# Michele Dotrice

Michele Dotrice (born 27 September 1948) is an English actress. She played Betty Spencer, the long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer, portrayed by Michael Crawford, in the BBC sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, which ran from 1973 to 1978, and returned in 2016 for a special.

## Career

Her first significant role was in the 1962 13-part BBC TV adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop in which she played Nell, and she appeared in The Witches for Hammer Films in 1966. In 1970, she had starring roles in the horror thrillers And Soon the Darkness and The Blood on Satan's Claw. Her other film appearances include Jane Eyre (1970) with George C. Scott and the 1976 comedy Not Now, Comrade.
It was her appearance in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em that made her a household name, and she played the role for five years from 1973. In 2016, she reprised the role in a one-off special broadcast as part of the Sport Relief charity fundraiser event.
Her other 1970s roles include Felicity in the Jason King episode "Buried in the Cold Cold Ground", and Lady Percy in the BBC productions of Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 in 1979.
In 1981, she took the leading role in the short-lived sitcom Chintz, which aired on ITV. In 1986, Dotrice played the role of a new mother whose child was snatched in an episode of The Equalizer along with her future husband Edward Woodward. In the mid-1990s, she appeared for several episodes in the period drama Bramwell. She appeared in the film Captain Jack (1999) with Bob Hoskins. She has made numerous guest appearances in well-known British television series, including Midsomer Murders (1 episode, 1998), Holby City (1 episode, 2002), Murder in Suburbia (as Cindy in series 2, episode 6, 2005), and the BBC daytime soap opera Doctors (2 episodes, 2008 & 2009). In addition, she made a couple of appearances in a 2004 BBC comedy-drama entitled A Thing Called Love, set in Nottingham, which starred Paul Nicholls and Roy Barraclough among others.
In 2012, she toured in The Ladykillers, playing the role of Mrs. Wilberforce. In 2014, she played Pam Chandler, a suspected murderer, in the last episode of series three of Death in Paradise. In 2015, she played Marion, mother to Christine in the Inside No. 9 episode "The 12 Days of Christine". In 2016, she played Nancy, the faithful dresser and woman of all work to the main character, in the West End production of Nell Gwynn. In 2017, she played Jessie in the stage musical The Girls at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End.
In 2018, she returned to television playing Edna Friendship in A Very English Scandal.
ITV launched their new drama, McDonald & Dodds, in 2020, in which she played Mary Costair in the second episode of series 1.

