Lesley Manville is the woman of the hour having won Best Actress at the Olivier Awards for her astonishing performance in the Greek tragedy Oedipus. The actress has gone from strength-to-strength in her recent career, landing major roles to huge success - and she knows how to choose some amazing projects.
From BBC crime dramas to jaunts to Paris, here are our top picks of the best of Lesley's TV shows and movies over the years…
© Jonathan HessionMoonflower Murders (2024) - BBC iPlayer
Adapted from the bestselling novel by Anthony Horowitz, this story within a story appeals to both TV fans and book lovers, as it follows Lesley as Susan Ryeland, a book editor who is forced to solve the 'real' murder hidden in the pages of her most disagreeable author Alan Conway's detective series.
The series also had Magpie Murders, and has recently announced that a third tale, the Marble Hall Murders, is on the way.
© Jack MerrimanSherwood (2022) - BBC iPlayer
Starring David Morrissey and Lorraine Ashbourne, this gripping drama follows a community still struggling following the miners' strike, when two murders rock the already divided community. In the show, Lesley plays Julie Jackson in a truly affecting role.
© Photo Credit: Keith Bernstein,NetflixThe Crown (2016 - 2023) - Netflix
Although the show began back in 2016, Lesley joins in season five in 2022 as the more senior incarnation of Princess Margaret, as she deals with struggles with poor health after having a series of strokes in her older age.
The portrayal is simply heartbreaking as it looks at the famously vibrant Princess struggling to hold onto her lifestyle - so be sure to have some tissues at the ready.
© AmazonCitadel (2023) - Prime Video
A slight change of pace sees the lovely Lesley turn into a villain as Dahlia Archer in this gloriously silly (and we suspect expensive) spy thriller starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra. In the show, a group of elite spies are either killed or have their memories wiped after a mole leaks their identities - but who can be trusted?
© PA Images via Getty ImagesMrs Harris Goes to Paris (2022) - Channel 4
Be ready to sob with joy at Lesley's beautiful movie about a widowed cleaning lady who becomes enamoured with the idea of owning her own Dior gown. After an unexpected windfall, Mrs Harris travels to Paris to fulfill her dream come true, making the lives of everyone around her better along the way.
Life After Life (2022) - BBC iPlayer
Perhaps one of iPlayer's biggest hidden gems, this charming novel adaptation has a 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and looks at the life of Ursula Todd, a young woman who lives and dies again and again against the backdrop of World War II. Lesley serves as a sympathetic narrator overseeing the beautiful tale.
