Lesley Nicol as Mrs. Beryl Patmore, the Crawley family cook.
Mrs. Beryl Patmore is a character on the series Downton Abbey. She was played for all six seasons by actress Lesley Nicol.
The Crawley family's queen of the kitchen
Mrs. Patmore (the Mrs. was a courtesy title used for all housekeepers and cooks, despite their unmarried status) was the long time cook of Downton Abbey. She was often in charge of her own domain, which didn't always allow her to interact with the rest of the family.
In fact, she usually would only have any contact with Cora Crawley, and usually that is because she would go over the family's menus. However, later on, she would have a lot more contact with the family when she would entertain the children, always being on hand to let them lick the spoon or the plate when they would make cake.
In the first season, she was more cross and often lashing out at the kitchen maid, Daisy Robinson, but as time grew on, Daisy would later become her assistant, in helping shoulder the heavy burden of running the kitchen. This would bond them as friends, although Mrs. Patmore looked at Daisy as kind of a daughter to her.
She encouraged two others to become able to cook. She helped teach Lady Sybil to cook in preparation for her classes to become a nurse, and she also helped Alfred Nugent, a footman in the house, to cook well enough to be offered a job at the Ritz in London.
She also had medical issues, her eyesight fading due to cataracts. To help her and to keep her at Downton, the Earl of Grantham helped her by sending her to a hospital in London, which helped correct her eyesight that she wasn't blind. She also was prone to panic attacks, which also allowed her to be off her feet for a time, as she had Daisy as her assistant.
She also helped Daisy in her studies, paying for them herself, so she could better herself eventually. Mrs. Patmore was also prone to romance, as she fell for a grocer, Joe Tofton, who was quite the ladies man and he dropped her. However, she would laugh about it later on.
She would later cultivate a friendship with Mr. Mason, Daisy's father in-law, which worried her, as she (Daisy) would be afraid that she would lose both of them; but they assured her that they would always be there for her.
In the final season, Mrs. Patmore would buy a property that she would turn into a B&B in Haughton-le-Skerne, which she would be assisted by her niece, Lucy. Although she lost initial bookings when it was revealed that her first guests were an adulterous couple, Robert, Cora and his sister, Rosamund would have tea there, and elevate it to a must-go place.
At the end of the series, Mrs. Patmore was more relaxed and she and Daisy had a firm and solid friendship as well as a bond akin to Mother and Daughter. It would be presumed that she would retire to her new B&B, and help run that. She would also maintain ties with Mr. Mason, and would work to help Daisy become the new cook.