Cast & creator
Linda Bassett
Best known for Midsomer Murders, Casualty, American Playhouse
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.
Also known as: لیندا باست
38
film credits
25
television credits
63
1982–2026 · acting roles
6.6
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (63)
Showing 63 of 63 credits
Midsomer Murders
Eileen Carnack
1997
Casualty
Olwyn Humphries
1986
American Playhouse
Gertrude Stein
1982
Call the Midwife
Phyllis Crane
2012Call the Midwife
Nurse Phyllis Crane
2012
The Bill
1984
Heartbeat
Beryl Palmer
1992
A Touch of Frost
Mrs Cornish
1992
Strike
Joan Nancarrow
2017
Kavanagh Q.C.
Miss Haddon QC
1995
Lark Rise to Candleford
Queenie Turrill
2008
Dramarama
Meg Crawford
1983
Sense and Sensibility
Mrs. Jennings
2008
The Reader
Ms. Brenner
2008
Bramwell
Maud
1995
dinnerladies
Peggy
1998
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Eileen
1993
The Hours
Nelly Boxall
2002
Our Mutual Friend
Abby Potterson
1998
Traffik
Rachel Lithgow
1989
Calendar Girls
Cora
2003
Kinky Boots
Mel
2005
Spies of Warsaw
Maika Rosen
2013
Grandma's House
Grandma Lily
2010
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Queenie
2023
Far from the Madding Crowd
Maryann Money
1998
No Bananas
Ellen Slater
1996
Effie Gray
Anna
2014
Mary Reilly
Mary's Mother
1996
Haunted
Madame Brontski
1995
The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby
Mrs. Smike
2012
Separate Lies
Maggie
2005
Oscar and Lucinda
Betty Stratton
1997
The Brief
Maureen Tyler
2004
Let Him Have It
Mrs. Miles
1991
Carnage: Swallowing the Past
Dr Yasmine Vondenburg
2017
Cass
Doll
2008
Alive and Kicking
Doctor
1996
Colour Me Kubrick
Trolley Lady
2005
East Is East
Ella Khan
1999
Waiting for the Moon
Gertrude Stein
1987
Don Quixote
Housekeeper
2000
Spivs
Auntie Vee
2004
Far from the Madding Crowd
Maryann Money
1998Lounge Act
2000
This Little Life
Nurse Nina
2003
Paris by Night
Janet Swanton
1989
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer
Mary Thornton
1998
West Is West
Ella Khan
2010
Careful How You Go
2018
Spoonface Steinberg
Mrs. Spud
1998Out of Hours
Carol-Anne Kumar
1998
Beautiful People
Sister
1999
In The Cold Light Of Day
Mrs. Loveless
1994
National Theatre Live: People
Iris
2013
A Village Affair
Gwen
1995
A Small Dance
Sandra Matkin
1991
The Martins
Anthea
2001
Bare Roots
Sue
2026
Loved Up
Mum
1995
News Hounds
Virginia Lyddon
1990The English Harem
Monica Pringle
2005
Skallagrigg
Susan
1994