EXCLUSIVE: From head cook to mob matriarch: Downton Abby's Lesley Nicol leaves her frying pans behind for a fiery role on The Catch

  • Lesley Nicol played the beloved cook Mrs Patmore on Downton Abbey for five years
  • Last Thursday she returned to TV as a ruthless matriarch of a mob family in the Hollywood series The Catch
  • While on Downton Abbey, the Manchester-born actress had the opportunity to welcome Kate Middleton to the set
  • Nicol, 63, says working on the period drama was a 'wonderful time' 
  • She called her new role on The Catch a 'more glam look' and says she's worked long hours with the television show 

By Gill Pringle For Dailymail.com

Published: 08:05 EST, 26 May 2016 | Updated: 02:32 EST, 27 May 2016

As Downton Abbey's beloved cook Mrs Patmore, actress Lesley Nicol toiled five years downstairs in the kitchens, and last Thursday she made a dramatic re-appearance on the small screen as the ruthless matriarch of a mob family in the Hollywood series The Catch.

'She's very different to Mrs Patmore and I finally get to have a more glam look with hair and make-up and a modern wardrobe,' says Nicol, 63, who made Los Angeles her permanent home after Downton Abbey finished last year.

Born in Manchester, Nicol showed early promise appearing in musicals and commercials with small guest roles on TV, but success was elusive. 

Lesley Nicol, 63, played the beloved cook Mrs Patmore on Downton Abbey, and she's has returned to TV as a ruthless matriarch of a mob family in the series The Catch.

Lesley Nicol, 63, played the beloved cook Mrs Patmore on Downton Abbey, and she's has returned to TV as a ruthless matriarch of a mob family in the series The Catch.

Despite playing Mrs Patmore for five years, Nicol said she still can't cook as well as her her chef character

Despite playing Mrs Patmore for five years, Nicol said she still can't cook as well as her her chef character

Nicol appeared on ABC's The Catch last week, where she had a 'more glam look' while playing the matriarch of a mob family

Nicol appeared on ABC's The Catch last week, where she had a 'more glam look' while playing the matriarch of a mob family

But it was only after she turned 50 that everything in her life began to click, falling in love with spiritual therapist David Keith Heald who uses the professional name of Da'Aboth Te'He'Ling.

Soon after their marriage ten years ago, she became the face of Tetley Tea in a series of commercials, even appearing in one with Sex and The City's Kim Cattrall, before being cast in Downton Abbey.

'Downton Abbey was wonderful for me, but I never imagined I'd end up living in Hollywood,' she says when Daily Mail Online met her at The British residence in Los Angeles where she attended a BritWeek Royal cookery event. 

Nicol and her husband were first introduced by a mutual friend at a dinner party, and as much as they are enjoying red carpet events and parties, it's the simpler pleasures Nicol enjoys most in her new life.

'If its not a workday, we'll be walking the dogs. My husband teaches his martial arts on Ventura Boulevard near our home.

'We don't live a fancy life. We come to events like this which we enjoy but otherwise it's very normal. We have a friend in Malibu and take the dogs to the beach and just enjoy life in general.

Nicol, pictured with Paul Copley as Mr Mason on Downton Abbey, was once the face of Tetley Tea in a series of commercials

Nicol, pictured with Paul Copley as Mr Mason on Downton Abbey, was once the face of Tetley Tea in a series of commercials

Nicol, pictured second left with fellow Downton Abbey actors at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January, moved to Los Angeles after the series ended

Nicol, pictured second left with fellow Downton Abbey actors at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January, moved to Los Angeles after the series ended

She added of her new series The Catch: 'I like that every day is different. Yesterday I went to work very early and didn't wrap till midnight because the hours here are very long, not like in England.'

Despite five years spent playing the head cook on Downton Abbey, Nicol says she's useless in the kitchen.

'I might have made a rock cake in 1960, I think,' she laughs.

'But I do make my dogs biscuits and the only reason is that a lady who looked after them gave me the recipe. They're gluten free - which is very LA! She told me that the store bought dog biscuits were full of bad stuff, so now I make my own - but that's my only claim to fame in the baking department!

'I can follow a recipe, but my husband can really cook. He's an instinctive cook and doesn't have to follow directions whereas I have to measure everything. 

'I'm not a relaxed cook but I can fool everyone on the show. I've learned that what makes you look efficient in the kitchen is speed and to never do anything where they can catch you out.' 

Nicol, pictured above in a scene from The Catch, says that she escapes being recognized by strangers in public now that she's in the United States

Nicol, pictured above in a scene from The Catch, says that she escapes being recognized by strangers in public now that she's in the United States

Her five years of working on Downton Abbey enabled her to rub shoulders with real members of the Royal family: 'I met Kate Middleton last year. She came to the Downton Abbey set and we had a chat with her in the kitchen. 

'I've met Prince Charles because Camilla and I are connected to the Medical Detection Dogs charity. We went to St James Palace with a dog who detects signs of cancer by smell and Camilla wanted Charles to see a demonstration. Its just amazing how these dogs can pick the sample which has cancer in it.' 

As one of the most recognizable faces on TV, she often escapes recognition in the United States, but it's a different story if she is with any of her cast-mates.

'I was with Sophie McShera who plays Daisy and we were recognized by a lady from New Zealand at ground zero and that was odd, and then by a rural farmer in the middle of the countryside in China because 160 million people in China watch Downton Abbey apparently. It's bewildering to consider.' 

She met her husband, spiritual therapist David Keith Heald who uses the professional name of Da'Aboth Te'He'Ling (pictured on May 14), through a mutual friend at a dinner party

She met her husband, spiritual therapist David Keith Heald who uses the professional name of Da'Aboth Te'He'Ling (pictured on May 14), through a mutual friend at a dinner party

 

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