She began appearing on television in the early 1980s, firstly in the sketch show ''
There's Nothing to Worry About! in 1982. She featured in two series of Alfresco'' in 1983 and 1984, but her first major television success was as
George Bulman's assistant Lucy McGinty in
Bulman (1985–1987). She played, among other roles, Maureen Connell in
Between the Lines (1992–1994); Shona Spurtle in
The High Life (1994–1995); Madame Sin in
In the Red BBC TV adaptation of the novel (1998); Janice Taylor in
Holby City (2000–2002), Sharon in
The Smoking Room (2004–2005);
Maeve Brown in
EastEnders; clinical psychiatrist Pru Plunkett in
Midsomer Murders; and Ailsa in
Shoebox Zoo. She also appeared on radio including in the 2002
BBC Radio 4 series
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and as Jean Brash in BBC Radio 4's
McLevy series. Redmond is also a stage actress. In 2003, she starred in
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and is a member of the
Royal Shakespeare Company, with whom she appeared as Maria in
Twelfth Night in 2007. She played Titania/Hippolyta for
Shakespeare's Globe in ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in its summer 2008 season. In 2004, Redmond starred in the BBC TV series
Sea of Souls as twin sisters Carol and Helen. Redmond appeared in the "
Gingers for Justice" sketch on
The Catherine Tate Show in 2005, and then again in 2006. In 2007, she joined
The Bill as Crime Scene Examiner
Lorna Hart, and in 2010, played one of the leads in David Greig's play
Dunsinane, reprising her role for the
BBC Radio 3 adaptation on 30 January 2011. On 26 June 2014, it was announced that Redmond would play a new incarnation of
the Rani, a villainous character in the long-running series
Doctor Who, originally portrayed on television by
Kate O'Mara, who had died earlier that year. Redmond's version of the Rani is featured in BBC-licensed audio dramas by
Big Finish Productions including
The Rani Elite (2014) and
Planet of the Rani (2015). In November 2014, Redmond joined
Alun Armstrong and
William Gaunt in a production of
Eugène Ionesco's
Exit the King at the
Ustinov Studio in Bath. In 2018, Redmond appeared in three episodes in Series 3 of
Unforgotten as Derran Finch, and in 2019, she appeared in the
Acorn TV series
Queens of Mystery as Jane Stone. In January 2020, Redmond played the role of the Principal of
Newnham College, Cambridge in the
ITV series
Grantchester. In 2021, Redmond starred in the
BBC Scotland comedy pilot
Beep alongside Lois Chimimba and
Paul Higgins. She played Liz, a woman visiting her comatose husband on their anniversary, the programme exploring their dysfunctional family's dynamics. In November 2022, Redmond joined the cast of
Two Doors Down as Colin's new partner Anne Marie. She appeared as Grey in the 2023 BBC comedy
Rain Dogs. ==Filmography==