Margaret Baker, better known as Maggie Steed, was born in 1946 in Plymouth, Devon. She studied drama at the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, graduating in the late 1960s. Initially, she worked as an assistant stage manager, behind the scenes, due to being deemed not conventionally pretty enough to be an actress. However, she does recall receiving praise from the eccentric English puppeteer Harry Corbett for her assistance with his creation, Sooty the Bear.
Maggie left the theatrical world after a few months and worked as a secretary for several years. Her interest in Theatre in Education eventually drew her back to the stage, this time as an actress, alongside Sue Johnston and Clive Russell at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry.
Since then, Maggie has worked with both the Royal Shakespeare and National Theatre Companies. In 2002, she played a commanding Lady Bracknell in a revival of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. With a strong sense of political awareness, she was a founder member of the Campaign Against Racism in the Media and visited Nicaragua with actor Andy de la Tour in the early 1980s to witness the plight of its citizens. In 1983, she helped stage the televised Concert for Nicaragua.
Maggie is best remembered for her television roles, particularly comedic ones, starting in the early 1980s with 'Shine On Harvey Moon', followed by 'A Bit of a Do' and 'Pie In the Sky' as the wife of cop-turned-chef Richard Griffiths. In the mid-2000s, she starred in 'Jam and Jerusalem' as the dim but well-meaning Women's Institute leader, filming in her native Devon and reuniting her with her early stage co-star Sue Johnston.
