For details about the actress playing the part see Rachel Bailey’s mother – revealed.
For reviews of series 3, start here.
When the final episode of ‘Scott and Bailey’ ended last night visitor numbers to this blog went through the roof. There was a bit of a surge following Sunday evening’s edition of ‘Vera’, but nothing like the deluge after Sally Wainwright’s cliffhanging last scene. 
Most of the visitors coming via a Google search had entered variations of ‘Who is Rachel Bailey’s mother in Scott and Bailey’ in the search field. Seems there’s a lot of people out there sitting on the edge of their seats.
Unfortunately, after reading The Return of Scott and Bailey to ITV (hurrah!) (the page Google directed them to) those visitors would have been none the wiser. I don’t know who Rachel Bailey’s mother is.
But I can have a bloody good guess.
The shock on Rachel’s face would seem to indicate that the woman sitting in the snug wasn’t who she was expecting. Now, there are a couple of theories to explain that surprise. Either it was someone Rachel has known in adult life as someone other than Ma Bailey or the woman’s appearance was revelatory for some other reason.
Runners and riders
- DCI Gill Murray
- DCI Julie ‘Slap’ Dodson
- Scary Mary Jackson (pathologist)
- Janet Scott
- Dorothy Parsons (Janet’s mum)
I think that may be all the female characters of roughly the right age (though it would be pushing it mathematically if it turned out to be Janet Scott).
But Rachel was 12 when her mother abandoned her. Surely she’d remember her face well enough even after all those years to recognise her in an instant? And even if she didn’t, she would have recognised her voice on the phone.
Note to programme makers: Please don’t choose any of the above scenarios. Viewers may never forgive you.
- Mrs Bailey is now a man
- She’s been in a disfiguring accident/fire
- She’s turned up with a surprising companion
- There was something unexpected on the table (other than a bumper-sized bag of pork scratchings)
- [UPDATED] – and the winner is: She’s being played by Denise Black or Beverley Callard or someone else from Corrie who Suranne Jones wasn’t expecting
I suppose any of the above might be plausible. I do hope the show’s been commissioned for a third series, or we may never find out.
I think it’s fair to say I’ve been an avid fan of this series of S&B. I particularly enjoyed the Cagney and Lacey style chats in the ladies’ loos. Amelia Bullmore is a treat whatever she’s in. We should definitely see more of her on telly.
Sally Wainwright/Sally Lindsay/Suranne Jones we salute you. Thank you for coming up with the idea and pulling it off.
And thank you ITV. Now I need to go catch up with the lastest episode of ‘Vera’ on ITV Player.
Oh – and if anyone DOES know the reason for Rachel Bailey’s alarm, please don’t tell me. Just in case, I’m sticking my fingers in my ears and singing la la ( I hate spoilers).
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Great write-up, made me laugh!
I really hope it isn’t Janet, otherwise that would be very weird! The first thought I had was that her mother was Slap. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
I first thought it was Gill but now I don’t think that’s very plausible. Rachel speaks to her mother on the phone so if it was someone she already knows then surely she would have recognised them. I’m thinking that it’s more likely that her mother is sitting there with someone who she does know. Really can’t wait for the next series (hope there is one) so I can find out.
Oh I so so so can’t wait for another season to find out who it is. This has to be one of the best cliff hangers ever!! I can see her not recognising Janet’s mums voice on the phone so could imagine it being her. That would be strange.
I think it will turn out Alison (her older sister) is actually her mum. A few times during the final episode Alison said, “I’m not interested in having anything to do with MY mum” rather than “our mum.” They decided to have Alison’s mum raise Alison’s baby as her own because she was so young when she gave birth.
I thought the shock was that the mother looked so much like Rachel.
Love this series, can’t wait for series four. Best acting so far by anyone was Nicole Walker as Helen Bartlett—outstanding. I still haven’t forgiven Gill for the mess she made, though like all good characters, she is now not perfect.
It was a great piece of casting wasn’t it? I remember Tracie Bennett from Coronation Street, many many years ago. I agree with you about Nicola Walker – she’s great in anything she’s in. Do you get Last Tango in Halifax in Australia? She’s brilliant in that too. Though, like Scott and Bailey it’s fantastic ensemble acting.