Silent Witness star Maggie Steed's life off-camera explored

Nicky Morris
·3-min read
Woman with white hair and dark clothing smiling
Maggie Steed in Silent Witness (BBC Studios / Chris Baker)

Maggie Steed is a welcome addition to the latest series of Silent Witness, in which she plays the new head of The Lyell Centre, Harriet Maven. The 78-year-old actress, who stars alongside Emilia Fox and David Caves in the long-running crime drama, has appeared in a range of successful shows over the years, from Rivals to EastEnders, but how much do you know about her life off-camera? Keep reading for all we know…

Maggie' career

After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, Maggie turned away from acting after being told she wasn't conventionally pretty enough to be an actress.

When she was 18, her drama school principal told her: "Darling, you won't work until you're over 30."

Woman with blonde hair and dark clothes standing in corridor
Maggie Steed plays Harriet Maven in Silent Witness (BBC Studios / Chris Baker)

Instead, she became a secretary at a film company before her boss encouraged her to pursue her acting dreams. "I was a terrible secretary. I threw away the filing," she told the Daily Mail. "In the end, my sweet boss took me out and said: 'We all love you but you can't stay.' I told him all I wanted to do was act, and he said: 'Well I think you better do it.' I owe him a lot."

Maggie went on to work with school children at a Theatre in Education group before later working in community theatre. She was 32 when she got an agent and from there, performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.

Silent Witness: Harriet Maven (MAGGIE STEED); Jack Hodgson (DAVID CAVES); Dr. Nikki Alexander (EMILIA FOX); Kit Brooks (FRANCESCA MILLS)
Maggie stars alongside Emilia Fox, David Caves and Francesca Mills (BBC Studios / Robert Wilson)

Maggie has an impressive list of TV and film credits to her name, including Florence Foster Jenkins, Paddington 2, The Percent, Born and Bred ​and Chewing Gum. One of her best-known roles is as Joyce Murray in EastEnders, which she played from 2017 until her departure ten months later in 2018.

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Maggie's life off-camera

When she's not busy filming her latest TV or film project, Maggie lives in London with her dog, Jack.

Woman with white hair wearing black coat and brown skirt posing for photo
Maggie lives in London (James Veysey/Shutterstock)

The actress doesn't have a public social media profile, so not much is known about her life away from the cameras.

Maggie's link to Silent Witness co-star Emilia Fox

Ahead of the new series of Silent Witness, Maggie revealed her prior connection to her co-star Emilia and the Fox family, who are famous in the acting world. "I know her mum [Joanna David] very well and I love her," said the actress, who also explained that she and Emilia previously collaborated on a radio play.

Blonde women wearing white holding a paper next to older woman with white hair in laboratory
Maggie previously worked with her co-star Emilia Fox on a radio play (BBC Studios)

"Emilia and I did a radio drama together years and years ago when she was just starting out," Maggie told the BBC. "But I didn't really know her that well before this. I only knew that I liked her. And then we began acting together and the on-set chemistry seems to have worked very well.

Silent Witness is available on BBC iPlayer. 

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