Ella Maisy Purvis: 'There is so much more action, wit and tension this season.' (Photographer, David Reiss; Hair & Make-Up, Maria Comparetto; Styling, Harriet Nicolson)

Ella Maisy Purvis On Starring In Patience Series 2

Ella Maisy Purvis: 'There is so much more action, wit and tension this season.' (Photographer, David Reiss; Hair & Make-Up, Maria Comparetto; Styling, Harriet Nicolson)

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Ella Maisy Purvis On Starring In Patience Series 2

By Olivia Emily

2 hours ago

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Centring on an autistic woman with a quirky name, police procedural drama Patience was one of Channel 4’s most-watched original dramas of 2025 – and series 2 is finally here. We sat down with lead star Ella Maisy Purvis at the end of 2025 to get the inside scoop.

Ella Maisy Purvis sitting on a chair in a suit

‘hen you’re so in the thick of making something, you almost don’t think about the final product.’ (Photographer, David Reiss; Hair & Make-Up, Maria Comparetto;
Styling, Harriet Nicolson)

Q&A: Ella Maisy Purvis On Patience Series 2

Hi Ella, how’s life going at the moment?

Life is good! We finished filming season 2 a couple of months ago, and it’s still so nice to be having a rest, waking up when your body wants to wake up. I’ve been doing lots of life admin and catching up with friends and family, and now it’s Christmas so I don’t feel guilty for doing absolutely nothing!

Patience is about to return for a second series. How does it feel to be returning?

It’s funny when you work on a show, because you don’t really see it [until it is complete]. The when you finally see it and you’re like, ‘oh, that’s what we were doing! It looks great!’

I’m really excited. There is so much more action, wit and tension this season. I’m excited to see the full series, because I’ve only seen episode one!

Can you give us an elevator pitch for the show?

Nosy parker doesn’t take no for an answer, and looks really cool whilst doing it.

Patience Evans (Ella Maisy Purvis) in Patience. (Channel 4)

What do we have in store for series 2?

There’s a lot more action, and we’ve got the lovely Jessica Hines who looks fantastic. She is just so good at all of the physical stuff – chase scenes, elbowing… She is badass. And we’ve still got the background of these Agatha Christie-like crimes, but I think we see a lot more into Patience’s personal and romantic life. It gets quite heavy for her, and we see how she deals with that in real time, but with a different support system than in season 1.

The first series was so well received. Did you think it would be renewed, and that people would love it as much as they did?

No, and when you’re so in the thick of making something, you almost don’t think about the final product. I am just so grateful that people loved it as much as we loved making it, because it was so, so much fun. We just laughed and had such a lovely time. I made some really deep friendships on the shoot, and it’s just an added bonus that audiences loved it, too.

How would you describe Patience, and what was it like to return to the character?

I would describe her as fiercely driven. She is really emotional, but I don’t mean that in a negative way, I mean that she feels things really deeply. Whether she knows it or not, she’s very witty and sharp. Even if she doesn’t intentionally make a joke, she is quite dry and sarcastic. And she’s face value: what you see is what you get.

How has she changed or developed since the start of series 1?

We’ve seen her settle into a new routine, but then we learn that Detective Bea (Laura Fraser) has taken some time off. Patience has grown closer with the team, and she is carrying on her usual work in aiding the police and has grown in confidence. But then we immediately get hit with the information that Detective Bea isn’t coming back, and this new woman walks in, insults Patience and kind of dismisses her. But what’s lovely is she’s not back to square one, because she has really grown. We see a lot of what Detective Bea and their relationship taught her throughout the season. Even though she’s gone, she’s still very much felt through Patience.

This series you’re joined at the fore by Jessica Hynes. What was it like welcoming her into the fold?

You get that ‘person off the telly’ feeling. I first met her in the chemistry reads. She’s hilarious, and her sense of humour is so distinct, so when I first met her I just wanted to make her laugh. And we did, we laughed so much! She fitted in perfectly. Working with her was a real treat.

Any standout moments from filming series 2?

We did a lot of karaoke! We filmed mostly in Belgium, and there’s an Irish sports bar in Ghent in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of town, and we went there religiously and did karaoke, me and Jess. Sometimes Nathan [Welsh; aka DS Jake Hunter] would come, if we managed to drag him out. It was brilliant, just singing our hearts out after work. We also did a wall sit competition throughout the shoot, and Jess and I got quite competitive! But I think the standout moments were just laughing so much everyday. It’s not like it’s a really serious, dark show, but it is a police procedural, so there is a lot of information, murders, stats that you need to get out… A scene is not meant to be funny, but it’s then hilarious because it’s 4pm and you’ve been up for hours and hours and it’s boiling hot and you’ve got Mark Benton giving you a wry smile from across the room.

‘When I first met Jessica Hynes, I just wanted to make her laugh.’ (Photographer, David Reiss; Hair & Make-Up, Maria Comparetto;
Styling, Harriet Nicolson)

How did you find filming in Belgium? Any standout filming locations?

Luckily all the episodes are framed around these beautiful locations. We filmed in a gorgeous greenhouse and a mansion in the middle of the countryside. We stayed in a lovely little hotel with loads of fairy lights, and we would sit around a little table in the middle of nowhere in Belgium, and think, ‘God, this is beautiful’.

