Raquel Cassidy is an English actress. She played the role of Phyllis Baxter in the television series Downton Abbey (2013–2015), winning a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She has reprised the role for both the 2019 feature film of the same name and its 2022 and 2025 sequels.
She has played leading roles in other television series including Teachers, Party Animals, Moving Wallpaper, Lead Balloon, The Worst Witch and The Good Karma Hospital.
Early life and education Born to a Spanish mother and an English father, she was the third child and only daughter born to the couple. Born and brought up in Fleet, Hampshire,Raquel Cassidy reopens Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice shop in Fleet | Fleet People she was educated at Farnborough Hill Convent, and then Girton College, Cambridge, where she studied modern languages. She later began a PhD in biological anthropology, but abandoned it to pursue a career in acting.
Career In an early role, Cassidy played Lola Chaves in an episode of The Bill, speaking predominantly in Spanish. In 2001, she took the role of Susan Gately in Teachers, returning for the second series in 2002. She has also played the Home Office Junior Minister Jo Porter in Party Animals, Cassie Turner in The Worst Week of My Life, Nancy Weeks in Moving Wallpaper and Mel in Lead Balloon.
In 2013, Cassidy joined the cast of Downton Abbey, playing the role of rehabilitated thief and lady's maid Phyllis Baxter for the show's final three series. In 2015, the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She reprised the role for the show's 2019 feature film, also called Downton Abbey, its 2022 sequel, Downton Abbey: A New Era, and its 2025 conclusion, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
She has subsequently played the role of Miss Hardbroom in four series of the 2017 television revival of The Worst Witch. In 2022, she appeared in series 4 of The Good Karma Hospital as Frankie Martin. In 2023, she played Maria Swanson in an episode of British crime drama series The Chelsea Detective.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 Perdie Miss Jennings Short film2002 Shooters Tess Before You Go Felicia Do I Love You? Romy 2004 Out of Time Alice Short films2005 Blake's Junction 7 Jenna Festival Petra Loewenberg 2007 Tick Tock Lullaby Maya The Boat People Alice 2008 Nightwalking Martha Short films2010 An Act of Love Catherine Bleach Rebecca 2012 Routine Vaccination Nurse2013 Wisdom Emily Eximo To Leech Mary 2014 The Ballad of Langley Lane Mother2016 The Twisted Death of a Lonely Madman Mystic-57 (voice) Two Is a Family Maitresse Gloria 2019 Downton Abbey Phyllis Baxter Cliffs of Freedom Christina Vakrinos Official Secrets Anne Emmerson 2022 Downton Abbey: A New Era Phyllis Baxter 2023 Ferryman Mother 2025 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Phyllis Baxter
Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 Killer Net P.C. Pam Boxer Mini-series; 2 episodes1999 The Bill Lola Chaves Episode: "Lola" Peak Practice Cheryl Parker Episode: "Hearts and Minds"2000 Nature Boy Ros Mini-series; episode 2 Hearts and Bones Mary Jones Episode: "Once There Was a Way to Get Back Home" Thin Ice DS Beckett Television film 2001 Table 12 Yolanda Episode: "Aphrodisiac" 2001–2002 Teachers Susan Gately Series 1 & 2; 18 episodes2003 Trust Elizabeth Blackwood Mini-series; episode 2 Red Cap Staff Sgt. Neve Kirland 5 episodes Holby City Julie Redding Episode: "Desperate Measures" Trevor's World of Sport Caroline Bradley 3 episodes 2004 The Worst Week of My Life Cassie Turner 7 episodes2005 According to Bex Chris 8 episodes Last Rights Nadine Mini-series; 3 episodes Twisted Tales Lynne Episode: "Murder Me" 2006 Comedy Lab Jane Episode: "FM" 2006–2011 Lead Balloon Mel Series 1–4; 26 episodes2007 Party Animals Jo Porter 8 episodes Britz Joy 2-part television film Sold Yvette Daniels Episode #1.32008 Casualty Monica Batchelor Episode: "Before a Fall" Agatha Christie's Poirot Maureen Summerhayes Episode: "Mrs McGinty's Dead" No Heroics Kim the Agent Episode: "Monkey Gone to Heaven" 2008–2009 Moving Wallpaper Nancy Weeks Series 1 & 2; 18 episodes 2009 New Tricks Susannah Morton Episode: "The Truth Is Out There" 2010 On Expenses House of Commons Counsel Television film2011 Land Girls Diana Granville Series 2; 5 episodes Doctor Who Miranda Cleaves Episodes: "The Rebel Flesh" & "The Almost People" DCI Banks Dr. Elizabeth Waring Episodes: "Friend of the Devil: Parts 1 & 2"2012 Midsomer Murders Diana DeQuetteville Episode: "The Dark Rider" Hustle Dr. Dana Deville Episode: "Eat Yourself Slender" A Touch of Cloth Clare Hawkchurch Episodes: "The First Case: Parts 1 & 2"2013 DI Valerie Almond 2 episodes Jo Pauline Langlois Mini-series; episode: "Notre Dame" Heading Out Sabine Episode #1.3 Law & Order: UK Lydia Smythson Episode: "Dependent" 2013–2015 Downton Abbey Phyllis Baxter Series 4–6; 23 episodes 2014 Jonathan Creek Sharon Episode: "The Letters of Septimus Noone" 2015 Vera Gloria Edwards Episode: "Shadows in the Sky" 2015–2017 Uncle Teresa Series 2 & 3; 5 episodes 2016 Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge Hayley Episode: "Grundy + Snow"2017 Silent Witness Dr. Eva Vasquez Episodes: "Awakening: Parts 1 & 2" W1A Tasmin Howard Episode #3.5 2017–2020 The Worst Witch Miss Hardbroom Series 1–4; 53 episodes 2018 Strangers Rachel Hargreaves 6 episodes2022 The Good Karma Hospital Frankie Martin Series 4; 4 episodes Safe Space Lucy Leer Episode #1.0 2023 The Chelsea Detective Maria Swanson Episode: "Golden Years" 2024 Van der Valk Anki Bergen Episode: "Hope in Amsterdam" 2026 Beyond Paradise June Harris Episode #4.2
Selected radio Year Title Role 2008 Spending My Inheritance Jo 2015 Ed Reardon's Week Suzan
Theatre Year Title Role Theatre 1997 Twelfth Night Viola Royal Court Theatre1998 Othello Desdemona National tour Threesome Ruth Old Red Lion Theatre 2002 Possible Worlds Joyce Tron Theatre 2004 Macbeth Lady Macbeth International tour 2005 Anna Karenina Anna Arkadyevna Karenina Royal Lyceum Theatre 2006 Mirandolina Mirandolina Royal Exchange Theatre 2019 Shipwreck Jools / Donald J. Trump's Secretary Almeida Theatre
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