# Deddie Davies

Deddie Davies (born Gillian Nancy Davies, 2 March 1938 – 21 December 2016) was a Welsh character actress.

## Biography

Davies was born in Bridgend, Wales. She trained at RADA and is most familiar to television viewers for comedy roles in a host of series, including The Rag Trade, That's My Boy, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Chance in a Million.
She appeared in non-comedic roles in series such as The Bill, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Forsyte Saga and Grange Hill. Her film roles include that of Nell Perks in The Railway Children (1970), and The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972).
In her later life, Davies was concerned for issues facing the elderly. In May 2007 she had musical success as a member of superannuated pop group The Zimmers. Their cover version of "My Generation" reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2008, Davies investigated the quality of life in elderly care facilities by posing as the aunt of a BBC reporter, being admitted to a rest home, and spending five days there. She recorded her experiences and treatment and concluded that life in many facilities was a "slow death", featuring inactivity, loneliness and minimal interpersonal interaction. Davies's research was reported on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
She became a trustee and recorded a video for UK registered charity Compassion in Care.
From 2012, she appeared as Marj Brennig in the British TV series Stella.
She died of ovarian cancer on 21 December 2016, aged 78.

## Partial filmography
### TV

| Year | Title | Character | Original Network | Notes |
| 1967 | The Forsyte Saga | Millie | BBC Two | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | Vanity Fair | Lady Crawley | BBC Two | 2 episodes |
| 1968 | Late Night Horror | Yvonne | BBC Two | Episode: "The Kiss of Blood" |
| 1971 | Doctor at Large | Mrs. Coates | London Weekend Television | Episode: "Upton Sells Out" |
| 1972 | Both Ends Meet | Flo | London Weekend Television | 7 episodes |
| 1972 | Clochemerle | Madame Fouache | BBC Two | 7 episodes |
| 1973 | Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em | Miss Thomas | BBC One | Episode: "The Hospital Visit" |
| 1973 | The Adventures of Black Beauty | Miss Hudson | London Weekend Television | Episode: "Wild Justice" |
| 1975 | My Old Man | Bride | Yorkshire Television | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Upstairs, Downstairs | Mrs Tibbitt | London Weekend Television | Episode: "Noblesse Oblige" |
| 1977 | Just William | Miss Fairman | London Weekend Television | Episode: "Waste Paper Please" |
| 1977–78 | The Rag Trade | Mabel | London Weekend Television | 22 episodes |
| 1978 | Get Some In! | Akela | Thames Television | Episode: "Labrador" |
| 1978 | The Mayor of Casterbridge | Nancy | BBC Two | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | You're Only Young Twice | Flo | Yorkshire Television | Episode: "Breakfast at Peabody's" |
| 1982 | A.J. Wentworth, B.A. | Miss Coombes | Thames Television | 4 episodes |
| 1982 | The Gentle Touch | Miss Thing | London Weekend Television | Episode: "One of Those Days" |
| 1982 | Solo | Mrs McNally | BBC One | 1 episode |
| 1983 | Give Us a Break | Penny | BBC One | Episode: "When It Rains, It Pours" |
| 1983 | Grange Hill | Cook | BBC One | 1 episode |
| 1984–86 | Chance in a Million | Doreen Little | Channel 4 | 6 episodes |
| 1984–86 | That's My Boy | Miss Edith Parfitt/Polly Bennett | Yorkshire Television | 12 episodes |
| 1985 | The Pickwick Papers | Mrs. Cluppins | BBC One | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Titus Andronicus | Nurse | BBC Two | TV Movie |
| 1986 | Miss Marple | Mrs. Salisbury | BBC1 | Episode: "The Murder at the Vicarage" |
| 1987 | C.A.T.S. Eyes | Mrs Best | TVS | Episode: "Country Weekend" |
| 1987 | My Husband and I | Bambi Bamber | Yorkshire Television | 15 episodes |
| 1987 | No Place Like Home | Mrs. Dagwood | BBC One | Episode: "Hero" |
| 1987 | The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole | Flapper | Thames Television | 1 episode |
| 1989 | Forever Green | Rose | London Weekend Television | 1 episode |
| 1990 | Close to Home | Miss Trible | London Weekend Television | Episode: "And Then There Was One" |
| 1990 | Jeeves and Wooster | Serving Lady | Granada Television | Episode: "The Purity of the Turf" |
| 1990 | You Rang M'Lord? | Queen of Dalmatia | BBC One | Episode: "Royal Flush" |
| 1991 | The Upper Hand | Mrs. Olive | Central | Episode: "Common Evidence" |
| 1991 | Trouble in Mind | Charlotte | London Weekend Television | Episode: "The Chance to Dream" |
| 1992 | Covington Cross | Sybil | ABC | Episode: "Blinded Passions" |
| 1992-4 | Waiting For God | Sister Sheila | BBC One | 4 episode |
| 1994–95 | Time After Time | Auntie Dot | London Weekend Television | 10 episodes |
| 1995 | Coogan's Run | Post Office Barbara | BBC2 | Episode: "Handyman For All Seasons" |
| 1997 | Casualty | Marjorie | BBC1 | Episode: “Monday Bloody Monday” |
| 1997 | Cows | Cook | Channel 4 | TV Movie |
| 1998 | Dangerfield | Mrs. Robinson | BBC One | Episode: "The Last Picture" |
| 1998 | Keeping Mum | Elsie | BBC One | Episode: "The Picnic" |
| 2001 | Bernard's Watch | Agnes Bell | Central | 5 episodes |
| 2005 | My Hero | Mrs. Osborne | BBC One | Episode: "The First Husband's Club" |
| 2005 | Ultimate Force | Sylvia | ITV | Episode: "Deadlier Than the Male" |
| 2007 | Sensitive Skin | Deddie | BBC Two | Episode: "Three Lost Loves" |
| 2009 | Midsomer Murders | Mrs Fuller | ITV | Episode: "The Great and The Good" |
| 2009 | The Catherine Tate Show | Gail | BBC Two | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Land Girls | Miss Betty Ganderton | BBC One | Episode: "Fight the Good Fight" |
| 2011 | White Van Man | Irene | BBC Three | Episode: "The Stand" |
| 2012 | The Neighbourhood | TBC | BBC North | Comedy pilot, screened at BBC's Salford Comedy Festival |
| 2013 | Whitechapel | Dorothy Cade | ITV | 3 episodes |
| 2012, 2014–2016 | Stella | Marj Brennig | Sky One | Series 1,3–5 |

### Film

| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
| 1970 | The Railway Children | Nell Perks | |
| 1972 | The Amazing Mr Blunden | Miss Meakin | |
| 1986 | The Canterville Ghost | Aunt Caroline | |
| 1988 | Consuming Passions | Mrs Coot | |
| 1990 | The Fool | TBC | |
| 1997 | Food of Love | Village Woman | |
| 2010 | Bad Night for the Blues | Dorothy | Short film |
| 2011 | Swinging with the Finkels | Older woman | |
| 2014 | Pride | Old Lady | |