Lady Penelope & Parker, as they appear in the original series.
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and Aloysius 'Nosey' Parker are two characters from Gerry Anderson's TV series Thunderbirds, as well as all adaptations of the show. They are, respectively, the London agent of International Rescue, and her butler/chauffeur/bodyguard/retainer.
Lady Penelope is also a renowned aristocrat, socialite, and fashion model. Parker is usually presented as being a reformed convicted bank robber, as well as dabbling in other crimes. His main skills come in lock-picking and safe-cracking.
In the original 1960s series, they are respectively voiced by the late Sylvia Anderson (the co-creator of the show, alongside Gerry) and David Graham, who also voiced Kyrano, Brains and Gordon Tracy. In the panned 2004 film, they are respectively played by Sophia Myles and Ron Cook. In the 2015 CGI reboot series, they are respectively voiced by Rosamund Pike and David Graham. Graham's reprisal of the Parker role make him the only actor to play the same character in both the original and revival series.
Parker's Biography
Parker is the present generation of a long line of loyal retainers who served the English aristocracy. He was expected to follow in his forefathers' footsteps; however, he couldn't find work and fell into league with a series of London crooks. He learnt the tricks of the trade from them, and slowly made his way up the chain and earned his nickname 'Nosey'. However, he was eventually captured and landed in prison with Fred, a reformed bank robber. Fred eventually escaped from prison to rob the Bank of England.
Following his release, Parker decided to throw in his status and to find 'proper' work. However, he was still out of luck and went back to his former ways. Whilst robbing a safe belonging to an oil tycoon, Parker was caught by Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, a young aristocrat who fancied herself as a part-time spy. Lady Penelope had heard of Parker's status in the underworld, and promised not to turn him in if he took up a working partnership with her. Parker realised that this was just what he needed, and happily agreed.
His duties included assisting her on odd jobs, being a faithful butler, and becoming the chauffeur of her pink Rolls-Royce, FAB 1. When International Rescue hired Lady Penelope as their London Agent, Parker was dragged in, too.
Parker is a valuable addition to both Lady Penelope's secret activities and International Rescue missions.
Lady Penelope's Biography
Early Life and Education
Lady Penelope was born in 2039, on Christmas Eve, to Lord Hugh and Lady Amelia Creighton-Ward. She spent her initial years with her parents at the Creighton-Ward Mansion. She moved to India along with her parents, her father having been posted there by the British government to oversee the production of tea. Penelope herself, however, suffered in the harsh climate, and was sent home on her own, being placed in the charge of a governess by the name of Miss Pemberton, whom she was particularly fond of.
Her schooling began at the illustrious Roedean School, an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 11 to 18. There she excelled academically, made firm, lifelong friendships, and was appointed head girl in her final year.
Having completed her education at Roedean, she attended finishing school in Switzerland. There she became an accomplished skier, but more impressively also developed her knowledge of French, German and Italian, speaking all three flawlessly.
Career Before International Rescue
Lady Penelope decided following her education that she did not want to spend her life as a socialite attending the functions that members of the aristocracy are traditionally expected to. Instead, capitalising on her linguistic skills, she entered the field of espionage, quickly progressing to become chief operative of the Federal Agents Bureau. It was whilst in this position that she met Jeff Tracy. Jeff went on to offer her a position within International Rescue, which Penelope accepted immediately.
Career at International Rescue
Lady Penelope is a key operative for International Rescue, playing a vital role in many a rescue mission. Her particular skills lie in subterfuge, regularly fooling unwitting villains and bystanders alike into revealing to her key information. However, she can hold her own when needed, being a skilled user of hand-held guns.
Despite these skills, given that she places herself in very direct danger, Lady Penelope has previously been captured and threatened by criminals and required rescuing herself by her colleagues. She's also been proven to be an extremely rubbish driver, as demonstrated in Vault Of Death, when she decides to drive herself to the Bank of London to rescue a man trapped in the vault and in danger of being suffocated, and Parker is driving incredibly slowly (so as to avoid his old cellmate, Light-Fingered Fred, who's recently broken out of prison). She takes over, and drives extremely erratically, almost making Parker vomit. However, in Brink Of Disaster, she is shown to be highly confident behind the wheel, shooting and presumably killing a criminal, using FAB 1's rear armaments to do the deed.
Personality
Penelope is seen as kind but a little naive. She is widely knowledgeable as seen in the reboot episode Unplugged, where she tells Parker about the Universal Grid Codex and what it was capable of. She is widely connected with connections that often help in times of crisis.
Due to her close relationship with the Tracy family, Penelope is a second-mother figure to the Tracy boys, and serves as one of their main voices of reason, especially when it comes to Scott.
Parker has a shady past which proves useful in understanding criminals, and is one of the worlds most efficient safe breakers. Despite his age, he is also very physically active and he excels in combat and stealth. He has a personal safe cracking kit, which surprisingly includes things like chalk, a car mirror, chewing gum and other "junk", so he is highly resourceful. His past criminal activities are largely unknown; but he became highly ashamed of them, referring to his past as his "misspent youth". Lady Penelope's father gave him a chance to reform, and he has since become a polite, loyal, and rather comical hero.