 As a girl in the 1970s, Baynes attended the Elmhurst Ballet School in Camberley in Surrey, where a contemporary was the actress Laura Hartong.Her stage career has involved many leading roles including in 1979, in John Osborne’s "Inadmissible Evidence" at the Royal Court Theatre, in 1984, a comic performance alongside Maureen Lipman and Lionel Jeffries in the Theatre of Comedy’s "See How They Run"; in 1991, she appeared with Edward Fox in "The Philanthropist" at Wyndham's Theatre and in 1997, as Lady Fidget in William Wycherley’s "The Country Wife ".Her most recent stage performance was in 2004, as Shirley in "Revelations" by Stephen Lowe at the Hampstead Theatre.