Television One of her earliest roles was in the
Channel 4 comedy drama
Hollywood Hits Chiswick, alongside
Derek Newark as
W.C. Fields. Between 1992 and 1998, Quentin appeared as Dorothy in all 42 episodes of the sitcom
Men Behaving Badly. From 1997 until 2000, Quentin starred alongside
Alan Davies in
Jonathan Creek playing investigative journalist Maddie Magellan, who uses Jonathan's mind to solve murder mysteries. In 1998 she starred in the first sitcom that was specifically built around her:
Kiss Me Kate; that year she started the major role of Maggie Mee in the drama
Life Begins, which returned for a third series in 2006. Quentin appeared in the television film
Hot Money (2001), which was based on the true story of the theft of hundreds of thousands of pounds from the
Bank of England.
ITV has produced five series of the police drama
Blue Murder, in which Quentin plays against type in the main role DCI Janine Lewis. The pilot aired in the UK on 18 May 2003. Quentin has appeared in
Whose Line Is It Anyway?; in a pre-
Men Behaving Badly role as a
traffic warden in the
Mr. Bean episode "
The Trouble with Mr. Bean" in 1991;
Room 101;
Have I Got News for You; and the 2009–10 BBC comedy series
Life of Riley, a
sitcom about a dysfunctional
blended family; and in the
BBC Radio 4 improvisational comedy series
The Masterson Inheritance, the Radio 4 comedy Any Bloke (starred with Jim Sweeney who was also in
The Masterson Inheritance) and the popular
BBC Radio 2 sitcom
On the Blog. She appeared as Heather Babcock in an episode of ''
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'', in 2010. Also in 2010 she started appearing in
Marks & Spencer's revamped food range advertisements. In March 2011, a documentary entitled
Caroline Quentin: A Passage Through India aired on ITV in the UK. The documentary followed Quentin as she traveled from the
North of India to the
South. Quentin presented
Restoration Home on
BBC Two. The programme looks into the history and families of the UK's derelict mansion houses which are being restored by their private owners. In 2012, Quentin began working on another documentary series,
Cornwall with Caroline Quentin, which shows her travelling across
Cornwall, for which she received some criticism due to apparently aiming the show at potential second home owners. She returned to present a second series of the show in 2013. In 2013, she hosted another documentary series, ''Caroline Quentin's National Parks
for one series. Quentin starred in the Comedy Central series Big Bad World'' where she played the role of Jan, the mother of the main character Ben (
Blake Harrison). In 2015, she played the role of veterinary surgeon Angela Sim in an episode of
Doc Martin, re-uniting with her
Men Behaving Badly co-star
Martin Clunes, and returned in 2017 and 2019. She played the role of Mrs Bumble in
Dickensian (2015–2016). In November 2016, she guest presented an episode of
The One Show. Starting in 2017, Quentin was co-presenter of the
BBC Two programme ''
The World's Most Extraordinary Homes'' with architect
Piers Taylor; 12 episodes were completed and aired. Subsequently, the series streamed on
Netflix. In 2020, Quentin participated in the
eighteenth series of
Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with
Johannes Radebe. Quentin became the fourth celebrity to be voted off on 22 November 2020. Quentin later commented, "I have had the honour and privilege of working with some of the greatest dancers this country has ever known. I mean I really believe it, I think they are absolutely fantastic." In May 2023 Quentin was featured in the BBC coverage of the
Chelsea Flower Show, showing viewers around the garden of her home near
Tiverton, Devon.
Theatre Her early stage work had also included appearing in the chorus of the original English production of the musical
Les Misérables in 1985. In 2019 she played Lady Fancyfull in the
Royal Shakespeare Company production of
The Provoked Wife. In 2022 she played
Mrs Malaprop in the
Royal National Theatre's production of
Jack Absolute Flies Again, earning her a
Laurence Olivier nomination for
Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In 2023 she played elder Emma Hamilton and Mrs Cadogan in
Jermyn Street Theatre's world premier production of
Infamous by April de Angelis.
Music In July 1996, Quentin released a single, a cover of
the Exciters' hit "
Tell Him", with her
Men Behaving Badly co-star
Leslie Ash under the name of "Quentin and Ash". The single spent three weeks in the
UK Singles Chart, reaching number 25. At the
British Comedy Awards in 2004, Quentin won the "Best Comedy Actress" award for her performance in
Von Trapped.
Book In 2023, it was announced that Quentin had written a gardening book, titled
Drawn to the Garden, about her own experience in running a vegetable and flower garden at her home on Devon, which she began sharing on
Instagram during the
COVID-19 lockdown. Included throughout the book are various watercolours and sketches by Quentin. Its release was planned for 15 February 2024. ==Personal life==