Liza Tarbuck can make a difficult character likeable without pretending she is easy company. We value her comic timing and ensemble work, though broad parts need writing that gives her something beyond another eccentric to play.
Fi1m perspective
In The Change (2023), Liza Tarbuck’s Siobhain is one of the characters surrounding Bridget Christie’s Linda. Tarbuck is often asked to play broadly comic women, relying on physical presence and timing, but likeability matters just as much to what she does. She can make a difficult character worth spending time with without excusing everything about her. We rate that skill, especially in an ensemble; it needs writing that gives her more to do than be conspicuous.
The seven-year run as Pamela in Watching (1987–1993) established her in television comedy, but casting directors subsequently struggled to place her. The title role in Linda Green (2001–2002) gave her a comedy-drama to carry, and made good use of her ability to keep a flawed character likeable. That lead role matters: there is more to her work than providing a reliable supporting presence. Later, Anne Hathaway in Ben Elton’s Upstart Crow (2016–2018) put her back among a sitcom ensemble.
Bleak House (2005) is a less useful introduction. Tarbuck plays Mrs Jellyby in Andrew Davies’s adaptation, whose exaggerated characters too often make the serious drama difficult to believe. The gothic treatment supplies comedy, and Gillian Anderson and Burn Gorman give us compelling reasons to stay, but we found the programme decent rather than wholly convincing.
We warmed to The Change because Christie keeps Linda direct and understandable even when the surrounding comedy grows fanciful. Alongside Tarbuck are Monica Dolan as Carmel and Paul Whitehouse as Tony, and the ensemble is one of the programme’s chief pleasures. The rural eccentricity occasionally feels overworked, but Linda’s stubbornness and the attention paid to her unpaid work keep the comedy worth watching. Tarbuck belongs to that capable company without needing to be singled out as its chief attraction. Start here, with some tolerance for eccentrics.
Biography
Liza Tarbuck is an English actress and presenter. She was born on 21 November 1964 in Liverpool and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1986.
She first came to prominence as Pamela Lynch in the long-running ITV sitcom Watching (1987–1993). Subsequent television roles include Anne Hathaway in Upstart Crow (2016–2018), Beatrice in Brassic (2019–), and Siobhain in The Change (2023–). Film credits include The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011). She is also known for radio presenting on BBC Radio 2 and appearances on panel shows such as Taskmaster.
Tarbuck is the daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.
