Rae Baker
Encyclopedia
Rae Baker is an English
actress.
father, her brother Kevin is an electronics engineer. Always tall as a child, she took private piano
and singing lessons to improve her soprano
voice, and aged 13 she joined the local Gilbert and Sullivan
repertory company in Southampton, Southampton Operatic Society
and was then spotted for the National Youth Music Theatre
. Baker then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama
in London funded by a personal bursary
from Cameron Mackintosh
, and holds a Fight Certificate from the British Society of Fight Direction.
, as she had secured roles in both Guys & Dolls and A Winter's Tale at the Royal National Theatre
. After landing her first TV appearance in the first episode of Jonathan Creek
, in 1998 Baker made the film Shadow Run with Michael Caine
. But Baker choose to develop her career on the stage
, and has since taken leading West End theatre
roles in The Postman Always Rings Twice
opposite Val Kilmer
, and as Vivian in Dirty Dancing
.
Having undertaken television campaigns adverts for Sony
, Lemsip
and Vanish
, Baker is mainly known presently for playing the role of Detective Constable Juliet Becker in the long running ITV
drama The Bill
. Originally invited in July 2002 to screen test for the part of the ditzy Police Constable Honey Harman, the producers cast Kim Tiddy
but asked what type of role Baker wanted. As a result, they wrote the role of DC Becker especially for Baker, where the producers indulged her passion of riding motorcycle
s by providing her with a Honda Hornet. Baker took the role due to its variety of portraying a bisexual character, but left the role when she felt the role was not developed beyond a ratings gaining option to exploit the character kissing other women.
Since returning to her first love of stage, Baker has also taken the support role of love interest Caroline Garvey for Dr Nick West in the BBC One
daytime series Doctors.
Also, in her career she took up the role Jade Dixon-Halliday in children's spy drama series MI High as Oscar Cole's (Ben Kerfoot) double-crossing SKUL agent mother, working for The Grand Master. She wanted her son Oscar to join her to overthrow The Grand Master in recent episode Tim Browns SKUL days, but things don't go according to her plan. Oscar pretends to join her and when Rose Gupta (Rachel Petladwala) and Carrie Stewart (Charlene Osuagwu) catch up he throws a gumball gas to slow them down, and as soon as things look wrong, Oscar steals his mums and The Grand Masters jet pack starters. And as the gas effect wears off on the others they catch up in time to capture the two villains but as usual The Grand Master escapes by hotwiring his jetpack.
Also played role of "Shinada" in Sci-Fi movie "Ice Planet".
and is expecting her first child. The couple live in Surrey
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress.
Biography
Born to a carpenterCarpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
father, her brother Kevin is an electronics engineer. Always tall as a child, she took private piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and singing lessons to improve her soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
voice, and aged 13 she joined the local Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
repertory company in Southampton, Southampton Operatic Society
Southampton Operatic Society
Southampton Operatic Society began life in 1924 as the Guild of the Above Bar Congregational Church and is the oldest musical society in the city.Miss Edith Ashdown, the daughter of a Southampton businessman and a member of the Above Bar Congregational Church, gathered her friends to perform a...
and was then spotted for the National Youth Music Theatre
National Youth Music Theatre
The National Youth Music Theatre or NYMT is a UK organisation for young people in the field of musical theatre, based in London. It runs acting auditions, workshops, and musical theatre productions...
. Baker then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
in London funded by a personal bursary
Bursary
A bursary is strictly an office for a bursar and his or her staff in a school or college.In modern English usage, the term has become synonymous with "bursary award", a monetary award made by an institution to an individual or a group to assist the development of their education.According to The...
from Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
, and holds a Fight Certificate from the British Society of Fight Direction.
Career
After graduation, she turned down a role in Mackintosh's production of Les MisérablesLes Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
, as she had secured roles in both Guys & Dolls and A Winter's Tale at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
. After landing her first TV appearance in the first episode of Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
, in 1998 Baker made the film Shadow Run with Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
. But Baker choose to develop her career on the stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, and has since taken leading West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
roles in The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1934 crime novel by James M. Cain.The novel was quite successful and notorious upon publication, and is regarded as one of the more important crime novels of the 20th century...
opposite Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
, and as Vivian in Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
.
Having undertaken television campaigns adverts for Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Lemsip
Lemsip
Lemsip is a brand of cold and flu remedies in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It is manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser...
and Vanish
Vanish (brand)
Vanish may refer to either of two different, unrelated brands, one by S.C. Johnson and one by Reckitt Benckiser.US Product=In the USA, Vanish is a brand of toilet bowl cleaner manufactured by S.C. Johnson....
, Baker is mainly known presently for playing the role of Detective Constable Juliet Becker in the long running ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. Originally invited in July 2002 to screen test for the part of the ditzy Police Constable Honey Harman, the producers cast Kim Tiddy
Kim Tiddy
Kim Tiddy , is an English actress, is known for playing the part of PC Honey Harman, in the ITV soap opera The Bill, and Heidi Costello in the British Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.-Personal life:...
but asked what type of role Baker wanted. As a result, they wrote the role of DC Becker especially for Baker, where the producers indulged her passion of riding motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s by providing her with a Honda Hornet. Baker took the role due to its variety of portraying a bisexual character, but left the role when she felt the role was not developed beyond a ratings gaining option to exploit the character kissing other women.
Since returning to her first love of stage, Baker has also taken the support role of love interest Caroline Garvey for Dr Nick West in the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
daytime series Doctors.
Also, in her career she took up the role Jade Dixon-Halliday in children's spy drama series MI High as Oscar Cole's (Ben Kerfoot) double-crossing SKUL agent mother, working for The Grand Master. She wanted her son Oscar to join her to overthrow The Grand Master in recent episode Tim Browns SKUL days, but things don't go according to her plan. Oscar pretends to join her and when Rose Gupta (Rachel Petladwala) and Carrie Stewart (Charlene Osuagwu) catch up he throws a gumball gas to slow them down, and as soon as things look wrong, Oscar steals his mums and The Grand Masters jet pack starters. And as the gas effect wears off on the others they catch up in time to capture the two villains but as usual The Grand Master escapes by hotwiring his jetpack.
Also played role of "Shinada" in Sci-Fi movie "Ice Planet".
Personal life
Baker is married to actor and writer Duncan WisbeyDuncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.-Recordings and Appearances:...
and is expecting her first child. The couple live in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.