Maggie Steed (born Margaret Baker; 1 December 1946) is an English actress and comedian.
Career
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]
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
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]
Midsomer Murders – the episodes "Judgement Day" as Rosemary Furman (2000), "Left For Dead" as Lynne Fox (2008) and "Schooled in Murder" as Sylvia Mountford (2013)