Acting
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.
Filmography
Bare Roots
Film · 2026
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Film · 2023
Careful How You Go
Film · 2018
Carnage: Swallowing the Past
Film · 2017
Strike
Series · 2017
Effie Gray
Film · 2014
National Theatre Live: People
Film · 2013
Spies of Warsaw
Series · 2013
Call the Midwife
Series · 2012
The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby
Series · 2012
Call the Midwife
Series · 2012
West Is West
Film · 2010
Grandma's House
Series · 2010
Cass
Film · 2008
The Reader
Film · 2008
Lark Rise to Candleford
Series · 2008
Sense and Sensibility
Series · 2008
Kinky Boots
Film · 2005
The English Harem
Film · 2005
Colour Me Kubrick
Film · 2005
Separate Lies
Film · 2005
Spivs
Film · 2004
The Brief
Series · 2004
Calendar Girls
Film · 2003
This Little Life
Film · 2003
The Hours
Film · 2002
The Martins
Film · 2001
Lounge Act
Film · 2000
Don Quixote
Film · 2000
East Is East
Film · 1999
Beautiful People
Film · 1999
Spoonface Steinberg
Film · 1998
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer
Film · 1998
Far from the Madding Crowd
Film · 1998
dinnerladies
Series · 1998
Our Mutual Friend
Series · 1998
Far from the Madding Crowd
Series · 1998
Out of Hours
Series · 1998
Oscar and Lucinda
Film · 1997
Midsomer Murders
Series · 1997
Mary Reilly
Film · 1996
Alive and Kicking
Film · 1996
No Bananas
Series · 1996
Loved Up
Film · 1995
A Village Affair
Film · 1995
Haunted
Film · 1995
Bramwell
Series · 1995
Kavanagh Q.C.
Series · 1995
In The Cold Light Of Day
Film · 1994
Skallagrigg
Film · 1994
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Series · 1993
A Touch of Frost
Series · 1992
Heartbeat
Series · 1992
A Small Dance
Film · 1991
Let Him Have It
Film · 1991
News Hounds
Film · 1990
Paris by Night
Film · 1989
Traffik
Series · 1989
Waiting for the Moon
Film · 1987
Casualty
Series · 1986
The Bill
Series · 1984
Dramarama
Series · 1983
American Playhouse
Series · 1982