Diana King (actress)

Diana King (2 August 1918 – 31 July 1986) was an English actress who had a career on British television from 1939 to 1986. Born in Buckinghamshire, she was sometimes credited as Diane King.

Diana King
in Fawlty Towers (1975)
Born
Diana King

(1918-08-02)2 August 1918
Buckinghamshire, England
Died31 July 1986(1986-07-31) (aged 67)
Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1939–1986
Spouse(s)John Harvey (died 1982)

Television roles

King's first television appearance was as a pupil of Tadworth House School in Little Ladyship in 1939.[1][2] She continued to appear on television and in films throughout the 1940s and 1950s.[3] In 1961, she appeared in The Avengers.[4] From the 1960s to the early 1980s, she appeared in The Benny Hill Show, Crossroads, Dixon of Dock Green, Pride and Prejudice, You're Only Young Twice and Z-Cars.[3][5]

However, Diana King is perhaps best known for her many appearances in situation comedies from the 1960s onwards. She had roles in Dad's Army, Father, Dear Father, The Liver Birds, Fawlty Towers (in the episode "The Wedding Party"), George and Mildred, Bless This House, Rising Damp, Come Back Mrs Noah and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.[5] King also had semi-regular roles in Are You Being Served? as Mrs Peacock, in Terry and June replacing the late Joan Benham in the role of Melinda Spry, as Norah in Bachelor Father and as George's mother in Marriage Lines.[6][7][8] She also acted in the English-learning programme Follow Me from 1978 to 1981 with Francis Matthews as moderator.

Her final television appearance was in Inside Story, which was shown in 1986, the year she died of cancer in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, two days before her 68th birthday.[9]

Partial filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1941SpellboundAmy Nugent
Once a CrookBessie
1961OffbeatMaggie Dawson
1962Live Now, Pay LaterPotential Buyer
1965Be My GuestMargaret Martin
FanaticWoman Shopper
1967They Came from Beyond SpaceMrs. Trethowan
1970Some Will, Some Won'tMrs. Craik
1976SchizoMrs. Falconer
1980The Shillingbury BlowersMrs. SimpkinsTV Movie
The Wildcats of St Trinian'sMiss Mactavish
Pink Floyd – The WallWedding Witness

References
  1. "Diana King | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  2. "Little Ladyship". The Radio Times (805): 16. 5 March 1939 – via BBC Genome.
  3. "Diana King". BFI.
  4. "Diana King | TV, Documentary and Other Appearances". AllMovie.
  5. "Diana King". www.aveleyman.com.
  6. "Oh, What a Tangled Web (1976)". BFI.
  7. "Terry and June[08/03/83] (1983)". BFI.
  8. "What's in a Name? (1965)". BFI.
  9. Perry, Chris (3 February 2016). The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937–2013. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781900203609 – via Google Books.


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