Barbara Mitchell

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Barbara Mitchell (4 October 1929 – 9 December 1977, Kingston Upon Thames) was an English actress who became a familiar face on British television in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her work in many classic sitcoms of the period.

Career[]

Mitchell started out as a stage actress, and gained a foothold in television with a number of appearances in popular shows in the 1960s. In 1970, she got her first leading TV role, as Ruth, the daughter of the title character (Irene Handl) in the gentle comedy For the Love of Ada, which ran for four series and 27 episodes, followed by a spin-off film. At the same time, she was appearing periodically as Mrs. Abbott, the absurdly over-protective mother of would-be tough guy Frankie ("Mummy's little soldier"), in Please Sir! and its sequel The Fenn Street Gang. Mitchell's appearances as Mrs. Abbott were sporadic, and fleeting, but were hugely popular and are still remembered with affection.

She appeared as Isabel Chintz, a tough Australian pop agent, in Superstar, a 1973 episode of The Goodies. In Lizzie Dripping, a BBC children's programme which ran for two series in 1973 and 1975, Mitchell played Patty Arbuckle, the often harassed mother of Penelope (Tina Heath),^[1] while her longest-running role came in the Yorkshire Television production Beryl's Lot, 52 episodes over three series between 1973 and 1977, in which she played Vi Tonks, married to Trevor (Tony Caunter) and neighbour and friend to the titular Beryl (Carmel McSharry).^[2][3]

She is also fondly remembered in a series of late 1960s / early 1970s UK commercials for dish washing product Fairy Liquid, where she played blonde beehived Madge the employer of a beauty salon who for some reason encouraged customers to dip their fingers into a small bowl of the aforesaid substance to demonstrate how kind it was to hands.

Personal Life and Death[]

She was married to actor Rex Graham, (1924 - 1991), (a former Ghurka).

She had two children, Melannie, (to whom Peggy Mount was Godmother), and Jeremy.

They lived in Crescent Road, Kingston-upon-Thames.

Mitchell died of breast cancer on 9 December 1977, aged 48.

Appearances[]

Films

• 1960: Inn for Trouble - Hetty Prout
• 1963: Ladies Who Do - Rose
• 1971: Please Sir! - Mrs. Abbott
• 1972: For the Love of Ada - Ruth Pollitt
• 1976: The Twelve Tasks of Asterix - (English version, voice)
• 1977: What's Up Nurse!^[4] - Neighbour (final film role)

Television

• 1958-1964: The Larkins - Hetty Prout
• 1959: Emergency – Ward 10 - Mrs. Garland
• 1960: The Secret Garden - Nurse
• 1963: Z-Cars - Mrs. Evans
• 1963: Bud - Mrs. Chanyne
• 1965–1966: Dixon of Dock Green - Mrs. Rudd / Amy Ashton
• 1966: Play of the Week - Tessa Lucas
• 1969: Ours Is a Nice House - Stella Barrington
• 1969: Dombey and Son - Mrs. MacStinger
• 1970: Please Sir! - Mrs. Abbott
• 1970–1971: The Doctors - Connie Higson
• 1971: Doctor at Large - Schoolmistress
• 1971–1973 The Fenn Street Gang - Mrs. Abbott
• 1973: The Gordon Peters Show - Mrs. M
• 1973: The Goodies - Isabel Chintz
• 1973–1975: Lizzie Dripping - Patty Arbuckle
• 1973–1977: Beryl's Lot - Vi Tonks
• 1974: Funny Ha-Ha - Kate Carter
• 1974: My Name is Harry Worth - Miss Sugget
• 1977: Yanks Go Home - Lady Gertrude

References[]

External links[]

• Lizzie Dripping information page