Dorothy Atkinson

Dorothy Caroline Atkinson (born 1966) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared in several plays by playwright Alan Ayckbourn and in films by Mike Leigh, including Topsy-Turvy, All or Nothing, and Mr. Turner, which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and for which she was nominated for the BIFA for Best Supporting Actress.

In television, she has appeared as Zoe Parrish on ITV drama London's Burning, Jane Sutton in the BBC One drama Call the Midwife, Pauline in the BBC Two sitcom Mum, Florence Scanwell in the ITV Encore drama Harlots, and Mary Pennyworth in the Epix/HBO Max drama Pennyworth. An April 2021 announcement stated that Atkinson would be joining the cast of the second series of All Creatures Great and Small as Diana Brompton.

Personal life Atkinson is from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England. Her father was a bursar for a school in Nottinghamshire and she has one sister. Her nickname is "Dot". She is married to actor Martin Savage and they have one son. In July 2026, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Nottingham Trent University.

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1997 Keep the Aspidistra Flying Dora 1999 Topsy-Turvy Jessie Bond2002 All or Nothing Silent Passenger The Final Curtain Betty (Contestant) 2004 Every Time You Look at Me Receptionist TV film 2005 Look at Me I'm Beautiful Annie Joplin Short film 2006 Housewife, 49 Mrs. Mac TV film2009 May Contain Nuts Mrs. Whimhurst TV film Mid Life Christmas Kerry Perry TV film 2010 Chatroom Emily's Mother2014 Mr. Turner Hannah Danby That Day We Sang Gertrude Riall TV film 2015 Peter and Wendy Nurse Doyle TV film 2017 The Mercy Eve Tetley 2018 Peterloo Singing Weaver 2019 The Sands of Venus Phyllida Short film 2021 The Electrical Life of Louis Wain Mrs. DuFrayne 2023 Saltburn Paula Quick

Television

Theatre Atkinson has performed many shows at the Stephen Joseph Theatre with Alan Ayckbourn, including The Boy Who Fell Into a Book, in which she originated the role of the Queen in 1998.

In 2002, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Eden End as Lillian, by the Barclays Theatre Awards, an award recognising regional British theatre.

In 2003, she played Marie in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Beauty and the Beast by Laurence Boswell.

In 2006, Atkinson played Nora in Epitaph for George Dillon at the Comedy Theatre, and in 2007 the Woman in A Matter of Life and Death at the National Theatre.

In 2009, she played Vera in Just Between Ourselves by Alan Ayckbourn at Northampton's Royal & Derngate Theatre.

Atkinson made her Broadway debut in the 2010 production of Brief Encounter, playing three roles (Dolly/Hermione/Beryl). This production was conceived originally with the Kneehigh Theatre Company (of which she is a member) and she stayed with the show when it moved to New York.