Caroline Quentin
Quentin in 2011
Born	Caroline Amanda Jane Jones (1960-07-11)11 July 1960 (age 65) Reigate, Surrey, England
Occupations	Actress presenter broadcaster author
Years active	1980–present
Spouses	Paul Merton ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 1998)​ Sam Farmer ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	2

Caroline Quentin (bornCaroline Amanda Jane Jones; 11 July 1960)^[1] is an English actress, broadcaster and television presenter. Quentin became known for her television appearances, portraying Dorothy inMen Behaving Badly (1992–1998), Maddie Magellan inJonathan Creek (1997–2000), Kate Salinger inKiss Me Kate andDCI Janine Lewis inBlue Murder (2003–2009).

Quentin was born inReigate,Surrey,^[2] to Kathleen Jones and her husband Fred, aRoyal Air Force pilot.^[3] She has three older sisters.^[3] She was educated at the independentArts Educational School, inTring,Hertfordshire, and appeared locally in thePendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival.^[4][5]

One of her earliest roles was in theChannel 4 comedy dramaHollywood Hits Chiswick, alongsideDerek Newark asW.C. Fields.^[6]

Between 1992 and 1998, Quentin appeared as Dorothy in all 42 episodes of the sitcomMen Behaving Badly. From 1997 until 2000, Quentin starred alongsideAlan Davies inJonathan 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 dramaLife Begins, which returned for a third series in 2006. Quentin appeared in the television filmHot Money (2001), which was based on the true story of the theft of hundreds of thousands of pounds from theBank of England.

ITV has produced five series of the police dramaBlue Murder, in which Quentin plays against type in the main role DCI Janine Lewis. The pilot aired in the UK on 18 May 2003.^[7]

Quentin has appeared inWhose Line Is It Anyway?; in a pre-Men Behaving Badly role as atraffic warden in theMr. Bean episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean" in 1991;Room 101;Have I Got News for You; and the 2009–10 BBC comedy seriesLife of Riley, asitcom about a dysfunctionalblended family; and in theBBC Radio 4 improvisational comedy seriesThe Masterson Inheritance, the Radio 4 comedy Any Bloke (starred with Jim Sweeney who was also inThe Masterson Inheritance) and the popularBBC Radio 2 sitcomOn the Blog. She appeared as Heather Babcock in an episode ofAgatha Christie's Miss Marple,The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, in 2010. Also in 2010 she started appearing inMarks & Spencer's revamped food range advertisements.^[8]

In March 2011, a documentary entitledCaroline Quentin: A Passage Through India aired on ITV in the UK. The documentary followed Quentin as she traveled from theNorth of India to theSouth.^[9] Quentin presentedRestoration Home onBBC Two. The programme looks into the history and families of the UK's derelict mansion houses which are being restored by their private owners.^[10][11] In 2012, Quentin began working on another documentary series,Cornwall with Caroline Quentin, which shows her travelling acrossCornwall, 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.^[12] Quentin starred in theComedy Central seriesBig 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 ofDoc Martin, re-uniting with herMen Behaving Badly co-starMartin Clunes, and returned in 2017 and 2019. She played the role of Mrs Bumble inDickensian (2015–2016). In November 2016, she guest presented an episode ofThe One Show.

Starting in 2017, Quentin was co-presenter of theBBC Two programmeThe World's Most Extraordinary Homes with architectPiers Taylor; 12 episodes were completed and aired. Subsequently, the series streamed onNetflix.

In 2020, Quentin participated in theeighteenth series ofStrictly Come Dancing. She was partnered withJohannes Radebe. Quentin became the fourth celebrity to be voted off on 22 November 2020.^[13][14][15] 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."^[16]

In May 2023 Quentin was featured in the BBC coverage of theChelsea Flower Show, showing viewers around the garden of her home nearTiverton, Devon.^[17]

Her early stage work had also included appearing in the chorus of the original English production of the musicalLes Misérables in 1985.

In 2019 she played Lady Fancyfull in theRoyal Shakespeare Company production ofThe Provoked Wife.^[18] In 2022 she playedMrs Malaprop in theRoyal National Theatre's production ofJack Absolute Flies Again, earning her aLaurence Olivier nomination forBest Actress in a Supporting Role.^[19][20]

In 2023 she played elder Emma Hamilton and Mrs Cadogan inJermyn Street Theatre's world premier production ofInfamous by April de Angelis.^[21]

In July 1996, Quentin released a single, a cover ofthe Exciters' hit "Tell Him", with herMen Behaving Badly co-starLeslie Ash under the name of "Quentin and Ash". The single spent three weeks in theUK Singles Chart, reaching number 25.^[22]

Quentin received anIan Charleson Award commendation for her Masha inThe Seagull at the Oxford Theatre Company in 1991.^[23]

At theBritish Comedy Awards in 2004, Quentin won the "Best Comedy Actress" award for her performance inVon Trapped.

In 2023, it was announced that Quentin had written a gardening book, titledDrawn to the Garden, about her own experience in running a vegetable and flower garden at her home on Devon, which she began sharing onInstagram during theCOVID-19 lockdown. Included throughout the book are various watercolours and sketches by Quentin. Its release was planned for 15 February 2024.^[24]

Quentin was married to comedianPaul Merton from 1990 until their 1998 divorce.^[25]Quentin met Sam Farmer in 1998 on the set ofMen Behaving Badly, where he was arunner.^[26] The couple have two children. Her daughter Rose is also an actress, and has appeared alongside her mother.^[27] In 2006, she married Farmer inTiverton, Devon. They lived briefly in Morebath Manor near the village ofMorebath, Devon, close to Tiverton,^[28] before moving to a smaller derelict farm nearby, which they renovated. Before moving to Devon, the couple lived atWalberswick, Suffolk.^[29]

Quentin hascoeliac disease and is the patron ofCoeliac UK.^[30][31] She is also president of the charityCampaign for National Parks.^[32]

• List of people diagnosed with coeliac disease

• Caroline Quentin atIMDb
• Amanda Howard Associates
• Caroline Quentin atBritish Comedy Guide

• 1960 births
• Living people
• English film actresses
• English stage actresses
• English television actresses
• English voice actresses
• People educated at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts
• Actors from Reigate
• People from Walberswick
• English women comedians
• Actresses from Surrey
• 20th-century English actresses
• 21st-century English actresses
• Comedians from Surrey
• Actors from Suffolk Coastal

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from September 2015
• Articles with hCards