Carol Buchanan Royle (born 10 February 1954) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Jenny Russell in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom '' Life Without George'' (1987—1989) and Lady Patricia Brewster in '' Heartbeat'' (1997—2003).

Early life

Born in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, the daughter of actor Derek Royle, Carol Royle studied drama at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

Career

Making her screen debut in 45 episodes of '' The Cedar Tree'' from 1977 to 1978, Royle went on to become known for her role as Jenny Russell in the

sitcom '' Life Without George'', which ran for three series from 1987 to 1989, as well as her role in

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

's 1960s-based drama '' Heartbeat'', in which she played Austin Healey-driving Lady Patricia Brewster in four episodes. In 1989, she appeared in the prominent role of Jessica in '' Blackeyes'', written by Dennis Potter. Other television shows Royle has appeared in are ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

'', '' The Professionals'', '' Bergerac'', '' Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense'', ''

Cribb ''Cribb'' (''Sergeant Cribb'' in North America) is a television police drama, which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the United Kingdom. Later, thirteen 50-minute episodes were produced, which ran from 1980 to ...

'', '' Crossroads'', '' The Outsider'', ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', '' Ladies in Charge'', '' Crime Traveller'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', and ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

''. Her film career includes roles in ''

The Greek Tycoon ''The Greek Tycoon'' is a 1978 American biographical romantic drama film, of the ''roman à clef'' type, directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by Morton S. Fine is based on a story by Fine, Nico Mastorakis, and Win Wells, who loosely ...

'' (1978) and ''Tuxedo Warrior'' (1982). From 2019 to 2023, Royle played Mrs Bright in the Inspector Morse prequel '' Endeavour'', appearing in five episodes of the series.

Personal life

Royle married musician Julian Spear, son of actor Bernard Spear, in 1977. They had two children, Taran, the drummer in the band Anonymous Tip, and Talitha. Spear suffered a brain haemorrhage and died on 9 December 2024. Her younger sister Amanda Royle is also an actress. The two played sisters in the 1990 ''Casualty'' episode "Say It With Flowers".

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Carol Royle
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royle, Carol English film actresses English soap opera actresses English television actresses Actresses from Blackpool Living people 1954 births