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Patsy Byrne

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Patsy Byrne
Born
Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne

(1933-07-13)13 July 1933
Bexhill, Sussex, England
Died17 June 2014(2014-06-17) (aged 80)
Alma materRose Bruford College
OccupationActress

Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne (13 July 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English actress, best known for her role as "Nursie" in Blackadder II as well as Malcolm's domineering Mother, Mrs Stoneway in all seven series of the ITV comedy Watching[1] between 1987 and 1993.

Biography

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Byrne was educated at Ashford County Grammar School. She studied drama at Rose Bruford College before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company playing parts such as Maria in Twelfth Night and Gruscha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the Aldwych Theatre in the early 1960s. In the 1980s she also worked at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Byrne starred alongside Tony Robinson in a Series 3 episode of Maid Marian and her Merry Men.[2] She played Betty the Tea Lady on the BBC children's programme Playdays. She also played Marge Stoneway, mother of Malcolm, in TV Series Watching which ran from 1987 to 1993.

Other roles included appearances in I, Claudius (1976), Stealing Heaven (1988), Inspector Morse (1989), 2point4 Children (1991), Les Misérables (1998), David Copperfield (1999) and Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), as well as numerous radio plays. Byrne performed in the 1990 BBC production of C. S. Lewis' The Silver Chair as the giant nanny in the city of the giants. In 1998 she played Martha Coutts in episode 19 of series 7 of Heartbeat.

Death

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Byrne died at Denville Hall, a retirement home for performers, on 17 June 2014.[3]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1962 The Cherry Orchard Dunyasha, the maid
1972 The Ruling Class Mrs. Pamela Treadwell
1972 The Alf Garnett Saga Mrs. Frewin
1973 Z Cars Mary Walker Episode: Nuisance
1976 I, Claudius Martina Episode: Some Justice
1978 The Class of Miss MacMichael Mrs. Green
1978 The Devil's Crown Florence
1982 The Return of the Soldier Mrs. Plummer
1982 Britannia Hospital Nurse
1986 Mr. Love Mrs. Lunt
1986 Blackadder II Nursie 6 episodes
1987 Strong Poison Mrs Pettican 3 episodes
1987 Watching Mrs. Stoneway
1988 Hanna's War Rosie
1988 Stealing Heaven Agnes
1988 Blackadder's Christmas Carol Nursie
1989 Inspector Morse Mrs. Maltby Episode: "The Ghost in the Machine"
1992 Emily's Ghost Mrs. Crabtree
1993 The Higher Mortals Matron
1994 Playdays Betty
1996 The Treasure Seekers Mrs. Nesbit
1998 Les Misérables Toussaint
1999 Blackadder: Back & Forth[4] Nursie
2000 Kevin & Perry Go Large Old lady

References

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  1. ^ Slide, Anthony (1996) Some Joe You Don't Know: American Biographical Guide to 100 British Television Personalities, Greenwood Press; ISBN 978-0-313-29550-8, p. 11
  2. ^ "Blackadder 'Nursie' actress Patsy Byrne dies aged 80". BBC News. BBC. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  3. ^ "BYRNE – Deaths Announcements". The Telegraph. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)". Bfi. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
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