## Personal life

Her parents were the actors Roy Dotrice and Kay Dotrice. She has two sisters, Karen Dotrice and Yvette Dotrice, who also followed their parents into acting.
Dotrice was married to actor Edward Woodward from January 1987 until his death in November 2009.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | The Witches | Valerie Creek | |
| 1970 | And Soon the Darkness | Cathy | |
| 1970 | Jane Eyre | Mary Rivers | |
| 1971 | The Blood on Satan's Claw | Margaret | |
| 1976 | Not Now, Comrade | Nancy Rimmington | |
| 1999 | Captain Jack | Deirdre | |
| 2015 | The Importance of Being Earnest LIVE | Miss Prism | |
| 2016 | Starfish | Jean | |
| 2016 | The Lock-in | Posh Woman | Short film |
| 2020 | Blithe Spirit | Edna | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | The Treasure Seekers | Princess | Episode 3: "Held to Ransom" |
| 1961 | Operation Fantail | Susan Forest | Television films |
| 1961 | Vice Versa | Dulcie Grimstone | Television films |
| 1961 | Adventure to Order | Sandra | Television films |
| 1961–1962 | Signpost | Schoolgirl | 8 episodes |
| 1962 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Barbara Cahoun | Series 3; episode 19: "The Happiest Days of Your Life" |
| 1962 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Daff | Series 3; episode 31: "To Whom It May Concern" |
| 1962 | The Father | Bertha | Television film |
| 1962 | Katy | Clover Carr | All 8 episodes |
| 1962–1963 | The Old Curiosity Shop | Nell Trent | All 13 episodes |
| 1965 | Love Story | Jill Allen | Series 3; episode 19: "The Sad Smile of the Mona Lisa" |
| 1966 | Theatre 625 | Vera Alexandrovna | Episode: "A Month in the Country" |
| 1966 | Thirteen Against Fate | Sonia | Episode 13: "The Consul" |
| 1966 | Out of the Unknown | R.747 | Series 2; episode 4: "Level Seven" |
| 1966 | Theatre 625 | Vera Alexandrovna | Series 3; episode 24: "A Month in the Country" |
| 1966 | Theatre 625 | Thérèse | Series 4; episode 7: "Amerika" |
| 1966 | ITV Play of the Week | Julie | Series 12; episode 17: "Julie's Gone" |
| 1967 | ITV Play of the Week | Tess Cosgrove | Series 12; episode 18: "On the Island" |
| 1967 | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | Vicky Heald/Crabbe | 6 episodes |
| 1967 | Les Misérables | Fantine | Episodes 2–4 |
| 1968 | Late Night Horror | Phrynne Banstead | Episode 5: "The Bells of Hell" |
| 1968 | Middlemarch | Dorothea | Mini-series; all 7 episodes |
| 1968 | The Wednesday Play | Emma | Series 8; episode 13: "On the Eve of Publication" |
| 1969 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Jane | Series 1; episode 18: "Toys" |
| 1970 | BBC Play of the Month | Irina | Series 5; episode 4: "The Three Sisters" |
| 1970 | The Wednesday Play | Emma | Series 9; episode 24: "Emma's Time" |
| 1971 | Jason King | Felicity | Episode 3: "Buried in the Cold Cold Ground" |
| 1971 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Mary Hisgins | Series 1; episode 5: "The Horse of the Invisible" |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Ange | Episode 1: "The Gregorian Chant" |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Vickie | Episode 2: "Night Duty" |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Maggie Firebrace | Episode 3: "A Question of Degree" |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Veronica Sands | Episode 4: "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Barbara | Episode 5: "Stoker Leishman's Diaries" |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Marion | Episode 6: "Stanley's Style " |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Paula Lelliot | Episode 7: "Disappearing Trick" |
| 1972 | The Sextet | Claire Ramsdale | Episode 8: "Blur and Blank via Cleckheaton" |
| 1973 | Menace | Sharon | Series 2; episode 8: "Comfortable Words" |
| 1973–1978 | Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em | Betty Spencer | Series 1–3; all 22 episodes |
| 1974 | Zodiac | Julie Prentiss | Episode 6: "The Horns of the Moon" |
| 1974 | ITV Playhouse | Frances | Series 7; episode 11: "A Kind of Bonus" |
| 1976 | The Morecambe and Wise Show | Herself / Constance | Series 9; episode 2 |
| 1977 | I'm Bob, He's Dickie | Various | Episode 1 |
| 1977 | BBC Play of the Month | Catherine Winslow | Series 12; episode 4: "The Winslow Boy" |
| 1979 | Morecambe and Wise at the BBC | Various | Episode: 7 February 1979 |
| 1979 | BBC Television Shakespeare | Lady Percy | Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II. Television films |
| 1981 | Chintz | Kate Carter | All 7 episodes |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Vanessa Daniels | Episode: "Heartstrings" (S2.E11) |
| 1988 | Boon | Nikki | Series 3; episode 8: "Peacemaker" |
| 1995 | Bramwell | Lady Cora Peters | Series 1; episodes 1–4 & 6 |
| 1997 | Q.E.D. | Anna Peters | Episode: "Cause of Death" |
| 1998 | Midsomer Murders | Felicity Buckley | Series 1; episode 4: "Faithful unto Death" |
| 1998 | Vanity Fair | Mrs. Sedley | Episodes 1–5 |
| 2000 | The Mrs Bradley Mysteries | Amy Parkin | Episode 3: "Laurels Are Poison" |
| 2001 | The Way We Live Now | Mrs. Pipkin | Mini-series; episodes 1, 3 & 4 |
| 2002 | Holby City | Shirley Butler | Series 5; episode 10: "Leopard Spots" |
| 2004 | A Thing Called Love | Barbara Hopewell | Episodes 4 & 6: "Hooked on a Feeling" and "Love Hurts" |
| 2005 | Murder in Suburbia | Cindy | Series 2; episode 6: "Golden Oldies" |
| 2008 | Doctors | Eileen Mullins | Series 10; episode 11: "A Pain in the..." |
| 2009 | Doctors | Jane Shields | Series 11; episode 98: "Hello, Hello, Hello" |
| 2010 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Mrs. Hubbard | Series 5; episode 4: "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" |
| 2014 | Death in Paradise | Pam Chandler | Series 3; episode 8: "Rue Morgue" |
| 2014 | Big School | Rita Gunn | Series 2; episode 6 |
| 2015 | Inside No. 9 | Marion | Series 2; episode 2: "The 12 Days of Christine" |
| 2016 | Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em: Special | Betty Spencer | Sport Relief Special |
| 2018 | Grandpa's Great Escape | Miss Trifle | Television film |
| 2018 | A Very English Scandal | Edna Friendship | Mini-series; episodes 2 & 3 |
| 2019 | A Very British Christmas | Sandra | Television film. (aka A Very Yorkshire Christmas) |
| 2020 | McDonald & Dodds | Mary Costair | Series 1; episode 2: "A Wilderness of Mirrors" |
| 2021 | The Cockfields | Lyn | Series 2; 4 episodes |
| 2022 | The Royal Mob | Queen Victoria | Episodes 1–3 |
| 2024 | Inside No. 9 | Party Guest | Series 9; episode 6: "Plodding On" |
| 2025 | Unforgotten | Dot Barnes | Series 6; episodes 1–4 & 6 |