Linda Bassett (born 4 February 1950) is an English actress. Her television credits include Victoria Wood's dinnerladies (1999), Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–11), Grandma's House (2010–12) and Call the Midwife (2015–present). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1999 film East Is East and for the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for the 2013 revival of the play Roots at the Donmar Warehouse.

Early life and education

Bassett was born in Pluckley, Kent, England, to a typist mother and a police officer father. She moved to Pimlico, London, at a young age, where her passion for drama blossomed, as her family often watched classic plays at the Old Vic Theatre. Bassett worked as an usher at the Old Vic whilst a schoolgirl, before enrolling at The University of Leeds. She dropped out of university after one year to work in a community drama group.

Career

Bassett's career began in the theatre. Her first professional work was in community and educational theatre in the 1970s. In film, she first gained notice when she was cast as Gertrude Stein opposite Linda Hunt as Alice B. Toklas in Waiting for the Moon in 1987. She also appeared as Julia Roberts' mother in Mary Reilly in 1996 and had the award-winning role of Ella Khan in the 1999 British comedy film East is East. Other roles include Mrs. Brenner, the prison official in the 2008 film The Reader, Cora in Calendar Girls (March), Mrs. Jennings in the three-part BBC adaptation Sense and Sensibility, Queenie Turrill in Lark Rise to Candleford, Doll in the film Cass. More recently she played Grandma in the BBC Two comedy Grandma's House. Since 2015, she has portrayed Nurse Phyllis Crane on the BBC One drama series Call the Midwife.

Personal life

Bassett lives in Kent, in a village close to her birthplace.

Filmography

Theatre

Among her most notable stage roles were those in: