Patricia Hodge in Marble Hall Murders: Roles & Career

Actor profile

Career and selected work

Patricia Hodge is an English actor with a long career across theatre and screen. Rumpole of the Bailey, Jemima Shore Investigates and Miranda provide three widely recognisable television roles: a barrister, an investigator and a comic mother. In All Creatures Great and Small she plays Mrs Pumphrey. Film viewers can turn to Betrayal, while The Life and Loves of a She-Devil offers another distinctive television performance.

For a viewer arriving through Marble Hall Murders, the range of these roles is the useful point. Hodge’s association with confident or socially established characters can create an immediate expectation, but each production gives that presence a different purpose. Try comparing a scene from Miranda with one from a dramatic role and consider how the rhythm of an exchange changes. The credits below are a selected route through her work rather than a hierarchy of importance. A long-running character and a single film role offer different opportunities to get to know a performance.

Six roles to explore

Rumpole of the Bailey (1978–1992) — Phyllida Erskine-Brown.
Betrayal (1983) — Emma.
Jemima Shore Investigates (1983) — Jemima Shore.
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1986) — Mary Fisher.
Miranda (2009–2015) — Penny.
All Creatures Great and Small (from 2021) — Mrs Pumphrey.

In the Susan Ryeland adaptations

Hodge plays Miriam Crace in the contemporary family history and Lady Margaret Chalfont in Pünd’s Last Case. Miriam is a celebrated children’s author whose legacy is part of Susan’s investigation. Lady Margaret belongs to the fictional world Susan is reading. Their shared performer encourages comparison between two influential women and the households around them. Keep the names and family relationships separate, then notice which details the manuscript changes. Susan’s task involves reading a book closely, but that does not make every fictional event an exact record of something that happened in the Crace family.

Where to watch and explore next

Explore the Susan Ryeland episodes. Check local streaming services for other roles before subscribing. Use the year and character to identify the right production.

The character links below lead into the story guides. Endings stay in closed sections. Open them when you are ready for spoilers. Watching for the first time? Follow the episodes in order. Rewatching? Compare the performances across the two worlds.

Characters played

On stage

Hodge’s stage credits include Mrs Coulter in His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and Dotty Otley/Mrs Clackett in Noises Off, directed by Jeremy Sams. These theatre credits offer a different perspective on the range of her character work.

Source: Independent Talent: Patricia Hodge. Checked 19 October 2026.