Janet Henfrey took English prelims at St Anne's, Oxford, after which she read history followed by a graduate year at Smith, from where she went to the RADA as part of their US intake. Since then she has had a varied career in the theatre and on film and television. The latter has included 'The Singing Detective', 'The Jewel in the Crown' and 9 series of 'As Time Goes By' with Judi Dench. She has worked in theatres all over the UK, including the RSC and the Oxford Playhouse and most recently (as of November 2005) 'The Black Rider', which played at the Barbican, in San Francisco and Sydney, and will be seen in Los Angeles next year. She occasionally gives dramatic readings, alongside academic Rose Bailey and the poet herself, of the poetry of UA Fanthorpe.