| Elizabeth Rider | |
| Other Names: | Liza Rider |
| Birth Name: | Elizabeth Rider |
| Education: | Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1979–present |
Elizabeth Rider is an English actress. Her career is marked by diverse roles in numerous television dramas.
She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was awarded its Gold Medal. From there, Elizabeth joined the Radio Drama Company after winning the Carleton Hobbs Bursary,[1] which gave her a contract for six months.
Rider's first television acting job was as Nora in the 1979 series Testament of Youth. In 1997, she landed the role of Sheila Thwaite in The Lakes. In 1999, she appeared in ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Ashley Peacock's biological mother. In 2004, she had a ten-episode role playing Jill Green in EastEnders.
Rider appeared in Series Two and Three of the drama At Home with the Braithwaites in 2001 and 2002, as Helen Braithwaite. She also voiced Atris in the video game . She appeared in five episodes in Series 23 of the long-running medical drama series Casualty, playing troubled mum Cathy Malone. She has also appeared in Heartbeat, Emmerdale, Holby City, Hollyoaks, The Street, The Accused, The Tunnel, Call the Midwife, Marchlands, Informer and the 2013 Doctor Who Christmas Special, "The Time of the Doctor", among many other dramas. From 2009 to 2017, Rider portrayed the recurring role of DCI Lynette Driver on the BBC soap opera Doctors.[2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Breakout | WPC | |
| 1985 | Sacred Hearts | ||
| 1985 | Voice role; short film | ||
| 1997 | Stone Cold | Lesley | |
| 2005 | Brothers of the Head | Roberta Howe | |
| 2016 | Letters from Baghdad | Lady Elsa Richmond | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Testament of Youth | Norah | Miniseries; episode: "Buxton 1914" | |
| 1980 | Breakaway | Schoolteacher | Episode: "The Local Affair: Part 2" | |
| 1981 | Sons and Lovers | Gladys | Miniseries; 1 episode | |
| 1985 | Marguerite Duras: Worn Out with Desire to Write | Reader | TV documentary | |
| 1986 | Refuse to Dance: The Theatre of Howard Barker | TV documentary | ||
| 1988 | Hard Cases | Woman on bus | 2 episodes | |
| 1992 | Civvies | Suzie Dillon | Miniseries; main role | |
| 1993, 2004, 2007, 2009 | Tina Rogers / Josephine Eyre / Sarah Callaghan / Diane Silk | 5 episodes | ||
| 1993 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Grace | Episode: "Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" | |
| 1993 | Between the Lines | Det. Sgt. Jackie Whittaker | Episode: "Honourable Men" | |
| 1994, 1998, 2000 | Peak Practice | Alison Farnham / Patricia Davey / Anne Meadows | 3 episodes | |
| 1995, 2008–2009 | Casualty | Cathy Malone / Bev Elliott | 6 episodes | |
| 1996 | Dangerfield | Jackie Creed | Episode: "Old Dog, Old Tricks" | |
| 1996, 2000 | Pond Life | Ruth / Additional voices | Voice role; 3 episodes | |
| 1997 | Wycliffe | Trisha Tyzack | Episode: "Close to Home" | |
| 1997–1999 | Sheila Thwaite | Main role | ||
| 1998 | Out of Hours | Mrs. Boyd | Miniseries; 1 episode | |
| 1999, 2004, 2009 | Heartbeat | Mrs. Constance Manners / Dawn Buckland / Stella | 3 episodes | |
| 1999 | Where the Heart Is | Carol Williams | Episode: "A Special Language" | |
| 1999, 2006 | Coronation Street | Kathleen Gutteridge / Genna | 15 episodes | |
| 2000 | Donovan Quick | Grief Stricken Woman | Television film | |
