Thelma Barlow
Encyclopedia
Thelma Barlow is an English
television
actress and writer
, most famous for her roles as Mavis Wilton
in the long-running ITV
soap opera
Coronation Street
and as Dolly Bellfield in the sitcom Dinnerladies
.
, North Riding of Yorkshire
in 1929, the younger of two daughters. Her father Tommy, a cabinet maker, died of pneumonia
five weeks before her birth, so Barlow was brought up by her mother Margaret. During her childhood, the family moved to Huddersfield
and Thelma Barlow left school at 15 and went to Huddersfield Technical College to study shorthand and typing. Her first job, as a secretary, she held for eight years and at the same time belonged to an amateur dramatics
group. Barlow decided to take up acting professionally and joined the Joan Littlewood Theatre Group
. During the 1950s, she did rep
in Liverpool
, Nottingham
and Birmingham
. In 1960, Barlow joined the West of England Theatre Company followed by the Bristol Old Vic
Theatre Company. In Bristol
, she ran a boarding house for fellow actors. In 1956 she married set designer
Graham Barlow, and they had two children, Clive and James. They later divorced.
, she was asked to audition for the soap opera
Coronation Street
for the role of Mavis Riley
. She was successful and her first episode was transmitted on 14 August 1971, though the character only appeared regularly from 1973, when she joined the staff of "The Kabin". Barlow remained in the series for 26 years, and nearly 2,000 episodes, until she left after the departure of her on-screen husband Derek
. Her final episode went out on 10 October 1997 when Mavis moved to the Lake District
. During her time on Coronation Street Barlow shared a flat with co-star Helen Worth
and later moved to Settle
, where she later did a TV show from her garden.
Barlow's final appearance on the Street was quite odd, given her loyalty to the show. Her departure was not at the end of the episode (as would befit a 26 year stint) - the last time we saw Mavis in the street was the finale to Part One of that evening's episode (in other words, her departure from Weatherfield took the audience into the ad break, not the end of the episode).
Barlow's next major role was that of Dolly Bellfield in Victoria Wood
's sitcom
dinnerladies
. This comedy lasted for two series in 1998 to 2000. Around the same time she appeared in Murder Most Horrid
(1999) and David Copperfield
(also 1999). Since then Thelma Barlow has appeared as one-off characters in several television shows, including Fat Friends
(2000), Doctors
(2002), The Royal
(2004), Where the Heart Is
(1997), My Dad's the Prime Minister
(also 2004), Marple
(2006) and the Midsomer Murders
episode "Last Year's Model" (also 2006). In 2005 she appeared in her first film Mrs Henderson Presents and in 2007 she played Lady Thaw in the Doctor Who
episode "The Lazarus Experiment
". She also appeared in a 2008 episode of Doc Martin For her role in Mrs Henderson Presents she was nominated for "Most Promising Newcomer" in the British Independent Film Awards
2005
. Since her departure from Coronation Street Barlow has also made stage appearances, with roles such as Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit
, Mam in Alan Bennett
's Enjoy
and as Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace
in 2003 on the West End stage. Barlow has also acted on radio
. In 2003, she moved to the Isle of Purbeck
.
Barlow has also written a book about her hobby, organic gardening, first published by Robson Books
as Organic Gardening with Love (1992) and re-issued in paperback under the title Gardening Nature's Way (ISBN 978-1861053312).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, most famous for her roles as Mavis Wilton
Mavis Wilton
Mavis Wilton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Thelma Barlow. A long-running series regular, Mavis appeared in the show for 26 years from 1971 to 1997...
in the long-running ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and as Dolly Bellfield in the sitcom Dinnerladies
Dinnerladies
Dinnerladies is a British sitcom written, co-produced by and starring Victoria Wood. It ran on BBC One for 16 episodes from 1998 to 2000.-Plot:...
.
Early life
Thelma Barlow was born in MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
in 1929, the younger of two daughters. Her father Tommy, a cabinet maker, died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
five weeks before her birth, so Barlow was brought up by her mother Margaret. During her childhood, the family moved to Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
and Thelma Barlow left school at 15 and went to Huddersfield Technical College to study shorthand and typing. Her first job, as a secretary, she held for eight years and at the same time belonged to an amateur dramatics
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
group. Barlow decided to take up acting professionally and joined the Joan Littlewood Theatre Group
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
. During the 1950s, she did rep
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. In 1960, Barlow joined the West of England Theatre Company followed by the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
Theatre Company. In Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, she ran a boarding house for fellow actors. In 1956 she married set designer
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
Graham Barlow, and they had two children, Clive and James. They later divorced.
