In 1987, Carling made her screen debut in the film
Out of Order, as Liz. She has appeared in the
The Bill twice, firstly as Miss White, the hotel receptionist in the 1987 episode "Overnight Stay", and subsequently as Maria Saunders in 1992 episode "Users". Her first major television role was in
Boon as Laura Marsh, assistant to Ken Boon, she appeared in 40 episodes between 1989–91. In 1996 she played Wendy in
Crocodile Shoes II: as the fiancée of Jed Shepperd, she appeared in all six episodes of the six-part series. The same year she appeared in the
Men Behaving Badly episode "Home Made Sauna" as Carol where she reunited with her former
Boon co-star
Neil Morrissey. In 1997, Carling took over the role of Phoebe Bamford (later to become Phoebe Sparrow) in the last three series of the time travel sitcom
Goodnight Sweetheart. The part was originally played by
Dervla Kirwan. After the series, she released an album of wartime covers also titled
Goodnight Sweetheart. Phoebe Sparrow is one of her favourite roles. It returned for a special edition in 2016 with Carling reprising the role of Phoebe. Between 1999 to 2003, she played Linda, the daughter of the eponymous matriarch in the
ITV sitcom
Barbara. She appeared in 24 of the series' 29 episodes, playing opposite her on-screen husband, Martin Pond (
Mark Benton). In March 2003, she joined the cast of
Casualty for a six-week run playing consultant neurologist Selena Donovan. The character was brought back in 2004 at the start of the show’s nineteenth season. Carling remained in the role for three full years, departing at the end of the twenty first season in 2007 when her character was killed off in a dramatic shooting. In 2009, she played Barbara Clough in
The Damned United, playing the role of the wife of Brian Clough (played by
Michael Sheen) in a film focusing on events from 1967 to 1974 when Brian Clough was manager of
Derby County and finally with his ill-fated 44 days in charge of
Leeds United. In 2016, she narrated the second series of
Bear Grylls: Mission Survive on ITV. Between 2022 to 2024, she played Betty Scanlon in the period drama series
Hotel Portofino. In December 2024, she appeared as Karla Hammond in
Death in Paradise, the first episode to feature the new lead character Mervin Wilson (played by
Don Gilet). == Selected Filmography ==