Lynda Baron death: most memorable TV roles of actress - from Come Outside to Eastenders and Open All Hours

Lynda Baron, who died on 7 March aged 82, was a much loved actress with more than 70 credits to her name.

Born in Lancashire in 1939, Baron originally trained at the Royal Academy of Dance, but would eventually find success as an actress in the early 1960s.

Baron was best known for her role in 1970s and 80s sitcom Open All Hours alongside Ronnie Barker and Sir David Jason.

But what else did she star in, and what were her most memorable roles?

Who was Lynda Baron?

Baron married her husband John M. Lee in 1966, and together the couple had two children, Morgan and Sarah.

Lynda and John remained married until her death, having celebrated 56 years of marriage last year.

Never losing her love of song and dance, Baron returned to the stage several times over her career, performing in West End show Follies in 1987.

Baron also performed in theatre shows, An Inspector Calls, and The Full Monty.

What TV shows did Lynda Baron star in?

Baron’s best-known role was Gladys Emmanuel in Open All Hours.

The sitcom followed the story of Albert Arkwright (Ronnie Barker), a miserly grocery store owner, who was infatuated with his nurse, Gladys. 

The show ran for four seasons and 25 episodes over 10 years, and was revived as Still Open All Hours from 2013-2016.

As Barker died in 2005 David Jason’s character Granville, took over the grocery store, and Baron reprised her role as nurse Gladys for 13 of the 41 episodes.

Baron found love among a younger generation when she took on the lead role of the children’s educational show Come Outside.

The programme, which ran for 40 episodes from 1993-97, saw Auntie Mabel, played by Baron, and her dog Pippin, fly off across the country in their iconic spotted plane.

Each episode would find Mabel and Pippin discovering how a different everyday item was made and how it worked, from bricks to woolly jumpers.

Later children’s programmes, such as Big Cook Little Cook and Balamory owe a lot to the format of Come Outside.

Baron was also a member of a rather exclusive club, being one of fewer than 30 actors to have been in the original and revamped Doctor Who series.

In the new series, she had a role in one episode as an employee at a shop where customers were being turned into cybermen.

In the original run, Baron voiced a singer in four William Hartnell episodes in 1966, and played Captain Wrack in two Peter Davison episodes in 1983.

The Doctor Who official Twitter page tweeted a tribute to Baron which read: “We’re sad to report the death of Lynda Baron, who starred in ‘The Gunfighters’, ‘Enlightenment’, and most recently ‘Closing Time’”.

Baron also played Linda Clarke in Eastenders sporadically from 2006-2016. She played the mother of Jane Beale (wife of original and longstanding character Ian Beale), who eventually left Albert Square for Florida.

Eastenders tweeted a tribute to Baron, which read: “We’re deeply saddened to hear that Lynda Baron has passed away. Our love and thoughts are with Lynda’s family and friends.”

Did Lynda Baron star in any films?

As well as television roles, Baron also had supporting roles in 17 films over her lifetime.

She was involved in the final Carry On film, Carry on Columbus in 1992, and the 2006 Woody Allen rom-com Scoop, alongside Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson.

Her final screen role came as Elsie in the British film Dream Horse, alongside Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, and Owen Teale.

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