Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham played many roles during her five-decade professional career, but became synonymous with one. "Being a mum making gravy was not quite how I had seen my career advancing," she said once. But between 1983 and 1999 that's what she did in 42 "episodes" of an award-winning TV ad. Since the early 1980s, her name was rarely mentioned in print without it being prefaced with "Oxo mum". During her career, though, she starred on TV as the vet's wife Helen Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small in the 80s and as one of two divorcees trying to forge a relationship in the 90s sitcom Second Thoughts, opposite James Bolam. On stage she was best known for playing the lead in a touring production of Calendar Girls between 2008 and 2012. She was also, for four years between 2007 and 2011, a regular member of the team on Loose Women, the daytime TV chat show. She had few regrets about how her career turned out, summarising its trajectory thus on her website: "Arrived in London at the Central School [for Speech and Drama] in 1966 and never looked back. I had a ball!" Bellingham, though, knew that gravy, like Lady Macbeth's damned spot, left an indelible mark. "In many ways I was very proud of what we did, but there is no doubt that my credibility as an actress was knocked," she reflected. "Certain people in the industry would never employ me as a serious actress after it. On the other hand, it gave me the financial security to go off and work in the theatre for very little money." Her performances as Mrs Oxo were reportedly responsible for a 10% increase in stock cube sales.
Known For
Credits
- 2010 · Odd One In as
- 2009 · Mister Eleven as Shirley
- 2008 · All Star Mr & Mrs as
- 2007 · The Alan Titchmarsh Show as Self
- 2007 · Bonkers as
- 2006 · Robin Hood as
- 2006 · The One Show as Self
- 2004 · Devil's Gate as Marlene
- 2004 · New Tricks as
- 2003 · One Life as
- 2003 · The Last Detective as
- 2001 · My Uncle Silas as Mrs. Gadsby
- 2001 · Bodywork as Poppy Fields
- 2001 · Waking the Dead as Mary Mantel
- 2000 · The Romanovs: A Crowned Family as Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna
- 2000 · At Home with the Braithwaites as Pauline Farnell
- 1999 · Loose Women as Self
- 1999 · Loose Women as Self (archive footage)
- 1999 · Don't Go Breaking My Heart as Maxine
- 1998 · Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh as
- 1998 · The Scarlet Tunic as Emily Marlowe
- 1997 · An Audience with Ronnie Corbett as
- 1997 · Midsomer Murders as Jane Willows
- 1996 · Dalziel & Pascoe as
- 1995 · Faith in the Future as
- 1994 · Martin Chuzzlewit as Mrs. Lupin
- 1994 · Junior Masterchef as
- 1992 · Gibberish as
- 1991 · Second Thoughts as Faith
- 1988 · This Morning as Self
- 1987 · The Vision as Mary Morris
- 1987 · Filthy Rich & Catflap as Ms Tomkins
- 1986 · Doctor Who: The Ultimate Foe as The Inquisitor
- 1986 · Doctor Who: Terror of the Vervoids as The Inquisitor
- 1986 · Doctor Who: Mindwarp as The Inquisitor
- 1986 · Doctor Who: The Mysterious Planet as The Inquisitor
- 1986 · Casualty as Steph Yates
- 1985 · Screen Two as Mary Morris
- 1984 · Surprise, Surprise as Self
- 1982 · Wogan as Self
- 1981 · Riding High as Miss Mott
- 1980 · The Gentle Touch as
- 1979 · Shoestring as
- 1978 · The Pink Medicine Show as
- 1978 · Hazell as
- 1978 · All Creatures Great and Small as Helen Herriot
- 1978 · An Audience with... as Self
- 1978 · Blake's 7 as Vena
- 1977 · The Professionals as Betty Hope
- 1977 · Stand up, Virgin Soldiers as Valerie
- 1977 · Sweeney! as Janice Wyatt
- 1976 · Confessions of a Driving Instructor as Mary Truscott
- 1976 · Yus, My Dear as Carol
- 1975 · Angels as
- 1975 · The Sweeney as Nancy King
- 1974 · Within These Walls as
- 1973 · Tell Tarby as
- 1963 · Doctor Who as The Inquisitor
- 1962 · Z-Cars as