Linda Bassett
Linda Bassett was born in the Kentish village of Pluckley - location for the television series The Darling Buds of May (1991). She was brought up in Pimlico, South London, by her typist mother and police officer father. She became interested in acting as a child when she was frequently taken to see plays in London, most notably at the Old Vic, the famous classical theater. On leaving school, Linda went to work at the Old Vic as an usherette and catering manager, before going to read English at Leeds University. However, she dropped out after a year and became involved in a local drama group which put on plays in community-based locations, such as schools. She regards this as her theatrical schooling, having had no formal training. She made her London stage debut at the age of 32 in 1982 and, in 1991, joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Although she was a well-regarded stage performer, it was the 1999 film version of the play East Is East (1999) (in which she had been an original stage cast member) which brought her to a larger audience and, throughout the 2000s, she has been a familiar face in a variety of films and television series. In the late 1980s, she returned to live in Pluckley.
Acted in
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
2023
as Queenie
Careful How You Go
2018
Strike
2017
as Joan Nancarrow
Carnage: Swallowing the Past
2017
as Dr Yasmine Vondenburg
Effie Gray
2014
as Anna
National Theatre Live: People
2013
as Iris
Spies of Warsaw
2013
as Malka Rosen
The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby
2012
as Mrs. Smike
Call the Midwife
2012
as Phyllis Crane
West Is West
2010
as Ella Khan
Grandma's House
2010
as Grandma
The Reader
2008
as Ms. Brenner
Lark Rise to Candleford
2008
as Queenie Turrill
Cass
2008
as Doll
Sense and Sensibility
2008
as Mrs. Jennings
The English Harem
2005
as Monica Pringle
Colour Me Kubrick
2005
as Trolley Lady
Separate Lies
2005
as Maggie
Kinky Boots
2005
as Mel
Spivs
2004
as Auntie Vee
The Brief
2004
as Maureen Tyler
Calendar Girls
2003
as Cora
This Little Life
2003
as Nurse Nina
The Hours
2002
as Nelly Boxall
The Martins
2001
as Anthea
Don Quixote
2000
as Housekeeper
Lounge Act
2000
Beautiful People
1999
as Sister
East Is East
1999
as Ella Khan
dinnerladies
1998
as Peggy
Far from the Madding Crowd
1998
as Maryann Money
Spoonface Steinberg
1998
as Mrs. Spud
Our Mutual Friend
1998
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer
1998
as Mary Thornton
Oscar and Lucinda
1997
as Betty Stratton
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Eileen Carnack
Alive and Kicking
1996
as Doctor
No Bananas
1996
as Ellen Slater
Mary Reilly
1996
as Mary's Mother
Haunted
1995
as Madame Brontski
Loved Up
1995
as Mum
Bramwell
1995
as Maud
A Village Affair
1995
as Gwen
Kavanagh Q.C.
1995
as Miss Haddon QC
In The Cold Light Of Day
1994
as Mrs. Loveless
Skallagrigg
1994
as Susan
Frank Stubbs Promotes
1993
as Eileen
A Touch of Frost
1992
Heartbeat
1992
as Beryl Palmer
A Small Dance
1991
as Sandra Matkin
Let Him Have It
1991
as Mrs. Miles
News Hounds
1990
as Virginia Lyddon
Paris by Night
1989
as Janet Swanton
Waiting for the Moon
1987
as Gertrude Stein
Casualty
1986
as Olwyn Humphries
The Bill
1984
Dramarama
1983