Fiona Walker (born 24 May 1944) is an English actress, known for numerous theatre and television roles between the 1960s and 1990s. An early leading role was as Sue Bridehead in a BBC television production of ''

Jude the Obscure ''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). The protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man; he i ...

'' (1971). She may be best remembered for playing Agrippina in the BBC adaptation of '' I, Claudius'' (1976), directed by

Herbert Wise Herbert Wise (31 August 1924 – 5 August 2015) was an Austrian-born film and television producer and director. Biography Herbert Wise was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria, and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Comp ...

. She was Miss Meteyard, an intelligent, wise-cracking copy-writer modelled on the author, in

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

's ''Murder Must Advertise'', a BBC TV dramatisation of 1973, and an acidic Mrs Elton in BBC2's 1972 adaptation of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's ''Emma''. She played the ill-fated Stella Mawson in Anglia's first

P. D. James Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park (3 August 1920 – 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuri ...

adaptation, ''

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'' (1983), also directed by Wise. Other television appearances have included '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1978), ''

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'' (1984), ''

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'' (1985), '' The Woman in Black'' (1989), (directed by her husband),

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's ''Poirot'' (1993), and two ''

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'' serials, 24 years apart, playing villainesses Kala in ''

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'' in 1964, and Lady Peinforte in ''

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'' in 1988, as well as a definitive Ruth in

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's trilogy ''

The Norman Conquests ''The Norman Conquests'' is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. Each of the plays depicts the same six characters over the same weekend in a different part of a house. ''Table Manners'' is set in the dining room, ''Living Tog ...

'' – Thames Television (1977). Her film roles included Liddy in '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1967), the cult horror film ''

The Asphyx ''The Asphyx'', also known as ''Spirit of the Dead'' and ''The Horror of Death'', is a 1972 British horror film/science fiction film directed by Peter Newbrook and starring Robert Stephens and Robert Powell. ''Asphyx'' refers to the Ancient G ...

'' (1972), and ''

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'' (1993), starring

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing intimidating, authoritarian characters and villains. Dance started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film an ...

and

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series '' Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

. Walker married Herbert Wise in 1988, after they had lived together for 17 years."Herbert Wise Biography (1924–)"
Film Reference website Her children, Charlie Walker-Wise and

Susannah Wise Susannah Walker Wise is an English television and stage actress. Life and career Wise trained as an actress at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, graduating in 1995. Wise is best known for her work in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' ...

, are also actors.

Partial filmography

*'' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1967) – Liddy * ''

'' (1971) – Sue Bridehead *''

'' (1972) – Anna Wheatley *'' The Woman in Black'' (1989) – Mrs. Toovey *''

'' (1993) – Mrs. Pritchard

References

External links

* 1944 births English television actresses Living people Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses English film actresses English stage actresses {{UK-tv-actor-1940s-stub