Barbara Marten (born 31 January 1952) is a British actress. She is most known for playing Eve Montgomery in Casualty. She has appeared in various soaps, including EastEnders and Brookside, as well as many other drama serials, such as Harry, The Bill and Band of Gold.
Early life Marten was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, and grew up in County Durham. She went to the all-girls William Newton School in Norton, then Stockton and Billingham Technical College. She went to drama school at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art as a teenager for three years, and later said that it put her off becoming an actress. Marten trained as a teacher in Birmingham and taught for two years before being drawn back to the stage.
After becoming involved with a theatre group in Coventry, Marten joined a newly formed theatre group in Doncaster. They toured Yorkshire, performing plays about various subjects, including the St Leger, and another about battered wives.
Career In 1996, Marten appeared at the National Theatre in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. She has also appeared in various other plays such as Hamlet, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (at Manchester Royal Exchange), The Winter’s Tale (at the Royal Exchange), Get Up & Tie Your Fingers (Customs House), The Awkward Squad (West End), Heldenplatz (Arcola), The Enemies Within, Some Kind of Hero (at the Young Vic), The Glass Menagerie (Lyceum, Edinburgh), Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes (York Theatre Royal) and a touring production of An Inspector Calls.
From 1997 to 1999, she played the part of nurse Eve Montgomery in Casualty.Chris Perry Since then, she has appeared in many TV dramas, receiving much acclaim for her work in dramas such as Bob & Rose and Fat Friends. Marten played the lead role of Ellen in the film Between Two Women (2000), and then in A Passionate Woman (2010) as Moira. She appeared in the 2012 series Public Enemies.
Marten then played Hannah Greg in the period television drama series The Mill (between 2013 and 2014) which was about life at Quarry Bank Mill during the Industrial Revolution.
Marten appeared as Elizabeth I in the fantasy television series A Discovery of Witches, and has played Sylvia Chambers on the drama thriller television series The Devil's Hour since 2022. In 2024, Marten began portraying Sister Avila in the HBO science fiction series Dune: Prophecy.
Personal life Barbara and her husband, Mike Kenny, (writer of The Railway Children play) have three sons, Theo, Josh and Billy. Marten met Kenny in the 1980s, while acting in a student pantomime in Birmingham, when they were studying to become teachers. They have lived in York since 2004, having previously lived in Leeds. The children have studied at the Steiner School at Fulford.
Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes 1985 The Practice Barbara Quinn 4 episodes1988 Christabel Freda 1 episode Screen Two Marlene 1 episode The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Katharine Freeman 1 episode 1985–1989 Brookside Margaret Jefferson 9 episodes 1989 Screen One Bill's wife 1 episode1992 The Life and Times of Henry Pratt Ada Pratt (TV Mini-Series), 1 episode In Suspicious Circumstances Mrs. Browning (TV Series), 1 episode 1993 Love and Reason Mel Lynch (TV Mini-Series), 3 episodes 1993–1995 Harry Rita Salter (Harry's ex-wife) 15 episodesNorman Chance 1997–1999 Casualty Eve Montgomery / Tamara Redpath (1 episode in 1989) 39 episodes 1995–2006 The Bill Laura Meadows / Joan Barnwood / Barbara Dean 12 episodes (10 episodes as Laura Meadows)1995 Band of Gold Mrs. Richards 3 episodes Medics Barbara Lawson 1 episode 1997 The Sherman Plays Gwen John (TV Series),1 episode2000 Badger Marie 1 episode Where the Heart Is Frances Barrow 1 episode 2000–2002 Fat Friends Liz Ashburn 3 episodes 2001 Bob & Rose Carol Cooper 6 episodes2005 Rome Diviner 1 episode The Royal Assistant Matron Thelma Parker 1 episode EastEnders D.S. Haydon or DS Haydon 7 episodes2006 Goldplated Beth White 8 episodes Silent Witness Mary Duncan 3 episodes 2007 Dalziel and Pascoe Louise Roach 2 episode 2008 Heartbeat Margaret Watson 1 episode2009 Waking the Dead Penny Cain 2 episodes Doctors Liz Frobisher 1 episode The Street Nessa 1 episode Law & Order: UK Phillipa Keegan 1 episode2010 A Passionate Woman Moira 1 episode Five Days Ellie Gooding 1 episode2011 Walk Like a Panther Margaret Bolton 1 episode In with the Flynns Mrs. Cooper 1 episode2012 Vera Diane Barton 1 episode Kidnap and Ransom Janet Taylor 3 episodes Whitechapel Adelina Grace 1 episode Public Enemies Kathy Whiteley 3 episodes 2013 Frankie Jean Winters 1 episode 2013–2014 The Mill Hannah Greg 10 episodes 2018 Mrs Wilson Mrs. McKelvie 2 episodes2021A Discovery of Witches Queen Elizabeth I2 episodes2022–presentThe Devil's HourSylvia Chambers8 episodes2024Dune: Prophecy Sister Avila6 episodes2026Slow HorsesAnne1 episode
Film Year Title Role Notes 1987 A Month in the Country Mrs. Sykes Irish drama filmDenis Gifford (editor) 1989 Home Run Bill's wife The Fifteen Streets Hannah Kelly (TV Movie) 1990 Shoot to Kill Stella Stalker (TV Movie) 1996 Goodbye My Love Jean Humphry (TV Movie) 2000 Between Two Women Ellen Hardy 2002 Flesh and Blood Barbara (TV Movie) A Is for Acid Emily Haigh (TV Movie) 2003 The Debt Gwen Dresner (TV Movie) In Search of the Brontës Tabitha Aykroyd (TV Movie) 2005 Faith Doreen (TV Movie) 2008 Florence Nightingale Fanny, Florence's mother (TV Movie)2010 Capture Anthologies: Fables & Fairytales Margaret Travis (Video) Oranges and Sunshine Mary 2015 I Hamlet Gertrude 2020 The Turning Mrs. Grose 2022 The Twin Helen
Awards In 2018, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her role in People, Places and Things at National Theatre/St. Ann's Warehouse.
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