She performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in its 2001–2002 and 2003–2004 seasons. She appeared in
The Roman Actor opposite Sir
Antony Sher. From 2003 to 2005, she was a regular cast member of ITV's
The Royal in which she played Nurse Samantha Beaumont. In 2005, Madeley appeared in three London productions (
Laura Wade's
Colder Than Here, as well as
The Philanthropist and ''
The Cosmonaut's Last Message...'', both at the
Donmar Warehouse), and rounded off the year starring as both Aaron and Young Alexander Ashbrook in the original
Royal National Theatre production of
Helen Edmundson's
Coram Boy. In 2006, she starred in two BBC TV films – as the title character in
The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton, and in the original drama
Aftersun – and the high-profile ITV drama
The Outsiders. In early 2007 she was a central character in the second episode of “
Lewis”, and she also appeared in
Channel 4's
Consent, which combined a dramatised vignette about an alleged
date rape with a "real life" sequence in which lawyers and a jury made up of members of the public participated in a trial. In February 2007, she played Nina in a production of
The Seagull as an understudy when the original actress fell ill. Madeley was the only cast member to reprise her role in Grindley's 2009 Broadway production of
The Philanthropist. In 2010, Madeley appeared in
The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, based on a script by Jane English, and starring
Maxine Peake as
Anne Lister, a 19th-century industrialist who was Britain's "first modern
lesbian" and who kept a detailed journal. The film was shown on the opening night at the
Frameline Film Festival at the
Castro Theatre in
San Francisco in June 2010. In January 2013, Madeley starred in
Hammer Films' first live theatre play, a new stage adaptation of
The Turn of the Screw. In 2016, she played the role of
Clarissa Eden in the
Netflix series
The Crown. In 2018, she played the role of Marie Stahlbaum, the late mother to the protagonist, Clara, and the queen of the magical land Clara discovers in the fantasy/adventure film
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. In 2020, she played Kate Kendrick in
Deadwater Fell and was cast as housekeeper Audrey Hall in the remake of
All Creatures Great and Small. ==Personal life==