As for a favourite, there’s an episode where we’re in a monastery, and there were real monks there which was funny because I didn’t know whether I should introduce myself. Like, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know if you’re a supporting artist in costume or you actually live in this monastery!

How has it felt to be leading the series, especially one with such important neurodivergent representation?

It was quite scary, because you sort of suddenly become the spokesperson for autistic women. No one person can encapsulate every experience of every autistic person, but it inevitably happens. I definitely felt the pressure. I also just didn’t know much about filming in season 1! What everything meant, what order things happen… So coming into season 2, I felt more relaxed. I knew my onions, and I didn’t feel the pressure from myself to get it right.

Anything in series 2 that you’re really excited for people to see?

Just meeting Frankie [Hynes], really, and seeing that Patience doesn’t just sit back and take it. She doesn’t just allow people to be rude to her, which I think a lot of people would expect from her. I’m excited for people to learn that you don’t get to walk all over the people that you deem an outsider. You don’t get to tell them what to do and just write them off. That’s not how it works.

Also her lovely romance with Elliot! It’s fun to show a young autistic woman in love – or lust, or whatever! It’s really good to show that she’s not a child, she’s a grown woman with a job and responsibilities.

Any other roles in the pipeline that you’re excited about? (If you’re allowed to tell us!)

All I’ll say is that I’m really excited for the year ahead! It’s so nice to know that you’ve got work, and a lovely feeling being able to take a break knowing that you don’t have to panic about finding something else. That’s something I’m really excited by.

Anything you can tease about the possibility of Patience series 3?

Listen, they don’t tell me anything! Purposefully, because I will tell anyone anything unprompted. When we were doing season 2, I was hounding the producers for scripts and storylines, and they were like, ‘We haven’t written them’. I was like, ‘I think you’re lying…’ And they were! They had written them, they just didn’t tell me because they know that I always send scripts to my dad which isn’t allowed, really. Actually, he’s got a cameo in episode 2. He came over [to Belgium] for his 60th birthday, so they put him in this hazmat suit and had him walking on set with the lovely Tom Lewis who plays Elliot. He was chuffed.

‘I would sell my first born to play someone raised by wolves.’ (Photographer, David Reiss; Hair & Make-Up, Maria Comparetto;
Styling, Harriet Nicolson)

Who has been your favourite actor to work with in the past?

Probably Mark Benton. He has such a gorgeous, generous energy, and not just when the cameras are rolling. He’s just the loveliest man. When you’re having a bad day and you know that Mark’s on set, immediately you feel more relaxed. He’s really easy going, and I aspire to be like that because there’s nothing worse than a stressy set. They are naturally stressful anyway!

What’s a genre you’d like to do more of?

I would sell my first born to play someone raised by wolves, or some sort of creature or non human thing. Someone with no inhibitions that sort of scrounges around in the dirt. I’d love to do some really physical work, just roll out of bed and be really feral – that would make me the happiest chap. And I think I would do it quite well! If I don’t have to sit at a table, I will eat my food kind of squatted on the floor like Gollum. I don’t have much of a filter. I think it would probably be nice to just scuttle around. I don’t know what genre that is, though. Fantasy?

Who is an actor, writer or director you’d love to work with?

Patsy Ferren. She is fantastic. Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Bateman, Riz Ahmed… But when you are an actor you have lots of actor friends, and I would just love to be in a long running sitcom with all of my pals, selfishly. Something like The Office. Luckily, I do work with friends on Patience: the lovely Nathan Welsh and Ali Ariaie. We’ve got group chats that we send silly things to, and we always try to meet up for dinner. I usually say ‘thanks dads’ if they give me advice on things, because they’re like my two dads.

What do you like to do in your down time?

I love yoga. I’ve started building a Lego cat with my friend. Shopping – I’m a real sucker for candle shopping and charity shops. I’ll go in and say, ‘Well, I think I need this.’ And it’s some awful floral printed shirt from an old lady. And I’m like, ‘No, but I think I could make this work.’

Do you live in the town or the country? Which do you prefer?

I prefer being in places where I know nobody can physically bother me if I want them to. I like being unreachable by email or phone. I love squirrels and tiny birds, goats, pigeons, foxes, sheep and cows, and I would love to, one day, move to the middle of nowhere. I love people and I’m a very social person, but I also love solitude and my own time and being amongst small animals with silly faces.

How do you find balance in your personal and work lives?

It’s hard because you make friends and your work life becomes your personal life… It’s really refreshing to have personal life drama. That’s one thing that I really miss and something that I’ve oddly become grateful for. Something like isn’t work, like ‘Oh my god, they fell out, and they’ve broken up, and I think they like me’. Things like that. It’s really refreshing.

I think I just aspire to be as generous and friendly as I am in my personal life in my work life, too. I just want everybody to get along! But it can be hard to find a balance when you’re basically living with people for six months at a time.

How can we all live a little bit better?

Get off your phone. Stop taking selfies. Write really bad poems, or just write. Say thank you to the sun and the moon and the birds and the crows and the squirrels. Use cash more and buy house plants.