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Beatie Edney

Beatie Edney is an English actress whose career moves easily between film, television and the stage. Born in London on 23 October 1962, she is the daughter of actress Sylvia Syms and Alan Edney. Edney first came to wider attention in 1986 as Heather MacLeod in Highlander. The role placed her at the emotional heart of the film’s centuries-spanning story, and she returned to it fourteen years later in Highlander: Endgame. Between those appearances, she built a varied screen career shaped largely by British drama, literary adaptations and mystery series. Also in 1986, Edney took a leading role in Lost Empires, appearing alongside Colin Firth. She later starred as Maud opposite Peter O’Toole in the 1989 television production Uncle Silas, shown in America as The Dark Angel. Her film work includes Bruce Beresford’s Mister Johnson, in which she appeared with Pierce Brosnan and Edward Woodward. Television has given Edney room to move through very different worlds. She played Louisa Gradgrind in the 1994 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Hard Times and had a starring role in the Channel 4 sitcom Dressing for Breakfast the following year. She has also appeared across a substantial range of British dramas, including Prime Suspect, Inspector Morse, Lewis, A Touch of Frost, Rosemary & Thyme, Wallander and two episodes of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. From 2015 to 2019, she played Prudie in the BBC One period drama Poldark. Her stage career adds another dimension to that body of work. In 2012, she played Queen Charlotte in The Madness of George III at London’s Apollo Theatre, while her other theatre appearances include The Girlfriend Experience at the Royal Court. Across these roles, Edney’s career shows a performer equally suited to period drama, crime stories, comedy and the heightened world of fantasy.