebrity-opening-Fleet-charity-shop/story-13557517-detail/story.html Raquel Cassidy reopens Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice shop in Fleet | Fleet People] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200218/http://www.fleet-people.co.uk/Celebrity-opening-Fleet-charity-shop/story-13557517-detail/story.html |date=2 January 2014 }} she was educated at Farnborough Hill Convent,[http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2066231_no_expenses_spared_in_fleet_actors_tv_drama] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314203710/http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2066231_no_expenses_spared_in_fleet_actors_tv_drama|date=14 March 2010}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2004892_raquel_stars_in_recordbreaking_comedy_show|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130420172228/http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2004892_raquel_stars_in_recordbreaking_comedy_show|url-status=dead|title=Raquel stars in record-breaking comedy show – News – gethampshire|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-date=20 April 2013}} and then Girton College, Cambridge, where she studied modern languages. She later pursued a PhD in biological anthropology, but abandoned it to pursue a career in acting.{{Cite web|last=Morganstern|first=Adam|title=Attending 'Downton Abbey' Film Premieres (And Drinking Hot Chocolate) With Star Raquel Cassidy|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammorganstern/2019/10/15/attending-downton-abbey-film-premieres-and-drinking-hot-chocolate-with-star-raquel-cassidy/|access-date=22 December 2020|website=Forbes|language=en}}

Career

In an early role, Cassidy played Lola Chaves in an episode of The Bill, speaking predominantly in Spanish.{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8358df05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120193049/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8358df05|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 November 2018|title=Lola (1999)|website=BFI}} In 2001 she took the role of Susan Gately in Teachers, returning for the second series in 2002.{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbff3dcb5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301235244/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbff3dcb5|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 March 2016|title=Raquel Cassidy|website=BFI}} She has also played the Home Office Junior Minister Jo Porter in Party Animals, Cassie Turner in The Worst Week of My Life, Nancy Weeks in Moving Wallpaper and Mel in Lead Balloon.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/raquel-cassidy/credits/3000243982/|title=Raquel Cassidy|website=TVGuide.com}}

In 2013 Cassidy joined the cast of Downton Abbey, playing the role of rehabilitated thief and lady's maid Phyllis Baxter for the show's final three series. In 2015 the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/downton-abbey-wins-sag-award-860583/|title=SAG Awards: 'Downton Abbey' Wins Best Cast in a Drama Series|first1=Jackie|last1=Strause|website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=30 January 2016}} She reprised the role for the show's 2019 feature film, also called Downton Abbey and its 2022 sequel.{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/24/downton-abbey-2-raquel-cassidy-teases-most-amazing-sumptuous-ride-16526177/|title=Downton Abbey: A New Era's Raquel Cassidy teases 'most amazing, sumptuous ride'|first=Tori|last=Brazier|date=24 April 2022}}

She has subsequently played the role of Miss Hardbroom in four series of the 2017 television revival of The Worst Witch.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/03/bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/03/the-worst-witch/|title=The Worst Witch|website=www.bbc.com}} In 2022, she appeared in series 4 of The Good Karma Hospital as Frankie Martin.{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-good-karma-hospital-cast/ |last=Morris |first=Lauren |title=Meet the cast of The Good Karma Hospital |work=Radio Times |date=21 January 2022 |access-date=3 February 2022}} In 2023, she played Maria Swanson in an episode of British crime drama series The Chelsea Detective.{{cite web | url=https://www.highonfilms.com/the-chelsea-detective-season-2-cast-characters-explained-plot-release-date-time-where-to-watch-other-details/ | title=The Chelsea Detective Season 2: Cast & Characters Explained, Plot, Release Date, Time, Where to Watch & Other Details | date=28 August 2023 }}

Filmography

=Film=

Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes
class="wikitable"
1999	Perdie	Miss Jennings	Short
rowspan="3"\|2002	Shooters	Tess
Do I Love You	Romy
Before You Go	Felicia
2004	Out of Time	Alice	Short
rowspan="2"\|2005	Blake's Junction 7	Jenna	Short
Festival	Petra Loewenberg
rowspan="2"\|2007	The Boat People	Alice
Tick Tock Lullaby	Maya
2008	Nightwalking	Martha	Short
rowspan="2"\|2010	An Act of Love	Catherine	Short
Bleach	Rebecca	Short
2012	Routine Vaccination	Nurse	Short
rowspan="2"\|2013	Wisdom	Emily Eximo	Short
To Leech	Mary	Short
2014	The Ballad of Langley Lane	Mother	Short
rowspan="2"\|2016	The Twisted Death of a Lonely Madman	Mystic-57	Voice role
Two Is a Family	Maitresse Gloria
rowspan="3"\|2019	Cliffs of Freedom	Christina Vakrinos
Downton Abbey	Phyllis Baxter
Official Secrets	Anne Emmerson
2022	Downton Abbey: A New Era	Phyllis Baxter
2023	Ferryman	Mother
2025	Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale	Phyllis Baxter	Post-production

