Keeping Mum
Patricia Hodge was at supper with Julian Fellowes when his wife, Lady Emma, announced they had some very good news: the director Robert Altman had asked Julian to write his next screenplay. It turned out to be Gosford Park which, had he known it at the time, was to be the precursor of Downton Abbey.
Fast forward some 15 years and life has come full circle. In its final episode to be shown on Christmas Day, the role of mother to Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton), sometime suitor of Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), has fallen to yes, Patricia Hodge. ‘As a matter of fact,’ she says, shyly glancing downwards, ‘Julian asked me himself.’
To say more of her small but pivotal part in this keenly anticipated swansong would be to spoil the pleasure of many millions, not only throughout the United Kingdom but in the 200-plus territories around the world where Downton is hungrily devoured.
Patricia takes little prompting, though, to confess that she was keenly aware of the responsibility invested in her and the challenge of being the new girl in a cast who’d worked together – ‘They really were like a family’ – for the past six years. But then, for someone who has worked seamlessly across stage and screen for more than four decades, she’s perennially racked with doubt, she says, over each new role she tackles.
‘There’s a huge amount of my stuff I’ve never even looked at. I suppose I should really remind myself where I’ve gone wrong. That said, if you care and you’ve got standards, of course you’re going to have doubts. Endless self-questioning is par for the course.’
It wasn’t Patricia’s first experience of Highclere, the castle where Downton is set. ‘I filmed there at the end of the 1980s in a TV production called The Secret Life Of Ian Fleming.’ And she attended the wedding of Judy Garland’s second daughter, Lorna Luft, at Highclere.
So, what next? She hesitates. ‘Well, there’s talk of filming some bits and pieces as a sort of framework around which old episodes of Miranda can be repeated.’ Lauded for her performances in everything from Rumpole Of The Bailey and Jemima Shore Investigates to The Lives And Loves Of A She-Devil, it was many years since she’d done live audience comedy when she landed the role of Miranda’s over-the-top mother.
‘It’s honestly one of the most difficult things one can do. She’s a big personality but, in the end, I just went for it. Penny was so unexpected as the mother of Miranda. In a way, it was a slight echo of AbFab with the outrageous Edina and her altogether rather buttoned-up daughter, Saffy. But these mismatches do happen.’
And what of the real Miranda? ‘A divine girl; I enjoy her so much. Devoted is the word. But she isn’t the same as her on-screen character although to some extent that’s a mad projection of herself, a lunatic person who lurks somewhere within her.’
But she obviously struck a chord. ‘There were people who virtually had to be carried out of the recordings because they were helpless with laughter. There was one woman whose laughter was so penetrating on the soundtrack that they had to ask her to stop booking herself in every week. It finished after three series and a couple of specials. And that was right. Job done. Go out on a high.’
With the cast of Miranda
Now, for both professional and personal reasons, she’s choosing her work with caution. ‘There’s an awful lot I won’t do. I avoid what I call personality stuff. I made an exception for charity by appearing with Miranda and her real-life mother on a special edition of Gogglebox. The danger of appearing as yourself is that viewers then can’t lose themselves in whatever is the new character you’re playing. Once out, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle.’
A good way of illustrating the point, she says, is the wave of Scandinavian dramas where you don’t recognise any of the actors so you simply follow the story as it unfolds. ‘If you become too famous, it’s hard to see beyond the actor. For instance, in the film Suffragette, Meryl Streep plays Emmeline Pankhurst, which makes it difficult to suspend your disbelief.’
The personal reason for her cherry-picking new roles is a sad one. At the turn of 2014, Peter Owen, her music publisher husband of almost 40 years, had to be moved into residential care as his dementia gathered pace. Patricia is both dignified and discreet when it comes to this chapter of her life. ‘Let’s just say that the last few years have been difficult for our family,’ she says.
Judging by her appearance, she seems to be coping well. An elegant woman, it’s hard to believe she’ll celebrate her 70th birthday next September. ‘I’m lucky in that I’m a natural redhead and redheads tend to have good skin.’
