# Brenda Cowling

Brenda Rose Cowling (23 April 1925 – 2 October 2010) was an English actress from London.

## Biography

Cowling wanted to be a film actress from the time she was a child; however, upon leaving school, she trained instead as a shorthand typist.
After a time she joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she was a member of the same class as Warren Mitchell and Jimmy Perry. While there, she made her film debut in a small role in Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950).
Much of her early acting work was in repertory, before she began her television career. She also appeared in films, such as The Railway Children (1970), Please Sir! (1971), Carry On Girls (1973), Carry On Behind (1975). International Velvet (1978), Oliver Twist (1982) and Octopussy (1983). Television serials in which she appeared include Follyfoot, Miss Marple in They Do It With Mirrors as Mrs. Rodgers in 1991, Fawlty Towers as a nurse in "The Germans", Only When I Laugh as the matron nurse in "Last Tango" in 1980, Are You Being Served? as a customer in "The Erotic Dreams of Mrs Slocombe", Jonathan Creek in "Gorgons Wood" as Mrs. Thrimpson (2004), Dad's Army as Mrs. Prentice in "All is Safely Gathered In", It Ain't Half Hot Mum in "The Last Roll Call" as the WVS Lady, The Famous Five, three episodes of Hi-de-Hi!, notably as a (voice only role) station announcer in "Together Again", a camper in "Raffles", and a maid in "Wedding Bells", and Mrs. Wren in The Legacy of Reginald Perrin. One of her better known roles was as the cook, Mrs. Lipton, in You Rang, M'Lord?.
Cowling retired in 2006 after suffering a stroke. She died on 2 October 2010, at the actors' retirement home, Denville Hall, aged 85.

## Selected filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1950 | Stage Fright | Plump RADA Girl (uncredited) | |
| 1956 | The Silken Affair | Minor Role (uncredited) | |
| 1962-1969 | Dixon of Dock Green | Doris Gray, Miss Nicholls | 2 episodes |
| 1962-74 | Z-Cars | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1963 | Compact | Mrs. Gregson | 1 episode |
| 1963 | Maigret | Madame Pardon | 1 episode |
| 1963 | The Avengers | Masseuse | 1 episode |
| 1964 | Sergeant Cork | Sarah Jenkins | 1 episode |
| 1966 | Bindle (One of Them Days) | Martha Hearty | |
| 1967 | The Forsyte Saga | Miss Perren | 5 episodes |
| 1967 | The Newcomers | Mrs. Bennett | 2 episodes |
| 1969 | Special Branch | Mrs. Madgwick | 1 episode |
| 1969 | Up in the Air | Lady Pennyweight | |
| 1970 | The Railway Children | Mrs. Viney | |
| 1970 | The Goodies | Lady | 1 episode |
| 1971 | Budgie | Lady in Supermarket | 1 episode |
| 1971 | Please Sir! | Mrs. Duffy | |
| 1971 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Maid | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Dad's Army | Mrs. Prentice | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Follyfoot | Lady Caroline Beck | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Six Days of Justice | Usher | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Young Winston | Mrs. Dewsnap (uncredited) | |
| 1973 | Carry On Girls | Matron | |
| 1973 | Oh Father! | Mrs. Rourke | 1 episode |
| 1973 | Romany Jones | Betty's Mum | 3 episodes |
| 1974 | Justice | Mrs. Cosgrove | 1 episode |
| 1974 | No Strings | Mrs. Turner | 1 episode |
| 1974 | The Black Windmill | Pleasant Secretary (uncredited) | |
| 1974 | The Pallisers | Mrs. Bunce | 5 episodes |
| 1975 | Carry On Behind | Wife (uncredited) | |
| 1975 | Fawlty Towers | Sister | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Angels | Staff Nurse | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Happy Ever After | Mrs. Robinson | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Jabberwocky | Mrs. Fishfinger | |
| 1977 | Raffles | Mrs. Van Der Berg | 1 episode |
| 1977 | The Duchess of Duke Street | Elsie Richards | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | The Black Panther | TBC | |
| 1978 | International Velvet | Alice | |
| 1978 | The Famous Five | Jenny | 2 episodes |
| 1979-1983 | Potter | Jane | 18 episodes |
| 1980 | Only When I Laugh | Matron | 1 episode |
| 1980 | Shoestring | Mrs. Margaret Billington | 1 episode |
| 1981 | Are You Being Served? | Lady Customer | 1 episode |
| 1981 | It Ain't Half Hot Mum | WVS Lady | 1 episode |
| 1981 | Nanny | Nanny Roberts | 1 episode |
| 1981 | You're Only Young Twice | Mrs. Hawkhead | 1 episode |
| 1982 | Oliver Twist | Mrs. Bedwin | |
| 1982 | Pink Floyd – The Wall | Teacher | |
| 1982 | The Agatha Christie Hour | Mrs. Draper | 1 episode |
| 1983 | Octopussy | Schatzi | |
| 1984-1988 | Hi-de-Hi! | Lady Camper, Nora, Station Announcer | 3 episodes |
| 1985 | Lytton's Diary | Customer | 1 episode |
| 1985 | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ | Matron | 1 episode |
| 1985-1987 | In Sickness and in Health | Woman Patient, Home Help, Matron | 3 episodes |
| 1986 | All in Good Faith | Brenda Trail | 1 episode |
| 1986 | Dream Lover | Hotel Manager | |
| 1986 | Grange Hill | Shopkeeper | 1 episode |
| 1986 | London's Burning | Man's Wife | TV Movie |
| 1986 | T-Bag | Bunty Badshott | 1 episode |
| 1987 | Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery | Mrs. Lundy | 1 episode |
| 1987 | The Charmer | Chambermaid | 1 episode |
| 1988-1993 | You Rang M'Lord? | Mrs. Blanche Lipton | 26 episodes |
| 1989-2002 | The Bill | Various roles | 4 episodes |
| 1991 | Miss Marple | Mrs. Rodgers | 1 episode |
| 1993 | The Upper Hand | Nun | 1 episode |
| 1996 | The Legacy of Reginald Perrin | Mrs. Wren | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Goodnight Sweetheart | Edith Brown | 1 episode |
| 1997 | The Detectives | Bride's Grandmother | 1 episode |
| 1999 | Babes in the Wood | Mourner | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Barbara | Sarah | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Greenfingers | Book Shop Customer | |
| 2000 | Room to Rent | Church Lady | |
| 2000 | Where the Heart Is | Martha | 1 episode |
| 2001 | Bernard's Watch | Mrs. Tatchell | 1 episode |
| 2003 | The Last Detective | Old Lady | 1 episode |
| 2004 | French and Saunders | Older Dawn | 5 episodes |
| 2004 | Jonathan Creek | Mrs. Thrimpston | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Murder in Suburbia | Mrs. Kirkman | 1 episode |
| 2004 | The Legend of the Tamworth Two | Mrs. Martin | TV Movie |
| 2005 | According to Bex | Vox Pops | 2 episodes |