Thelma Barlow
Biography
Thelma Barlow, an English television and stage actress and writer, was born in Middlesbrough and moved as a child to Huddersfield. After amateur dramatics and 1950s repertory work in Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham, she joined Bristol Old Vic and made an early television appearance in Vanity Fair in 1967. Her best known part came when she auditioned for Coronation Street in 1971 and became Mavis Wilton, a role she kept for 26 years and 1,787 episodes until 1997. She then played Dolly Bellfield in the Victoria Wood sitcom dinnerladies, shown across two series between 1998 and 2000. Her first film role was in Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), which brought a Most Promising Newcomer nomination at the British Independent Film Awards, and she later appeared in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016). Other work includes radio, West End stage roles, and a book on organic gardening.
97years old
Turns 98 on June 19in 250 days
- Born Middlesbrough
- Star sign: GeminiThe sign runs May 21 to June 20
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 11 years2005 to 2016
Every film, newest first
- 2016Florence Foster JenkinsIMDb rating 6.8
- 2008Is Anybody There?IMDb rating 6.6
- 2005Mrs Henderson PresentsIMDb rating 7.0
Genres
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Big break
While appearing in Liverpool in 1971, Barlow was invited to try out for Coronation Street as Mavis Riley. She won the role, and her debut episode went out on 11 August 1971.
A role that slipped away
Barlow turned down Coronation Street's requests for her to return as Mavis two or three times, saying she had packed the character away in a box.
A first
Barlow's first film role came in 2005 in Mrs Henderson Presents, and it earned her a Most Promising Newcomer nomination at the British Independent Film Awards.
A change of course
Before turning professional, Barlow worked as a secretary for eight years while belonging to Huddersfield Thespians, an amateur dramatics group.
Early training
Barlow trained with the Joan Littlewood Theatre Group and did repertory work in Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham during the 1950s.
Behind the camera
Barlow wrote a book on organic gardening, first published as Organic Gardening with Love in 1992 and later reissued as Gardening Nature's Way.
Thelma Barlow movies on Netflix
Worked with
Thelma Barlow made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Michael Caine's page
Meryl Streep's page
Toby Jones's page
Judi Dench's page
Bob Hoskins's page
Hugh Grant's page
All films by Stephen Frears
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.