This Downton Abbey Star Has a South Carolina Connection

You know her as Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey, but for one Myrtle Beach man, she’s simply Aunt Lesley.

Actress Lesley Nicol, who plays the sassy cook on the beloved British series-turned-movie, is the aunt of Tidelands Health Director of Surgical Specialties Brent Nicol.

“It’s weird at first watching her as Mrs. Patmore. You know she’s acting because you know her and her nuances,” Brent said in a release from Tidelands Health. “She is a great actress, and it’s so much fun to watch her.”

Brent’s dad, Dr. Phil Nicol, is Lesley’s brother. He also works at Tidelands Health.

Though the family has always been supportive of Lesley’s career, Brent said that Downton Abbey has been special. Every Sunday night, the American branch of the Nicols family gathered to watch her do her thing on the drama series from an ocean away.

“That was like an event for us,” Brent recalled.

WATCH: The Downton Abbey Exhibition Is Coming to the Biltmore Estate

After six successful television seasons, the Downton Abbey movie debuted in U.S. theaters over the weekend to great fanfare, raking in more than $31 million in ticket sales.

“I don’t think anybody ever anticipated it would be a worldwide megahit. It is so much larger than we ever thought it would be,” Brent continued. “She’s so humble because she really had to work to get to this point. It’s what she loves to do. It’s great to see her have the opportunity to really enjoy it on such a successful level.”