# Barbara Rafferty

Barbara Rafferty (born 15 January 1950 in Clydebank), is a Scottish actress. She was credited as Barbara Ann Brown in her early acting career. She is known for her roles as Ella Cotter in the long-running BBC Two sitcom Rab C Nesbitt, then firstly as Shirley Henderson and then as Bernie O'Hara in BBC Scotland soap opera River City. She played Agnes Meldon in mystery series Hamish MacBeth and Grandma Mainland in the CBeebies comedy Katie Morag.

## Career

Rafferty is best known for playing Ella Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt between 1990 and 1999, and then again from 2008 and 2011 when the show made a comeback (and again in 2014). Other notable television roles include playing pub landlady Agnes Meldrum in Hamish Macbeth and Alice MacAllister in The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star. She took over the role of Alice Taylor from Muriel Romanes in Take The High Road in 1988. Also, in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, Barbara Rafferty starred as Mrs. Garrigan. Until 2009 she was appearing in the BBC Scotland soap River City as Shirley Henderson and 2018 as Bernie O'Hara from 2018 to 2024 when she was killed in a car crash.
Barbara's daughter, Amy Rafferty (born 1972), is a singer, songwriter, and musician with the cult Glasgow music collective The Recovery Club.
Her son, Bob Rafferty, fronts the well known Glasgow alternative rock band El Dog.
In 2013 it was announced that Rafferty would join the cast of His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen Pantomime Cinderella with her friend Elaine C. Smith.
She portrayed Grandma Mainland in the CBeebies TV series, Katie Morag. It started airing on 3 November 2013.

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Company | Theatre | Director | Notes |
| 1986 | The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou | Grizel | Theatre Alba | Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh | Charles Nowosielski | play by Alexander Reid |

## Filmography

Film :
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| The Wicker Man | 1973 | Woman with baby | Credited as Barbara Ann Brown |
| The Slab Boys | 1997 | Mrs. McCann | |
| The Acid House | 1998 | Dr. Callaghan | Segment: "The Acid House" |
| Women Talking Dirty | 1999 | Janine | |
| The Last King of Scotland | 2006 | Mrs. Garrigan | |
| Sir Billi the Vet | 2006 | Barbara the Jag | Voice |
| Perfect Sense | 2011 | Woman in car park | |
| Fast Romance | 2011 | Mrs. Livingston | |
| Sir Billi | 2012 | Barbara the Jag | Voice |
| The Legend of Barney Thomson | 2015 | Jean Monkrieff | |
| Television ||||
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| Tutti Frutti | 1987 | Woman in infirmary | Mini-series; Episode 3: "Gin a Body, Dig a Body" |
| Taggart | 1988 | Agnes Sweeney | Episode: "Double Jeopardy" |
| Take the High Road | 1988–89 | Alice Taylor | 11 episodes |
| Your Cheatin' Heart | 1990 | Shirley | Series 1 - 5 episodes |
| Doctor Finlay | 1994 | Flora | Series 2, Episode 6 - "In Arcadia" |
| Go Now | 1995 | Madge Cameron | Television film |
| The Tales of Para Handy | 1995 | Madam Isis | Series 2, Episode 1 - "The Fortune Teller" |
| Hamish Macbeth | 1995–97 | Agnes Meldrum | Lead role; 3 series - 20 episodes |
| The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star | 1998 | Alice MacAllister | Series 1 |
| Life Support | 1999 | Margaret McGovern | Series 1 - 2 episodes |
| Tinsel Town | 2000 | Jacqueline Donnelly | Series 1, Episode 1 |
| Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes | 2001 | Mrs. Kitson | Episode: "The White Knight Stratagem" |
| Rockface | 2002–03 | Alice Urquhart | Series 1 & 2 - 5 episodes |
| Captain Abercromby | 2002–03 | Bobweb, various (voice) | Lead role; 26 episodes |
| Heartbeat | 2003 | Pam Astbury | Series 13, Episode 6 - "The Holiday's Over" |
| Sea of Souls | 2004 | Rena | Series 1 - 3 episodes |
| River City | 2006–08 | Shirley Henderson | |
| No Holds Bard | 2009 | Granny Braid | Television film |
| Garrow's Law | 2009 | Katherine Stanton | Series 1, Episode 3 |
| Doctors | 2009 | Margaret Adams | Episode: "Once Upon a Time" |
| Doctors | 2013 | Beth Harris | Episode: "Saving Irene" |
| Rab C. Nesbitt | 1990–2014 | Ella Cotter | Lead role; 10 series - 51 episodes |
| The Sunny | 2014 | Mrs. Dolan | Television film |
| Katie Morag | 2013–15 | Grandma Mainland | |
| Still Game | 2016 | Winnie Cranston | Episode: "Job" |
| River City | 2018–2024 | Bernadette 'Bernie' O'Hara | |
| The Scotts | 2021–2024 | Moira Scott | |
Other appearances
* California Sunshine as Jessica (2014; short film)
* Missing as Rachel (2007; short film)
* Autumn Leaves as Mrs. McBride (1997; short film)