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.
Known for
Midsomer Murders
Eileen Carnack
Casualty
Olwyn Humphries
Call the Midwife
Phyllis Crane
Heartbeat
Beryl Palmer
The Bill
A Touch of Frost
Strike
Joan Nancarrow
Lark Rise to Candleford
Queenie Turrill
Kavanagh Q.C.
Miss Haddon QC
The Brief
Maureen Tyler
Bramwell
Maud
The Reader
Ms. Brenner
Sense and Sensibility
Mrs. Jennings
dinnerladies
Peggy
The Hours
Nelly Boxall
Grandma's House
Grandma
Spies of Warsaw
Malka Rosen
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Queenie
Calendar Girls
Cora
Dramarama
Mary Reilly
Mary's Mother
Loved Up
Mum
Oscar and Lucinda
Betty Stratton
Effie Gray
Anna
Haunted
Madame Brontski
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Eileen
Our Mutual Friend
Beautiful People
Sister
East Is East
Ella Khan
The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby
Mrs. Smike
Kinky Boots
Mel
In The Cold Light Of Day
Mrs. Loveless
The Martins
Anthea
Separate Lies
Maggie
Cass
Doll
Skallagrigg
Susan
A Village Affair
Gwen
Don Quixote
Housekeeper
This Little Life
Nurse Nina
Colour Me Kubrick
Trolley Lady
West Is West
Ella Khan
Spoonface Steinberg
Mrs. Spud
Spivs
Auntie Vee
Lounge Act
Let Him Have It
Mrs. Miles
No Bananas
Ellen Slater
Far from the Madding Crowd
Maryann Money
Carnage: Swallowing the Past
Dr Yasmine Vondenburg
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer
Mary Thornton
Waiting for the Moon
Gertrude Stein
The English Harem
Monica Pringle
Paris by Night
Janet Swanton
A Small Dance
Sandra Matkin
Careful How You Go
News Hounds
Virginia Lyddon
Alive and Kicking
Doctor
National Theatre Live: People
Iris