But she looks after herself. There’s a leisure centre in the complex where she now lives, and she swims there, 30 lengths each morning. ‘And it’s a big pool. I love it. I regard it as a form of meditation. After a couple of lengths, you’re in your own zone.’
She doesn’t stick to a rigid diet although she’s careful about what she eats. She declines afternoon tea when we meet near her southwest London home (‘I never drink it’), opting instead for hot water with a slice of lemon.
She likes a glass of wine but never drinks alone. ‘Well, there may have been a couple of occasions when I was very, very stressed. And, of course, it wasn’t the answer. But I told my younger sister, Valerie, I was pouring myself a glass because then it was a matter of record. We’re very close. She’s my confidante, the person who’s helped me tremendously over the recent challenging years.’
She allows herself the occasional treat – a massage, for instance. ‘In the spring of last year when things were really pretty grim, I started trying to write a memoir. But I wasn’t comfortable with it. Before I abandoned it, though, I took myself to what used to be called a health farm entirely on my own and I absolutely loved it.’
Ask her to nominate her favourite decade and she doesn’t hesitate. ‘I’d have to say my 40s because that’s when the boys finally arrived. Before I got pregnant with Alexander, I honestly thought I was never to know the pleasures of motherhood.’ He’s 26 now and making his way as a comedy writer and performer. His younger brother, Edward, 23, would like a career in music. ‘Also, I was beginning to get prime parts in my 40s. Being an ingénue isn’t very interesting.’
If she could give advice to her 16-year-old self, she emphasises the need for confidence. ‘Believe in yourself and that will carry you forward. I was pretty naive for a long time. I tended to take everything at face value. So it’s a good idea to acquire a sense of irony. Oh, and I’d tell the younger me not to worry about having red hair.’
Her choice of epitaph, assuming she could choose, has altered. ‘Once upon a time, it would have read “The very late Miss Hodge” on my gravestone. But that all changed when I had children.’ And now? ‘You can’t ordain the way people are going to remember you.’ She pauses. ‘But my friends have been wonderful and particularly recently, so I think I’d like them to know how much I appreciated them.’
Downton Abbey: The Finale is on ITV at 8.45pm on Christmas Day.
Fast forward some 15 years and life has come full circle. In its final episode to be shown on Christmas Day, the role of mother to Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton), sometime suitor of Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), has fallen to yes, Patricia Hodge. ‘As a matter of fact,’ she says, shyly glancing downwards, ‘Julian asked me himself.’
To say more of her small but pivotal part in this keenly anticipated swansong would be to spoil the pleasure of many millions, not only throughout the United Kingdom but in the 200-plus territories around the world where Downton is hungrily devoured.
Patricia takes little prompting, though, to confess that she was keenly aware of the responsibility invested in her and the challenge of being the new girl in a cast who’d worked together – ‘They really were like a family’ – for the past six years. But then, for someone who has worked seamlessly across stage and screen for more than four decades, she’s perennially racked with doubt, she says, over each new role she tackles.
‘There’s a huge amount of my stuff I’ve never even looked at. I suppose I should really remind myself where I’ve gone wrong. That said, if you care and you’ve got standards, of course you’re going to have doubts. Endless self-questioning is par for the course.’
It wasn’t Patricia’s first experience of Highclere, the castle where Downton is set. ‘I filmed there at the end of the 1980s in a TV production called The Secret Life Of Ian Fleming.’ And she attended the wedding of Judy Garland’s second daughter, Lorna Luft, at Highclere.
So, what next? She hesitates. ‘Well, there’s talk of filming some bits and pieces as a sort of framework around which old episodes of Miranda can be repeated.’ Lauded for her performances in everything from Rumpole Of The Bailey and Jemima Shore Investigates to The Lives And Loves Of A She-Devil, it was many years since she’d done live audience comedy when she landed the role of Miranda’s over-the-top mother.
‘It’s honestly one of the most difficult things one can do. She’s a big personality but, in the end, I just went for it. Penny was so unexpected as the mother of Miranda. In a way, it was a slight echo of AbFab with the outrageous Edina and her altogether rather buttoned-up daughter, Saffy. But these mismatches do happen.’
