Maggie Steed

English actress and comedienne

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

After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, Steed left the theatre for several years. 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 the Coventry Belgrade Theatre with Clive Russell and Sue Johnston." Steed has performed with the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company and as a comedian. 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]"

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

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. 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.

Year Title Role1980 Babylon Woman at Lockup1981 The History Man Myra Beamish1987 Intimate Contact Becca Crichton1990 Blood Rights Tess Barker1992 Clothes in the Wardrobe Mrs. RaffaldGrowing Rich Raelene1993 Olly's Prison Ellen1999 Simon Magus Muttchen2000 Stardom British Fashion Reporter2004 Lawrence of Arabia Close Doris2006 The Painted Veil Mrs Garstin2009 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Louis Vuitton Woman2010 The Miserables Evelyn Pickleton2013 A Promise Frau HermannAlpha: Omega Dee 2014 Pudsey the Dog: The Movie Mrs Willoughby2016 Florence Foster Jenkins Mrs O'Flaherty Juliet Remembered Juliet A Cure for Wellness Mrs Abramov2017 Transformers: The Last Knight Vivian's GrandmotherPaddington 2 Mrs Gertrude Biggleswade2019 Fisherman's Friends Sally2022 Fisherman's Friends: One and All Sally