Barbara Mitchell
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Barbara Mitchell (1929, England – 9 December 1977, Richmond, London) was an English actress who became a familiar face on British television in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her work in many classic sitcoms of the period.
Career
Mitchell started out as a stage actress, and gained a foothold in television with a number of appearances in popular shows in the 1960s. In 1970, she got her first leading TV role, as Ruth, the daughter of the title character (Irene Handl) in the gentle comedy For the Love of Ada, which ran for four series and 27 episodes, followed by a spin-off film. At the same time, she was appearing periodically as Mrs. Abbott, the absurdly over-protective mother of would-be tough guy Frankie ("Mummy's little soldier"), in Please Sir! and its sequel The Fenn Street Gang. Mitchell's appearances as Mrs. Abbott were sporadic, and fleeting, but were hugely popular and are still remembered with affection.
She appeared as Isabel Chintz, a tough Australian pop agent, in Superstar, a 1973 episode of The Goodies. In Lizzie Dripping, a BBC children's programme which ran for two series in 1973 and 1975, Mitchell played Patty Arbuckle, the often harassed mother of Penelope (Tina Heath),[1] while her longest-running role came in the Yorkshire Television production Beryl's Lot, 52 episodes over three series between 1973 and 1977, in which she played Vi Tonks, married to Trevor (Tony Caunter) and neighbour and friend to the titular Beryl (Carmel McSharry).[2][3]
Death
Mitchell died of breast cancer on 9 December 1977, aged 48.
Appearances
Television
- 1958-1964: The Larkins
- 1959: Emergency – Ward 10
- 1960: The Secret Garden
- 1963: Z-Cars
- 1963: Bud
- 1965/66: Dixon of Dock Green
- 1966: Play of the Week
- 1969: Ours Is a Nice House
- 1969: Dombey and Son
- 1970: Please Sir!
- 1970/71: For the Love of Ada
- 1971: The Doctors
- 1971: Doctor at Large
- 1971/73 The Fenn Street Gang
- 1973: The Gordon Peters Show
- 1973: The Goodies
- 1973–75: Lizzie Dripping
- 1973–77: Beryl's Lot
- 1974: Funny Ha-Ha
- 1974: My Name is Harry Worth
- 1977: Yanks Go Home
Films
- 1960: Inn for Trouble
- 1963: Ladies Who Do
- 1971: Please Sir!
- 1972: For the Love of Ada
- 1977: What's Up Nurse![4]
