Lesley Nicol has opened up about her "exciting" new chapter after Downton Abbey, which ends with its third and final film, The Grand Finale, after 15 years. The actress, who plays the no-nonsense cook at the heart of the bustling downstairs kitchen, Mrs Patmore, sat down with HELLO! for an exclusive interview, this time in a luxury Mayfair hotel, where she opened up about landing a role she's been waiting years for, finding love later in life and the kindness of Highclere Castle owners Lord and Lady Carnarvon after the death of her husband.
Embracing a new chapter
As Downton closes its doors for the final time, Lesley is looking forward to swapping Mrs Patmore's kitchen for London's South Bank, having landed her first-ever role at the National Theatre in an adaptation of Noel Streatfeild’s beloved children’s novel, Ballet Shoes.
"I'm 72 and have waited a very long time to get offered a job at the National. I've always wanted to work there, so I'm thrilled," the Manchester-born actress said.
"This is a new chapter and it's a good one."
Lesley is embracing a new stage in her life in other significant ways, too. It has been three years since the death of her husband, David Heald, a spiritual healer who died unexpectedly at the age of 76 in May 2022.
"Without my husband, it's horrible. But this is a new chapter and it's a good one," said Lesley, who recently starred in ITV's powerful four-part drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, playing real-life subpostmistress Pam Stubbs, who was wrongly accused of theft. "I'm moving house, I've got a new job, I'm fit and well, so it's exciting."
After David passed away, Lesley was invited to spend Christmas at Hampshire's Highclere Castle, which provides the spectacular backdrop to Downton Abbey, by its owners, Lord and Lady Carnarvon, who first welcomed the actress and her husband to stay there after she opened the village fete in 2015.
"I was very touched by that, because we're not intimate friends," she recalled. "I thought: 'That's very brave; you could have this weeping woman for Christmas.' Lady Carnarvon is very kind."
"Things happen when they're supposed to happen. Keep your heart and your mind open and see what's coming next."
Finding love later in life
Just like her character in the drama, Lesley found love in later life, having met David when she was 50, at a reiki class he was teaching. Drawing parallels between Mrs Patmore's romantic relationship with the local farmer, Mr Mason (played by Paul Copley), and her own, she said: "For her to experience love later in life is great, and of course, in my own life, it was equally a wonderful thing to happen. It's lovely that she gets her new chapter with a lovely person."
Encouraging women not to give up on finding romance is something Lesley is passionate about. "I've spoken to women who go, 'It just hasn't happened for me,' and I go, 'Well, don't listen to people saying, “You're over 40, forget it!” Don't listen to that; it's not true,’" the actress said.
"Things happen when they're supposed to happen, in my view. So keep your heart and your mind open and see what's coming next."
Finding new passions
One of her surprising new discoveries is her passion for cooking. "I'm beginning to enjoy cooking a bit, ironically. It's taken me a very long time," she said, admitting that she's "nowhere near" as skilled as Mrs Patmore.
"I don't eat meat any more, so my mission is to try to make food that will make a meat-eater go: 'That's really nice.'"
She's also working with a personal trainer named Vlad, who "takes no prisoners". "It's really serious weights and squats," she said. "They're horrible, hideous things, but it will make me stronger, so there's less likelihood of falling. It's tough, but he's committed to making me more functional, physically."
She may be closing the book on Downton, but Lesley has plenty of chapters to enjoy in her own life. "There are still wonderful possibilities and I never want to stop working," she said. "I'm not going to retire, so if I'm allowed to keep going and doing a variety of things and I’m well enough to do it, bring it on."
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is in cinemas from 12 September.