Date of Birth : Feb 7th 1924
She became a regular performer in the West End of London after the war, where she became a star of theatrical revues. She soon followed many of her theatre contemporaries by moving into film acting, generally playing supporting roles. She often played women of easy virtue — for example in Ealing’s The Blue Lamp (1950) and The Fallen Idol (1948), one of her earliest films. She appeared in similarly stereotypical female roles in other films, for example The Cockleshell Heroes (1955), Carry On Sergeant (1958) and The Green Man (1956).
In 1961, she appeared in A Taste of Honey. The film won four BAFTA awards: Director Tony Richardson won Best British Screenplay (with Shelagh Delaney) and Best British Film, while Bryan won Best Actress and co-star Rita Tushingham was named Most Promising Newcomer. She played a head mistress in The Great St Trinian’s Train Robbery (1966). She appeared in a cameo role in 1955 on the BBC radio series Hancock’s Half Hour, episode titled “Cinderella Hancock”.
In 2000 she joined the cast of the long-running BBC comedy series Last of the Summer Wine as Aunt Roz; she left the show in 2005. Her last film appearance was in MirrorMask (2005).
She was also frequently a guest star on Absolutely Fabulous as June Whitfield’s friend Dolly (originally called Milly). She received a BAFTA nomination in 2002 for this role. In September 2006, she was due to tour in the comedy There’s No Place Like a Home but withdrew early in the tour due to her husband’s continued ill health.
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