Lisa Palfrey (born 9 February 1967) is a Welsh actress. She is known for playing the roles of Gwenny in ''

House of America ''House of America'' is a 1997 British film directed by Marc Evans. The film, set in a depressed Welsh mining town, centres on a dysfunctional family unit of brothers Boyo and Sid, their sister Gwenny and their controlling mother. The film tack ...

'' (1997), Mrs Nice in ''

Guest House Paradiso ''Guest House Paradiso'' is a 1999 British slapstick film, slapstick black comedy film written by and starring comic duo Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, Adrian Edmondson, who also directed in his film directorial debut. The film is a Spin-off (med ...

'' (1999), Maureen in ''Pride'' (2014), Mrs Dai Bread 1 in ''Under Milk Wood'' (2015), Cynthia in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

original

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series ''Sex Education'' and Eleanor James in the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

original

series '' COBRA''.

Early life

Palfrey was born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 9 February 1967, her mother is Eiry Palfrey, an actress and author. She attended

Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari Ysgol Llanhari is a Welsh-medium school for 3-19 year olds situated in the village of Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. History Llanhari is one of the Welsh medium secondary schools in the area, having opened in 1974. It followed Ysgol Gyfu ...

, a Welsh language secondary school near

Pontyclun Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a village and community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Like the surrounding towns, it has seen a sharp increase in its population in the last ten years as people migrate south from the So ...

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 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

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 ''The Englishman who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain'' is a 1995 romantic comedy film with a story by Ifor David Monger and Ivor Monger, written and directed by Christopher Monger. It was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film F ...

''. She has gone on to star in the

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

'', and appeared as Melanie Collier in the

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

series ''Casualty'' as well as Inspector Tracey McAndrew in the third series of the

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

series ''

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. On 26 June 2012, BBC Two began to broadcast the first series; it was its best-performing drama series in ten years wit ...

''. She played the role of Rhiannedd Frost in the Welsh

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Pobol y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales and l ...

''. Palfrey has performed in a number of plays, including the original production of David Eldridge's ''

Festen ''The Celebration'' ( da, Festen) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday, juggling subjects of ...

'', ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perfo ...

'', ''

Under The Blue Sky ''Under the Blue Sky'' is a three- act play written by David Eldridge. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 14 September 2000, directed by Rufus Norris. Original West End production The original West End production opened at the ...

'', and Tom Wells's ''The Kitchen Sink''. In 2019, Palfrey played the role of Cynthia in the

original series ''Sex Education''. In 2020, Palfrey played the role of

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

Eleanor James in the

original

drama series '' COBRA'', written by Ben Richards and starring

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...

as British Prime Minister Robert Sutherland. She played the part of Pam Green in the BBC Drama Chloe in 2022.

Personal life

Palfrey has a daughter, Lowri Palfrey, who is also an actress.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video game

* ''Doctor Who: Attack of the Graske'' (2005), as Mum

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palfrey, Lisa Living people Welsh soap opera actresses Welsh television actresses People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg Welsh film actresses 1967 births