# Jill Baker

Jill Baker (born 1952) is a British actress who has worked extensively in theatre and television for 50 years.

## Personal life

Baker is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
She and actor Bob Peck were married for 17 years, from 1982 until his death, in 1999. They had three children.

## Career

She made her debut in the TV movie Savages in 1975 and has worked steadily on television and theatre since then. Her theatre work includes Sufficient Carbohydrate by Denis Potter, Goosepimples, Mike Leigh, All My Sons, all in the West End and the premiere of The Secret Rapture in 1988. She has also been working as an actress in British television since 1975. Along with playing a recurring lead character in Rides, Screaming and Fish, she has made cameo appearances in individual episodes of Blore M.P, The Professionals (1980), Only Fools and Horses (1981), Me and My Girl (1983), "Last Bus to Woodstock" (An Inspector Morse TV-Mystery) (1988), Tales of Sherwood Forest (1989), Prime Suspect (1995), The Girl (1996) as Anne Thornton, The Broker's Man (1997–98) as Claudette Monro-Foster, The Vanishing Man (1998) as Dr. Jeffries, , Perfect Strangers (2001), New Tricks (2003), A Touch of Frost (2004), Secret Smile (2005), Waking the Dead, Holby City, (2007), Spooks (2008) and Wallander, Episode 1 in 2008. She has also appeared as Lady de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love. In 2009 she appeared in the ITV Drama Whatever It Takes, In 2011 she appeared in the ITV Drama Midsomer Murders "Not in My Back Yard" as Eleanor Swanscombe. In 2014, she appeared in Happy Valley as Helen Gallagher. Baker appeared in Only Fools and Horses in the episode "The Second Time Around", as Del Boy (David Jason)'s ex-fiancée, Pauline Harris.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Hope and Glory | Faith | |
| 1998 | Shakespeare in Love | Lady De Lesseps | |
| 2004 | That Time of Year... | Josephine | Short film |
| 2006 | Notes on a Scandal | Sheba's Mother | |
| 2011 | Salmon Fishing in the Yemen | Betty | |
| 2012 | John Carter | Additional Voice | Voice |
| 2012 | Tower Block | Violet | |
| 2016 | A Lighthouse in Breaking Waves | Alive | Short film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Savages | Angela Smith | Television film |
| 1975 | Get Some In! | Agnes | Episode: "36-Hour Pass" |
| 1977 | The Cedar Tree | Vendeuse | 2 episodes |
| 1980 | The Gentle Touch | Connie | Episode: "Menaces" |
| 1980 | The Professionals | Amanda | Episode: "Hijack" |
| 1981 | Only Fools and Horses | Pauline Harris | Episode: "The Second Time Around" |
| 1982 | We'll Meet Again | Mavis | Episode: "Up the Smoke" |
| 1982 | Arena | Actress in Play | Episode: "Mike Leigh Making Plays" |
| 1983 | BBC Television Shakespeare | Lady Macduff | Episode: "Macbeth" |
| 1984 | Me and My Girl | Kim Tracy | Episode: "Design for Living" |
| 1984 | On the Shelf | Jackie | Television film |
| 1987 | Harry's Kingdom | Jilly King | Television film |
| 1988 | Inspector Morse | Jennifer Coleby | Episode: "Last Bus to Woodstock" |
| 1988 | Boon | Mrs. Hains | Episode: "The Devil You Know" |
| 1989 | ScreenPlay | Jilly Taylor | Episode: "Testimony of a Child" |
| 1989 | Tales of Sherwood Forest | Sarah | 7 episodes |
| 1989 | Screen One | Priscilla Blore | Episode: "Blore M.P." |
| 1992 | Screaming | Rachael | 8 episodes |
| 1992–1993 | Rides | Patrice Jenner | 12 episodes |
| 1994 | In Suspicious Circumstances | Elizabeth Earle | Episode: "Death Scene" |
| 1994 | Ellen | Mrs. Thompson (as Gill Baker) | Episode: "The Toast" |
| 1995 | Prime Suspect | Maria Henry | Episode: "Prime Suspect: Inner Circles" |
| 1995 | Chandler & Co | Edith Cotham | Episode: "No Tomorrow" |
| 1996 | The Girl | Anne Thornton | Television film |
| 1998 | March in Windy City | Dr. Prudence Cox | Television film |
| 1997–1998 | The Broker's Man | Claudette Monro-Foster | 8 episodes |
| 1998 | The Vanishing Man | Dr. Jeffries | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Fish | Sarah Cornice | 6 episodes |
| 2001 | The Bill | Lisa Sharp | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Perfect Strangers | Esther | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | New Tricks | Gaynor Wringer | Episode: "The Chinese Job" |
| 2003 | Real Men | Julie Ferguson | Television film |
| 2003 | Jonathan Creek | Donna Henry | Episode: "The Tailor's Dummy" |
| 2003 | Canterbury Tales | Mrs. Norman | Episode: "The Pardoner's Tale" |
| 2004 | A Touch of Frost | Elizabeth Richford | Episode: "Dancing in the Dark" |
| 2004 | Belonging | Cathy | Television film |
| 2004 | Rosemary & Thyme | Val Reeves | Episode: "Swords into Ploughshares" |
| 2005 | Secret Smile | Marcia Cotton | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Waking the Dead | Dr. Caroline Ritter | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Sea of Souls | Annie Rubenstein | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Heartbeat | Shirley Dekin | Episode: "Where There's Smoke" |
| 2008 | Wallander | Anita Carlman | Episode: "Sidetracked" |
| 2008 | Spooks | Rachel Beauchamp | Episode: #7.6 |
| 2009 | Above Suspicion | Mrs Kenworth | Episode: "Part 1" |
| 2009 | Whatever It Takes | Estelle | Television film |
| 2011 | Midsomer Murders | Eleanor Swanscombe | Episode: "Not in My Back Yard" |
| 2011 | Law & Order: UK | Margaret Rumsfield | Episode: "Intent" |
| 2007–2011 | Holby City | Nancy Overbeck Sister John | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Doctors | Corinne Gough | Episode: "Heston's Last Testament" |
| 2014–2015 | EastEnders | Margot Summerhayes | 2 episodes |
| 2014–2016 | Happy Valley | Helen Gallagher | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters | Aunt Branwell | Television film |
| 2015, 2020 | Casualty | Rosie Allen Theresa Ashby | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Doc Martin | Professor Judy Phillips | Episode: "Return to Sender" |