| 2001, 2005, 2012, 2015 | Holby City | Linda Haywood / Annie Franklin / Carol Bennett / Polly Thomas | 4 episodes | |
| 2001–2002 | At Home with the Braithwaites | Helen Braithwaite | 5 episodes | |
| 2002 | Murder | DS Wenthworth | Miniseries; main role | |
| 2002 | Bad Girls | Ms. Green | Episode: "Marriage of Inconvenience" | |
| 2002 | Lenny Blue | Mrs. Cooper | Miniseries | |
| 2003 | Red Cap | Carol Rossel | Episode: "H-Hour" | |
| 2003 | Helen Burrell | Episode: "Close Encounters" | ||
| 2003 | Cold Feet | Counsellor | 1 episode | |
| 2003 | Sweet Medicine | Mrs. Campbell | 1 episode | |
| 2004–2008 | EastEnders | Nurse Jill Green | 10 episodes | |
| 2004 | Hustle | June | Episode: "A Touch of Class" | |
| 2004 | Maureen Scant | Miniseries; 3 episodes | ||
| 2005 | Georgiana Gardiner | Docudrama; episode: "The Case of Rose Harsent" | ||
| 2005, 2008–2017 | Doctors | Denise Roberts / Louise McBride / Lynette Driver | Recurring roles | |
| 2006 | Hotel Babylon | Mrs Johnson | 1 episode | |
| 2006 | Miss Wilkinson | Episode: "Keep On Running" | ||
| 2006 | Jane Hall | Negotiator | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | Silent Witness | Laura Egerton | Episode: "Apocalypse: Part 2" | |
| 2007 | Mother | Episode: "Old Flame" | ||
| 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015 | Emmerdale | Fiona MacPherson / Doctor / Defence solicitor/ Solicitor | 4 different roles | |
| 2008 | Kate Danson | 1 episode | ||
| 2008 | Waterloo Road | Sheila Hanson | 1 episode | |
| 2008, 2013 | Doctor Who | Atmos Voice / Linda | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | Inspector George Gently | Mrs. Alderton | Episode: "Gently in the Blood" | |
| 2009–2011 | Waking the Dead | Maureen Smith | Recurring role; 7 episodes (series 8–9) | |
| 2010 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Mrs. Davis | Episode: "The Pale Horse" | |
| 2010 | Mistress Ellen | 2 episodes | ||
| 2010 | Fiona Sears | Episode: "Help" | ||
| 2010 | Accused | Kerry Duggan | Episode: "Kenny's Story" | |
| 2011 | Marchlands | Older Olive Runcie | Miniseries; main role | |
| 2012 | Call the Midwife | Peggy | 2 episodes | |
| 2013 | Neighbour | 1 episode | ||
| 2014 | Our Zoo | Celia | Miniseries; 1 episode | |
| 2014 | Lewis | Lorraine Fernsby | Episode: "Entry Wounds | |
| 2015 | Suspects | Grace Jenkins | Episode: "Victim" | |
| 2015 | Maggie | Miniseries; 2 episodes | ||
| 2015 | Elizabeth Figg | Television film | ||
| 2015 | Lady Chatterley's Lover | Mrs. Betts | Television film | |
| 2015 | Doctor Foster | Mary | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | Midsomer Murders | Bobbie Loxley | Episode: "Habeas Corpus" | |
| 2018 | Vera | Eileen Hennings | Episode: "Blood and Bone" | |
| 2018 | Informer | Lady Justice Spencer | Miniseries; main role | |
| 2018 | Mrs Wilson | Gladys Wilson | Miniseries; 1 episode | |
| 2018 | Care | Helen | Television film | |
| 2019, 2021 | Line of Duty | DCC Andrea Wise | 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | Doc Martin | Lamorna Hammond | Episode: "To the Lighthouse" | |
| 2019 | Toni Brisby | Television film | ||
| 2021 | Showtrial | Judge Isobel Cavendish | BBC Television Series | |
| 2021 | Shadow and Bone | Ana Kuya | Upcoming series | |
| True Things About Me | Mum | Upcoming film | ||
| 2023 | Sister Boniface Mysteries | Heather Hartwood | Episode: "The Book of Shadows" |