=Television=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
1998 \| Killer Net \| P.C. Pam Boxer \| 2 episodes
rowspan="2"\|1999 \| The Bill \| Lola Chaves \| Episode: "Lola"
Peak Practice \| Cheryl Parker \| Episode: "Hearts and Minds"
rowspan="3"\|2000 \| Nature Boy \| Ros \| 1 episode
Hearts and Bones \| Mary Jones \| Episode: "Once There Was a Way to Get Back Home"
Thin Ice \| DS Beckett \| TV film
2001 \| Table 12 \| Yolanda \| Episode: "Aphrodisiac"
2001–2002 \| Teachers \| Susan Gately \| Series regular
rowspan="4"\|2003 \| Trust \| Elizabeth Blackwood \| 1 episode
Red Cap \| Staff Sergeant Neve Kirland \| Recurring role
Holby City \| Julie Redding \| Episode: "Desperate Measures"
Trevor's World of Sport \| Caroline Bradley \| Recurring role
2004 \| The Worst Week of My Life \| Cassie Turner \| Series regular
rowspan="3"\|2005 \| According to Bex \| Chris \| Series regular
Last Rights \| Nadine \| Mini-series
Twisted Tales \| Lynne \| 1 episode
2006 \| Comedy Lab \| Jane \| Episode: "FM"
2006–2011 \| Lead Balloon \| Mel \| Series regular
rowspan="2"\|2007 \| Party Animals \| Jo Porter \| Series regular
Sold \| Yvette Daniels \| 1 episode
Britz \| Joy \| TV film
rowspan="3"\|2008 \| Casualty \| Monica Batchelor \| Episode: "Before a Fall"
No Heroics \| Kim the Agent \| Episode: "Monkey Gone to Heaven"
Agatha Christie's Poirot \| Maureen Summerhayes \| Episode: "Mrs McGinty's Dead"
2008–2009 \| Moving Wallpaper \| Nancy Weeks \| Series regular
2009 \| New Tricks \| Susannah Morton \| Episode: "The Truth Is Out There"
2010 \| On Expenses \| House of Commons Counsel \| TV film
rowspan="3"\|2011 \| Land Girls \| Diana Granville \| Recurring role
Doctor Who \| Cleaves \| 2 episodes
DCI Banks \| Dr. Elizabeth Waring \| Episode: "Friend of the Devil"
rowspan="3"\|2012 \| Midsomer Murders \| Diana DeQuetteville \| Episode: "The Dark Rider"
Hustle \| Dr. Dana Deville \| Episode: "Eat Yourself Slender"
A Touch of Cloth \| Clare Hawkchurch \| Episode: "The First Case"
rowspan="4"\|2013 \| {{ill\|The Other Child\|de\|Charlotte Link – Das andere Kind}} \| DI Valerie Almond \| TV series
Jo \| Pauline Langlois \| Episode: "Notre Dame"
Heading Out \| Sabine \| 1 episode
Law & Order: UK \| Lydia Smythson \| Episode: "Dependent"
2013–2015 \| Downton Abbey \| Phyllis Baxter \| Series regular
2014 \| Jonathan Creek \| Sharon \| Episode: "The Letters of Septimus Noone"
2015 \| Vera \| Gloria Edwards \| Episode: "Shadows in the Sky"
2015–2017 \| Uncle \| Teresa \| Series regular
2016 \| Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge \| Hayley \| Episode: "Grundy + Snow"
rowspan="2"\|2017 \| Silent Witness \| Dr. Eva Vasquez \| Episode: "Awakening"
W1A \| Tasmin Howard \| 1 episode
2017–2020 \| The Worst Witch \| Miss Hardbroom \| Series regular
2018 \| Strangers \| Rachel Hargreaves \| Series regular
rowspan="2"\| 2022 \| The Good Karma Hospital \| Frankie Martin \| Series 4
Safe Space \| Lucy Leer \| Episode: "Episode 1.0"
2023 \| The Chelsea Detective \| Maria Swanson \| Episode: "Golden Years"

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1998

| Killer Net

| P.C. Pam Boxer

| 2 episodes

rowspan="2"|1999

| The Bill

| Lola Chaves

| Episode: "Lola"

Peak Practice

| Cheryl Parker

| Episode: "Hearts and Minds"

rowspan="3"|2000

| Nature Boy

| Ros

| 1 episode

Hearts and Bones

| Mary Jones

| Episode: "Once There Was a Way to Get Back Home"

Thin Ice

| DS Beckett

| TV film

2001

| Table 12

| Yolanda

| Episode: "Aphrodisiac"

