Helen Fraser | |
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Born | Helen Margaret Stronach 15 June 1942 Oldham, Lancashire, England |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1962–2015 |
Spouse |
Helen Fraser (born Helen Margaret Stronach; born 15 June 1942) is a retired English actress, who has appeared in many television series since the early 1960s. [1] For international audiences, she may be best known for her roles in Billy Liar (1963) and Repulsion (1965). [2] She is also well known in Britain for portraying the role of miserable warder Sylvia Hollamby in the prison drama series Bad Girls . [3] She appeared in the series from the first episode in 1999 until the last in 2006. [1]
She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art alongside Tom Courtenay and John Thaw, among others. [4] She gained her breakthrough role alongside Courtenay in Billy Liar (1963). [5] They later played the parents of character Dave Best in the Christmas special of The Royle Family (2008). [6]
She is best known to television viewers for her long-running role in the ITV women's prison drama Bad Girls as unpleasant prison officer Sylvia Hollamby [7] from the first episode in 1999 to the last in 2006. [1] She reprised the role in the West End production of Bad Girls: The Musical in 2007. [6]
She made her TV debut in the early 1960s and her credits include Z-Cars , Dixon of Dock Green , The Likely Lads , Doctor in the House , The Dustbinmen , On the Buses , Rising Damp , Tales of the Unexpected , Duty Free , One Foot in the Grave and Casualty . [8] She also worked on TV with comedians like Dick Emery and the Two Ronnies in the 1970s. [6]
She has also appeared on stage, including with the Royal National Theatre, in the West End and in regional theatres across the country. [9] In 2009 and 2010, she toured the UK as Mrs Fisher in a stage version of Billy Liar . [3] In 2011, she joined the tour of Calendar Girls . [10]
Fraser has appeared in the ITV soap Coronation Street twice – in 1998 as Magenta Savannah and again in 2013 as Doris Babbage. [11] [12] [13]
In 2015, she appeared in an episode of the BBC daytime soap Doctors . [14]
In 1964, she married the recording engineer Peter Handford; the couple had met on the set of Billy Liar. [3] Handford died in 2007. [15] Fraser lives in Eye, Suffolk. [16]
Film | |||
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Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1962 | A Kind of Loving | Ingrid's Friend | Uncredited |
1963 | Billy Liar | Barbara | |
1965 | Repulsion | Bridget | |
1966 | The Uncle | Mary Ream | |
1968 | The Birthday Party | Lulu | |
1972 | Something to Hide | Miss Bunyan | |
1970 | Start the Revolution Without Me | Mimi | |
1974 | From Beyond the Grave | Guest | Segment 1: The Gate Crasher; uncredited |
1977 | Joseph Andrews | Mrs. Adams | |
1988 | Gorillas in the Mist | Mme. Van Vecten | |
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1962 | Silent Evidence | Tina | 1 episode: "Driven to the Brink" |
Z-Cars | Hilda Stansfield/Vicky Bell | 1962–1963; 2 episodes: "Contraband", "The Bad Lad" | |
ITV Play of the Week | Ellen/Millie | 1962–1965; 2 episodes: The Door, The Way of All Flesh | |
1963 | Friday Night | Betty/Sheila/Mavis/Brenda Holroyd | 4 episodes |
1964 | The Villains | Pat | 1 episode: "Amateurs" |
No Hiding Place | Jill | 1 episode: "The Hoarders" | |
Thursday Theatre | Janey Jenkins | 1 episode: "The Cure for Love" | |
1965 | The Valiant Varneys | 1 episode: season 2.3 | |
Comedy Playhouse | Mousy Bird (Greta Spavin) | 1 episode: Here I Come Whoever I Am | |
