Diana Coupland

Diana Coupland was an English actress and singer who first worked in music. A BBC producer, Barney Colehan, heard her sing at 15 and invited her onto a radio show, and she went on to sing at London ballrooms and at the Dorchester and Savoy hotels. Born in Leeds, she moved into acting when Joan Littlewood cast her in the Theatre Workshop musical Make Me An Offer in 1959, which led to West End shows such as Gigi and Not Now, Darling. Her television debut came in 1961, and her films included The Millionairess (1960), Charlie Bubbles (1968), The Twelve Chairs (1970) and Operation: Daybreak (1975). She was best known as Jean Abbott in the sitcom Bless This House, a part she played from 1971 to 1976 and repeated in the 1972 film, and she later appeared in EastEnders, Doctors, Casualty and Rose and Maloney.