2001–2002

| Teachers

| Susan Gately

| Series regular

rowspan="4"|2003

| Trust

| Elizabeth Blackwood

| 1 episode

Red Cap

| Staff Sergeant Neve Kirland

| Recurring role

Holby City

| Julie Redding

| Episode: "Desperate Measures"

Trevor's World of Sport

| Caroline Bradley

| Recurring role

2004

| The Worst Week of My Life

| Cassie Turner

| Series regular

rowspan="3"|2005

| According to Bex

| Chris

| Series regular

Last Rights

| Nadine

| Mini-series

Twisted Tales

| Lynne

| 1 episode

2006

| Comedy Lab

| Jane

| Episode: "FM"

2006–2011

| Lead Balloon

| Mel

| Series regular

rowspan="2"|2007

| Party Animals

| Jo Porter

| Series regular

Sold

| Yvette Daniels

| 1 episode

Britz

| Joy

| TV film

rowspan="3"|2008

| Casualty

| Monica Batchelor

| Episode: "Before a Fall"

No Heroics

| Kim the Agent

| Episode: "Monkey Gone to Heaven"

Agatha Christie's Poirot

| Maureen Summerhayes

| Episode: "Mrs McGinty's Dead"

2008–2009

| Moving Wallpaper

| Nancy Weeks

| Series regular

2009

| New Tricks

| Susannah Morton

| Episode: "The Truth Is Out There"

2010

| On Expenses

| House of Commons Counsel

| TV film

rowspan="3"|2011

| Land Girls

| Diana Granville

| Recurring role

Doctor Who

| Cleaves

| 2 episodes

DCI Banks

| Dr. Elizabeth Waring

| Episode: "Friend of the Devil"

rowspan="3"|2012

| Midsomer Murders

| Diana DeQuetteville

| Episode: "The Dark Rider"

Hustle

| Dr. Dana Deville

| Episode: "Eat Yourself Slender"

A Touch of Cloth

| Clare Hawkchurch

| Episode: "The First Case"

rowspan="4"|2013

| {{ill|The Other Child|de|Charlotte Link – Das andere Kind}}

| DI Valerie Almond

| TV series

| Pauline Langlois

| Episode: "Notre Dame"

Heading Out

| Sabine

| 1 episode

Law & Order: UK

| Lydia Smythson

| Episode: "Dependent"

2013–2015

| Downton Abbey

| Phyllis Baxter

| Series regular

2014

| Jonathan Creek

| Sharon

| Episode: "The Letters of Septimus Noone"

2015

| Vera

| Gloria Edwards

| Episode: "Shadows in the Sky"

2015–2017

| Uncle

| Teresa

| Series regular

2016

| Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge

| Hayley

| Episode: "Grundy + Snow"

rowspan="2"|2017

| Silent Witness

| Dr. Eva Vasquez

| Episode: "Awakening"

W1A

| Tasmin Howard

| 1 episode

2017–2020

| The Worst Witch

| Miss Hardbroom

| Series regular

2018

| Strangers

| Rachel Hargreaves

| Series regular

rowspan="2"| 2022

| The Good Karma Hospital

| Frankie Martin

| Series 4

Safe Space

| Lucy Leer

| Episode: "Episode 1.0"

2023

| The Chelsea Detective

| Maria Swanson

| Episode: "Golden Years"

=Selected radio=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Programme ! Role
2008	Spending My Inheritance	Jo
2015	Ed Reardon's Week	Suzan

class="wikitable"

Year

! Programme

! Role

2008

Spending My Inheritance

2015

Ed Reardon's Week

Suzan

=Theatre=

Year ! Play ! Role ! Theatre
class="wikitable"
1997	Twelfth Night	Viola	Royal Court Theatre
rowspan= "2"\| 1998	Othello	Desdemona	National tour
Threesome	Ruth	Old Red Lion Theatre
2002	Possible Worlds	Joyce	Tron Theatre
2004	Macbeth	Lady Macbeth	International tour
2005	Anna Karenina	Anna Arkadyevna Karenina	Royal Lyceum Theatre
2006	Mirandolina	Mirandolina	Royal Exchange Theatre
2019 \|Shipwreck \|Jools/Donald J. Trump's Secretary{{Cite web\|title=Raquel Cassidy {{!}} Hamilton Hodell\|url=http://www.hamiltonhodell.co.uk/talent/raquel-cassidy/\|access-date=22 December 2020\|website=www.hamiltonhodell.co.uk}}{{Cite web\|title=Shipwreck\|url=https://almeida.co.uk/whats-on/shipwreck/11-feb-2019-30-mar-2019\|access-date=22 December 2020\|website=Almeida Theatre\|language=en}} \|Almeida Theatre