Television work
Thelma Barlow's first television appearance was in 1970 in A Stranger on the Hill. The following year while performing in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, she was asked to audition for the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
for the role of Mavis Riley
Mavis Wilton
Mavis Wilton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Thelma Barlow. A long-running series regular, Mavis appeared in the show for 26 years from 1971 to 1997...
. She was successful and her first episode was transmitted on 14 August 1971, though the character only appeared regularly from 1973, when she joined the staff of "The Kabin". Barlow remained in the series for 26 years, and nearly 2,000 episodes, until she left after the departure of her on-screen husband Derek
Derek Wilton
Derek Bernard Wilton was a fictional character on the British television soap opera Coronation Street. He was portrayed by Peter Baldwin. He appeared between 1976 and 1997.-Development:...
. Her final episode went out on 10 October 1997 when Mavis moved to the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
. During her time on Coronation Street Barlow shared a flat with co-star Helen Worth
Helen Worth
Helen Worth is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of the Coronation Street character Gail McIntyre- Early life :...
and later moved to Settle
Settle
Settle is a small market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is served by the Settle railway station, which is located near the town centre, and Giggleswick railway station which is a mile away. It is from Leeds Bradford Airport...
, where she later did a TV show from her garden.
Barlow's final appearance on the Street was quite odd, given her loyalty to the show. Her departure was not at the end of the episode (as would befit a 26 year stint) - the last time we saw Mavis in the street was the finale to Part One of that evening's episode (in other words, her departure from Weatherfield took the audience into the ad break, not the end of the episode).
Barlow's next major role was that of Dolly Bellfield in Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
's sitcom
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
dinnerladies
Dinnerladies
Dinnerladies is a British sitcom written, co-produced by and starring Victoria Wood. It ran on BBC One for 16 episodes from 1998 to 2000.-Plot:...
. This comedy lasted for two series in 1998 to 2000. Around the same time she appeared in Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid is a BBC dark comedy anthology series starring comedian Dawn French. It ran for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999....
(1999) and David Copperfield
David Copperfield (1999 film)
David Copperfield is a two part BBC television drama adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield, adapted by Adrian Hodges. The first part was shown on Christmas Day and the second on Boxing Day in 1999...
(also 1999). Since then Thelma Barlow has appeared as one-off characters in several television shows, including Fat Friends
Fat Friends
Fat Friends is an ITV drama , following a group of overweight people, their laughter and pain and addresses the absurdities of dieting in our modern age. The drama looks at people and how they relate to one another and use body weight as an excuse for all sorts of failings in their relationships,...
(2000), Doctors
Doctors (BBC Soap Opera)
Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
(2002), The Royal
The Royal
The Royal is a British medical drama series produced by ITV. The show comprises one hour episodes which were normally first aired on ITV in the Sunday early evening slot....
(2004), Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
(1997), My Dad's the Prime Minister
My Dad's the Prime Minister
My Dad's the Prime Minister is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. It centres around the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor...
(also 2004), Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
(2006) and the Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
episode "Last Year's Model" (also 2006). In 2005 she appeared in her first film Mrs Henderson Presents and in 2007 she played Lady Thaw in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episode "The Lazarus Experiment
The Lazarus Experiment
"The Lazarus Experiment" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 May 2007 and is the sixth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones as his companion, played...
". She also appeared in a 2008 episode of Doc Martin For her role in Mrs Henderson Presents she was nominated for "Most Promising Newcomer" in the British Independent Film Awards
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
2005
British Independent Film Awards 2005
The 8th British Independent Film Awards, given on 30 November 2005 at the Hammersmith Palais, London, honoured the best British independent films of 2005.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Ralph Fiennes - The Constant Gardener*Best Actress:...
. Since her departure from Coronation Street Barlow has also made stage appearances, with roles such as Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
, Mam in Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
's Enjoy
Enjoy (play)
Enjoy is a comedy play written in 1980 by Alan Bennett. An idiosyncratic view of working-class family life in Leeds, a city in the north of England, it was one of the rare theatrical flops in Bennett's career....
and as Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace (play)
Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the...
in 2003 on the West End stage. Barlow has also acted on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. In 2003, she moved to the Isle of Purbeck
Isle of Purbeck
The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well...
.
Barlow has also written a book about her hobby, organic gardening, first published by Robson Books
Anova Books
Anova Books is a UK-based publishing company founded in 2005, with the acquisition of the Chrysalis Books Group from the Chrysalis Group. Since its inception, the firm has acquired or created several other imprints...
as Organic Gardening with Love (1992) and re-issued in paperback under the title Gardening Nature's Way (ISBN 978-1861053312).
External links
- Thelma Barlow at corrie.net