James' career was enhanced by playing opposite Dame Peggy Ashcroft in "She's Been Away" (1989), for which they were both cited as Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. More international notice has come with TV roles including the moderately successful comedy "Blott on the Landscape" (1986), in which she was a woman trying to save her family's estate, as the beloved teacher in the 1989 miniseries "Echoes" and as Nora's friend Kristina in "A Doll's House" (1992). James was also seen in the 1995 HBO miniseries "Band of Gold", a thriller in which prostitutes were being hunted by a serial killer. She also gained notice for her turn as a courtesan in Pen Densham's "Moll Flanders" (1996), starring Robin Wright.