{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "@id": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/person/994133/douglas-reith",
  "name": "Douglas Reith",
  "url": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/person/994133/douglas-reith",
  "knownForDepartment": "Acting",
  "description": "Douglas Reith is a British actor and teacher. He is best known for his role as Lord Merton in the television series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), as well as its two follow-up films.\n\nReith was born in Melton, Suffolk. He studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He began acting in the late 1970s, beginning with an appearance in International Velvet (1978) alongside Tatum O'Neal and Christopher Plummer.\n\nHe worked as an announcer and presenter at BBC Radio 3 for five years before leaving to study Greats at Christ Church, Oxford for four years beginning in 1989. He worked as a teacher, including at Westminster School, before resuming his acting career.\n\nReith joined the cast of Downton Abbey as Lord Merton in 2012, and alongside the cast was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards. He reprised the role in the films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022). In 2017, Reith was cast in Tim Burton's live-action remake Dumbo (2019). In 2019, he was cast in SAS: Red Notice (2021).",
  "birthDate": "1953-07-16",
  "birthPlace": "Melton, Suffolk, England, UK",
  "image": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/48dfosYTTfngOeX00ngo0uF2tgt.jpg",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0718619"
  ],
  "lastVerified": "3 May 2026",
  "filmography": [
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 56570,
      "title": "Outlander",
      "year": "2014",
      "role": "as Professor Brown",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 8.176,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/bxBmfyzK0ARF9hqf2pbFWsddH14.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/56570/outlander-2014"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 65494,
      "title": "The Crown",
      "year": "2016",
      "role": "as Admiral Leach",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 8.186,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/1M876KPjulVwppEpldhdc8V4o68.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/65494/the-crown-2016"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 33907,
      "title": "Downton Abbey",
      "year": "2010",
      "role": "as Lord Merton",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 8.124,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/7HgDYRYjym4BwbhKaqTQq771SKb.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/33907/downton-abbey-2010"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 3469,
      "title": "Minder",
      "year": "1979",
      "role": "as Bellars",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.143,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/4s9hiyQvTaMe1bK91HRCTgDTAoF.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/3469/minder-1979"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 30504,
      "title": "Playhouse",
      "year": "1974",
      "role": "as Fitzgeorge",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/5hkYEnIuKZRSIwvVhWAKgIFv0UJ.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/30504/playhouse-1974"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 4123,
      "title": "Rumpole of the Bailey",
      "year": "1975",
      "role": "as Sergeant Downs",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.955,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/4UNZ0w9tc2T7tDbE2DO4wF718I7.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/4123/rumpole-of-the-bailey-1975"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 66671,
      "title": "Agatha Raisin",
      "year": "2016",
      "role": "as Lord Pendlebury",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.1,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/fgTaESCmIjvH503TV8t3dPu2im4.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/66671/agatha-raisin-2016"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 126660,
      "title": "Professor T",
      "year": "2021",
      "role": "as Dean",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.325,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/jJ9SjrX7tEAwHigRq20TeANhH1Q.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/126660/professor-t-2021"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 96721,
      "title": "Rush",
      "year": "2013",
      "role": "as Awards Presenter",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.736,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/95BDrWmcfJDEa2WCfjmLgi67jhi.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/96721/rush-2013"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 90670,
      "title": "Pandora",
      "year": "2019",
      "role": "as Prescott Fleming",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 5.5,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/yiFgP8qmJ44C60fKof2BIlUGiIe.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/90670/pandora-2019"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 1289936,
      "title": "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale",
      "year": "2025",
      "role": "as Lord Merton",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.1,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/m1tLlMTCwc6oK6OjWTOI4b32wnA.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/1289936/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale-2025"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 329996,
      "title": "Dumbo",
      "year": "2019",
      "role": "as Sotheby",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.59,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/279PwJAcelI4VuBtdzrZASqDPQr.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/329996/dumbo-2019"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 13398,
      "title": "Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire",
      "year": "2006",
      "role": "as Metellus",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.621,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/qMVzcLIWRqwe0TddlDG8WQMfmjx.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/13398/ancient-rome-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-empire-2006"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 820446,
      "title": "Downton Abbey: A New Era",
      "year": "2022",
      "role": "as Lord Merton",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.2,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/r5n4CLoIjUcnT3shWDi6MHdJ25a.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/820446/downton-abbey-a-new-era-2022"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 13291,
      "title": "Elizabeth I",
      "year": "2005",
      "role": "as Judge",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.247,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/dPCD0MdbMdOkbKjtLdqemM57ZH.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/13291/elizabeth-i-2005"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 535544,
      "title": "Downton Abbey",
      "year": "2019",
      "role": "as Lord Merton",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.135,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/pWt1iRuhNpeVDNP2QiUT2C5OiBt.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/535544/downton-abbey-2019"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 14287,
      "title": "Rose and Maloney",
      "year": "2002",
      "role": "Cast",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.4,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/ft95XsOwz8ksmNLTzcGowG6jFMP.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/14287/rose-and-maloney-2002"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 595743,
      "title": "SAS: Red Notice",
      "year": "2021",
      "role": "as Sir Charles Whiteside",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 5.781,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/6Y9fl8tD1xtyUrOHV2MkCYTpzgi.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/595743/sas-red-notice-2021"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 72289,
      "title": "Fearless",
      "year": "2017",
      "role": "as Justice Angus Hill",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.697,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/iqs7TM6sffX70TEri957KOINeqU.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/72289/fearless-2017"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 1165,
      "title": "The Queen",
      "year": "2006",
      "role": "as Lord Airlie",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.954,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/v08RH5Cx9EFAQMBWQuE5jHAgHYs.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/1165/the-queen-2006"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 80591,
      "title": "W.E.",
      "year": "2011",
      "role": "as Lord Brownlow",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.3,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/natLuO7NcStRln1vFWLqIYUKGwX.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/80591/w-e-2011"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 295848,
      "title": "Cold Warrior",
      "year": "1984",
      "role": "as Ferris",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7,
      "posterUrl": null,
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/295848/cold-warrior-1984"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 86705,
      "title": "The Prince and the Pauper",
      "year": "1996",
      "role": "as Chamberlain",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 9,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/ax0ug9zkYGdnLcn7FlgncZqd7ez.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/86705/the-prince-and-the-pauper-1996"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 325844,
      "title": "Serial Teachers 2",
      "year": "2015",
      "role": "as Le chef de la sécurité",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 5.3,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/mT0pVXvbwg3p7X0Q31JuLb4u74C.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/325844/serial-teachers-2-2015"
    }
  ]
}