Pardon the Expression | Hilda Norton | 2 episodes: "The Trouble with Ada", "The Visitor" | |
Six of the Best | Vanessa | 1 episode: "Charlie's Place" | |
Dixon of Dock Green | Gwen | 1 episode: "Castles in the Air" | |
Knock on Any Door | Madge | 1 episode: "A Paragraph of for Mr Blake" | |
Theatre 625 | Mrs. Hampton | 1 episode: "Portraits from the North: The Nutter" | |
The Likely Lads | Helen | 1965–1966; 2 episodes: "Talk of the Town", "Love and Marriage" | |
Blackmail | Brenda/Daphne Appleton | 1965–1966; 2 episodes: First Offender, Boys and Girls Commute to Play | |
1966 | The Wednesday Play | Linda/Polly | 1966–1967; 2 episodes: Way off Beat, The Fat of the Land |
1967 | Love Story | Sue | 1 episode: A Diamond is Forever |
The Gamblers | Joyce | 1 episode: "Oil and Water" | |
1969 | Doctor in the House | Rigor Mortis | 1 episode: "Getting the Bird" |
Dombey and Son | Susan Nipper | TV serial; 9 episodes | |
1970 | The Dustbinmen | The Goddess | 1 episode: season 2.4 |
1971 | Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width | Doreen Lawton | 1 episode: "Mix Me a Marriage" |
Now Look Here | Tracey | 1 episode: Season 1.2 | |
On the Buses | Linda | 1 episode: "Boxing Day Social" | |
The Dick Emery Show | Lampwick's Daughter | 12 episodes | |
1972 | A Day Out | Mrs. Ackroyd | Television film |
Doctor in Charge | Dr. Mary Parsons/Dr. Mary Bingham | 1972–1973; 6 episodes | |
1973 | The Upper Crusts | Mrs. Smith | 1 episode: "Sitting Pretty" |
Hunter's Walk | Janet Kenwright | 1 episode: "Disturbance" | |
Man About the House | Gabrielle | 1 episode: "Three's a Crowd" | |
1974 | Sporting Scenes | Helen | 1 episode: "The Needle Match" |
1975 | Cilla's Comedy Six | Gloria | 1 episode: "Father's Doing Fine" |
...And Mother Makes Five | Miss Finch | 1 episode: "Legs Eleven" | |
Rising Damp | Gwen/Bride | 1975–1978; 2 episodes: "For the Man Who Has Everything", "Pink Carnations" | |
1976 | Jumbo Spencer | Mrs. Spencer | |
1978 | BBC2 Play of the Week | Polly Wright | 1 episode: Fairies |
1980 | BBC2 Playhouse | Lou Parker | 1 episode: The Black Madonna |
1981 | Partners | Monica | 1 episode: "Fair Shares" |
The Patricia Neal Story | 2nd Neighbour | Television film | |
1982 | Tales of the Unexpected | Beryl | 1 episode: Blue Marigold |
Sorry! | Psychotherapist | 1 episode: "Perchance to Dream" | |
Play for Today | Joyce Midgley | 1 episode: "Intensive Care" | |
1983 | Dramarama | Joan Osgerby | 1 episode: "Rig It Up" |
1984 | Duty Free | Emily | 1 episode: "Spanish Lace" |
The Box of Delights | Ellen | 4 episodes | |
1986 | In Loving Memory | Enid Bracegirdle | 1 episode: "They Shoot Undertakers, Don't They" |
1987 | Screen Two | Mrs. Mortland | 1 episode: Northanger Abbey |
1988 | Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun | June Carberry | Television film |
1990 | One Foot in the Grave | Dr. Snellgrove | 1 episode: "The Big Sleep" |
1995 | Under the Moon | Miss Prudhomme | Television film |
1997 | The Uninvited | Charge Nurse | Mini-series |
1998 | Coronation Street | Magenta Savannah | 2 episodes: episode #4394, episode #4397 |
1999 | Bad Girls | Sylvia Hollamby | 1999–2006; 92 episodes, main role |
2003 | Casualty | Joan Jowell | 3 episodes: "Flash in the Pan, Truth or Dare, In the Frame" |
2008 | The Royle Family | Jocelyn Best | 1 episode: "The New Sofa" |
2012 | The Unforgettable | Herself | 1 episode: The Unforgettable John Thaw |
2013 | Coronation Street | Doris Babbage | Guest appearance |
2015 | Doctors | Mary Star | 1 episode: "Pudding" |
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