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Maggie Steed

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Maggie Steed
Born
Margaret Baker

(1946-12-01) 1 December 1946 (age 77)
Plymouth, Devon, England
EducationBristol Old Vic Theatre School
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
Years active1970–present

Maggie Steed (born Margaret Baker; 1 December 1946) is an English actress and comedian.

Career

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After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, Steed left the theatre for several[quantify] years.[citation needed] She stated: "Actresses in those days had to be 'dolly birds' and I was just Margaret Baker from Plymouth, tall with very gappy teeth, so I became a secretary instead. It was only years later, when I'd grown up politically and become interested in theatre, that I started again and ended up at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre with Clive Russell and Sue Johnston."[1] Steed has performed with the Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and with Belt and Braces, the political theatre troupe run by Gavin Richards as well as working as a comedian in alternative cabaret.

She was one of the first women to become involved in the alternative comedy scene when it sprang into existence in 1979, and performing at the Comedy Store, with the group Alternative Cabaret and elsewhere. Her material was personal and confessional. For example, in a routine performed at an Alternative Cabaret show at the Elgin pub on 27 March 1980, she talked about the difficulties posed by taking the contraceptive pill: "So you wake up in the morning, look at the packet, what do you find? Ha ha ha ha! You've taken next Wednesday's! [murmur of laughter] And today's Thursday! And it's gonna leave a whole week you're gonna spend taking yesterday's pills – today. [laughter] And you get to the weekend, you get pissed a couple of times – and come Tuesday, you've got five pills . [laughter] Staring at you in the face, accusingly. [laughter] So you take them out, you know, and – grind 'em up [laughter] – and you have 'em on your toast for breakfast. [laughter]"[2]

Her first major television role was playing Rita Moon in the series Shine on Harvey Moon. She played Margaret Crabbe in Pie in the Sky and Phyllis Woolf in Born and Bred. Her television credits include appearances on Fox, Minder, Sensitive Skin and Jam & Jerusalem.[3]

In 2008, Steed appeared on tour in Michael Frayn's comedy Noises Off as Mrs Clackett, produced by the Ambassador Theatre Group, which included the New Victoria Theatre, Woking. The cast included Sophie Bould, Colin Baker and Jonathan Coy. In 2010 she appeared in the short film The Miserables, and the following year onstage in a comedy duo role with actress Jackie Clune in a production of The Belle's Stratagem.[4]

In April 2017, it was announced that Steed was joining the cast of EastEnders as Joyce Murray.[5] It was announced in March 2018 that her character had been written out of the series and subsequently would be killed off.[6]

Political activism

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Steed was active in the Campaign Against Racism in the Media. She appeared in an edition of the BBC's Open Door series on 1 March 1979 (with Stuart Hall) entitled "It Ain't Half Racist, Mum", criticising British television's discussion and representation of immigration and racial stereotypes.[7]

She helped write and perform in the comedy benefit concert An Evening for Nicaragua, at the Shaftesbury Theatre, which was shown on British television in 1983. The cast included Ben Elton, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Emma Thompson and Rik Mayall.[8]Steed visited Nicaragua in 1982 with Andy de la Tour.[8]

Film

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Year Title Role
1980 Babylon Woman at Lockup
1981 The History Man Myra Beamish
1987 Intimate Contact Becca Crichton
1990 Blood Rights Tess Barker
1992 Clothes in the Wardrobe Mrs. Raffald
Growing Rich Raelene
1993 Olly's Prison Ellen
1999 Simon Magus Muttchen
2000 Stardom British Fashion Reporter
2004 Lawrence of Arabia Close Doris
2006 The Painted Veil Mrs Garstin
2009 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Louis Vuitton Woman
2010 The Miserables Evelyn Pickleton
2013 A Promise Frau Hermann
Alpha: Omega Dee
2014 Pudsey the Dog: The Movie Mrs Willoughby
2016 Florence Foster Jenkins Mrs O'Flaherty
Juliet Remembered Juliet
A Cure for Wellness Mrs Abramov
2017 Transformers: The Last Knight Vivian's Grandmother
Paddington 2 Mrs Gertrude Biggleswade
2019 Fisherman's Friends Maggie
2022 Fisherman's Friends: One and All Maggie

Television

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Theatre

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References

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  1. ^ The Independent, 22 March 2000
  2. ^ Double, Oliver, Alternative Comedy: 1979 and the Reinvention of British Stand-Up, Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2020, p.135
  3. ^ "Jam and Jerusalem; Series 1 Episode 5". 22 December 2006. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  4. ^ Billington, Michael (11 September 2011). "The Belle's Stratagem – review". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Maggie Steed and Christopher Timothy 'excited' to be joining EastEnders". Belfast Telegraph. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  6. ^ Welsh, Daniel (23 March 2018). "'EastEnders' Spoilers: Joyce Murray To Be Killed Off As Maggie Steed Leaves". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  7. ^ "It Ain't Half Racist, Mum (1979)". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b "British Film Institute: An Evening for Nicaragua (1983)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
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