And what of the real Miranda? ‘A divine girl; I enjoy her so much. Devoted is the word. But she isn’t the same as her on-screen character although to some extent that’s a mad projection of herself, a lunatic person who lurks somewhere within her.’
But she obviously struck a chord. ‘There were people who virtually had to be carried out of the recordings because they were helpless with laughter. There was one woman whose laughter was so penetrating on the soundtrack that they had to ask her to stop booking herself in every week. It finished after three series and a couple of specials. And that was right. Job done. Go out on a high.’
With the cast of MirandaNow, for both professional and personal reasons, she’s choosing her work with caution. ‘There’s an awful lot I won’t do. I avoid what I call personality stuff. I made an exception for charity by appearing with Miranda and her real-life mother on a special edition of Gogglebox. The danger of appearing as yourself is that viewers then can’t lose themselves in whatever is the new character you’re playing. Once out, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle.’
A good way of illustrating the point, she says, is the wave of Scandinavian dramas where you don’t recognise any of the actors so you simply follow the story as it unfolds. ‘If you become too famous, it’s hard to see beyond the actor. For instance, in the film Suffragette, Meryl Streep plays Emmeline Pankhurst, which makes it difficult to suspend your disbelief.’
The personal reason for her cherry-picking new roles is a sad one. At the turn of 2014, Peter Owen, her music publisher husband of almost 40 years, had to be moved into residential care as his dementia gathered pace. Patricia is both dignified and discreet when it comes to this chapter of her life. ‘Let’s just say that the last few years have been difficult for our family,’ she says.
Judging by her appearance, she seems to be coping well. An elegant woman, it’s hard to believe she’ll celebrate her 70th birthday next September. ‘I’m lucky in that I’m a natural redhead and redheads tend to have good skin.’
But she looks after herself. There’s a leisure centre in the complex where she now lives, and she swims there, 30 lengths each morning. ‘And it’s a big pool. I love it. I regard it as a form of meditation. After a couple of lengths, you’re in your own zone.’
She doesn’t stick to a rigid diet although she’s careful about what she eats. She declines afternoon tea when we meet near her southwest London home (‘I never drink it’), opting instead for hot water with a slice of lemon.
She likes a glass of wine but never drinks alone. ‘Well, there may have been a couple of occasions when I was very, very stressed. And, of course, it wasn’t the answer. But I told my younger sister, Valerie, I was pouring myself a glass because then it was a matter of record. We’re very close. She’s my confidante, the person who’s helped me tremendously over the recent challenging years.’
She allows herself the occasional treat – a massage, for instance. ‘In the spring of last year when things were really pretty grim, I started trying to write a memoir. But I wasn’t comfortable with it. Before I abandoned it, though, I took myself to what used to be called a health farm entirely on my own and I absolutely loved it.’
Ask her to nominate her favourite decade and she doesn’t hesitate. ‘I’d have to say my 40s because that’s when the boys finally arrived. Before I got pregnant with Alexander, I honestly thought I was never to know the pleasures of motherhood.’ He’s 26 now and making his way as a comedy writer and performer. His younger brother, Edward, 23, would like a career in music. ‘Also, I was beginning to get prime parts in my 40s. Being an ingénue isn’t very interesting.’
If she could give advice to her 16-year-old self, she emphasises the need for confidence. ‘Believe in yourself and that will carry you forward. I was pretty naive for a long time. I tended to take everything at face value. So it’s a good idea to acquire a sense of irony. Oh, and I’d tell the younger me not to worry about having red hair.’
Her choice of epitaph, assuming she could choose, has altered. ‘Once upon a time, it would have read “The very late Miss Hodge” on my gravestone. But that all changed when I had children.’ And now? ‘You can’t ordain the way people are going to remember you.’ She pauses. ‘But my friends have been wonderful and particularly recently, so I think I’d like them to know how much I appreciated them.’
Downton Abbey: The Finale is on ITV at 8.45pm on Christmas Day.