Her television credits include Victoria Wood's dinnerladies (1999), Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–11), Grandma's House (2010–12) and Call the Midwife (2015–present).
[1] She moved to Pimlico, London, at a young age, where her passion for drama blossomed, as her family often watched classic plays at the Old Vic Theatre.
[2] Bassett worked as an usher for the National Theatre at the Old Vic whilst a schoolgirl, before enrolling at The University of Leeds.
[3] In film, she first gained notice when she was cast as Gertrude Stein opposite Linda Hunt as Alice B. Toklas in Waiting for the Moon in 1987.
Other roles include Mrs. Brenner, the prison official in the 2008 film The Reader, Cora in Calendar Girls (March), Mrs. Jennings in the three-part BBC adaptation Sense and Sensibility, Queenie Turrill in Lark Rise to Candleford, Doll in the film Cass.