# Dorothea Phillips (actress)

Dorothea Phillips (born 5 September 1928), known as Dottie, is a Welsh actress, best known for her roles in the radio, theatre and film versions of Under Milk Wood and 102 Dalmatians (2000). She appeared in the first stage production of T. S. Eliot's 1958 play The Elder Statesman, at the Edinburgh Festival.

## Early life and education

Peggy Dorothea Phillips was the daughter of Canon W D Phillips, vicar of Cwmtillery. She had one sister. She studied English at Aberystwyth University followed by law, with the intention of becoming a barrister, about which she said, "I found law lessons so tedious that I spent most of my time in the university dramatic society." She was vice-chair of Abertillery Council's Entertainments Committee and vice-chair of the Students' Representative Council.

## Career

After graduation her first position in theatre was as an assistant stage manager, after which she joined a repertory company as an actor. She went on to appear in theatre, radio, film and television.

### Theatre

| Year | Production | Company / Location |
| 1947 | Dangerous Corner | Liverpool Warehousing Company |
| 1949 | Hayfever | The New Garrick Players |
| 1953 | Pardon my Claws | Theatre Royal, Huddersfield |
| 1953 | Maiden Ladies | Theatre Royal, Huddersfield |
| 1953 | Pink String and Sealing Wax | Theatre Royal, Huddersfield |
| 1954 | The Sleeping Prince | Windsor Repertory Company |
| 1955 | Under Milk Wood | Theatre Royal, Newcastle |
| 1955 | The Love Match | Brighton Royal |
| 1957 | Doctor Angelus | Edinburgh Gateway Company |
| 1957 | The Deep Blue Sea | Curzon Productions |
| 1957 | Flare Path | Lyceum Theatre, London |
| 1957 | George and Margaret | Curzon Productions |
| 1958 | The Hamlet of Stepney Green | Oxford Playhouse Company |
| 1961 | The Norman Wisdom Show | Alhambra Theatre, Bradford |
| 1961 | The Cupboard | Alhambra Theatre, Bradford |
| 1965 | The Living Room | Malvern Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| 1967 | The Anniversary | Palace Theatre, Watford |
| 1967 | Busybody | Marlowe Theatre |
| 1976 | Mother's Day | Royal Court, London |
| 1978 | The Boy Friend | Richmond Theatre |

## Radio

* 1963: Under Milk Wood (BBC) with Richard Burton, about which Phillips said "Some people said there was a melancholy to Richard's voice but the Welsh are melancholy by nature. It's the quality of hwyl – a word which doesn't quite translate into English. At times Richard had it."
* 1966: This Little Piggy (BBC)
* 1967: The White Sparrow (BBC)

### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1962 | The Lamp in Assassin Mews | Mrs Burke |
| 1963 | The Cage | |
| 1964 | Under Milk Wood | Mrs Ogmore -Pritchard |
| 1967 | The Story of the Airship | Housekeeper |
| 1970 | Carry on Loving | Aunt Beatrice Grubb |
| 1972 | Under Milk Wood | Mrs Dai Bread One |
| 1972 | Commuter Husbands | Wife |
| 1979 | The Corn is Green | Sarah Pugh |
| 1979 | S.O.S. Titanic | Emma Bucknell |
| 1980 | Heartland | |
| 1985 | Santa Claus: The Movie | Miss Tucker |
| 1986 | The Canterville Ghost | Aunt Gretchen |
| 1986 | Duet for One | Betty |
| 1987 | Y Gwyliau (The Holiday) | Mother |
| 1988 | Olympus Force | Mrs Grossopoulos |
| 2000 | 102 Dalmatians | Mrs Mirthless |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1960 | The Citadel | | |
| 1962 | The Saint | Mrs Barnes | 1 episode |
| 1963 | Dixon of Dock Green | | 1 episode: Christmas Dip |
| 1965 | Secret Agent | | 1 episode: Whatever happened to George Foster |
| 1966 | Out of the Unknown | Nurse | 1 episode: Frankenstein Mark II |
| 1966 | The Newcomers | Mrs Hartley | 1 episode |
| 1966 | Sexton Blake | Mrs Bardell | Series 1 |
| 1968 | One of the family | | 15 episodes |
| 1969 | Life with Cooper | | 1 episode |
| 1970 | The Hero of My Life... Charles Dickens | Mrs Hogarth | 1 episode |
| 1970 | Choir Practice | Mrs Lloyd | Musical play, BBC 2 |
| 1971 | Once Upon a Time | Narrator | 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Black Arrow | Mistress Hatch | 13 episodes |
| 1972 | The Gravediggers | | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Jason King | Mrs Edwards | 1 episode: It's Too Bad About Auntie |
| 1975 | The Little Match Girl | First spinster | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Thriller | | 1 episode: The Next Victim |
| 1977 | Hogg's Back | Mrs Biggle | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Grange Hill | Mrs Monroe | Series 1 |
| 1980 | The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist | Mrs Bedwin | |
| 1983 | Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime | ABC Waitress | 1 episode: The Sunningdale Mystery |
| 1983 | Jane Eyre | Lady Lynn | |
| 1984 | It's Max Boyce | Gran | 4 episodes |
| 1986 | All at No 20 | Miss Godfrey | 1 episodes |
| 1986 | If Tomorrow Comes | Brunhilda | 3 parts |
| 1986 | Agatha Christie | | 1 episode: Dead Man's Folly |
| 1987 | The New Statesman | Mrs Mumford | 1 episode |
| 1988 | Shadow on the Sun | Nurse | |
| 1989 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Nelly Morgan | Problem at sea |
| 1990 | She-Wolf of London | Aunt Elsa | 20 episodes |
| 1991 | The House of Eliott | Lady Cravenhurst | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Love and Curses | Aunt Elsa | 1 episode: Curiosity Killed the Cravitz |
| 1996 | Screen Two | | 1 episode Century |
| 1999 | Home Farm Twins | | |
Also Dixon of Dock Green, No Hiding Place and Danger Man.

## Soho, London

In the 1960s, because of her legal qualification, Phillips held the licence to various bars in London's Soho, including the Irving, the Iron Lung, the Buckstone and the Kismet, where patrons included Terence Stamp, Albert Finney, David Hockney and Francis Bacon. In 2019 and 2021 Phillips was interviewed about her time spent in Soho.