Yvonne Gilan

Yvonne Janette Gilan (12 October 1931 – 14 June 2018)[1][2][3] was a Scottish actress who is best known for her portrayal of Mme. Peignoir in Fawlty Towers (episode "The Wedding Party") and minor roles in both EastEnders and French Fields. She was married to the television director Michael Gill, and was the mother of the late journalist, Adrian, known as A. A. Gill.

Yvonne Gilan
Born	Yvonne Janette Gilan 12 October 1931 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	14 June 2018 (aged 86) London, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actress, writer, vocal coach
Years active	1961–1994
Spouse(s)	Michael Gill (m. 1951–1978)
Children	Nicholas Gill A. A. Gill
Website	http://www.yvonnegilan.co.uk/

Early work

In 1964, Gilan wrote a short fantasy film, The Peaches, starring Juliet Harmer, with a small cameo role for her son Adrian as a bespectacled chess player. The film became the British choice for the Cannes Film Festival, and won several international awards. Her comic skills were displayed earlier in Alan Bennett's comedy series On the Margin (1966).

Gilan's acting career on television also included roles as Vera Cowley in Z-Cars (1967), Dixon of Dock Green (1969), Crossroads (1976) as Eileen Blythe, several roles in Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1963–69) and as Ruth Bannister The House of Elliot. Her film credits included Mrs Braithwaite Agatha (1979), Mrs Liddell in Chariots of Fire (1981), and Mrs Lockwood in Empire of the Sun (1987).

Fawlty Towers (1975)

Gilan's appearance in Fawlty Towers episode "The Wedding Party", first transmitted on BBC2 on 3 October 1975, was as a French antiques dealer who seemed to have a soft spot for hotel owner Basil Fawlty. He, in turn, indulged her a little, while fending off her hints at a nocturnal encounter while she was under the influence of alcohol ('a little tipsy', as she put it). Her character had an unusual take on his character: 'Are you a romantic, Mr. Fawlty..? Well, I think you are. I think beneath that English exterior throbs a passion that would make Lord Byron look like a tobacconist.' After announcing that, due to the summer heat, she would sleep "au naturel tonight", subsequently she teased Fawlty that he had left his cassette player in her room as an excuse to gain entry, during the night.

In May 2009, satellite channel G.O.L.D. screened Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened, a one-off special that brought the original Fawlty Towers cast back together for the first time since the most notorious hotel Torquay had closed down; within, Gilan was interviewed and suggested that her French accent now sounded to her more like a Hungarian accent.

Later career

From 1980 onwards, Gilan worked as a motivational speaker at the Oxford Said Business School, helping leaders improve their presentation and communication skills,[4] and lectured at the Imperial College, London. She was awarded Fellowships from both the London Business School and the Saïd Business School.

In 2003, Gilan was consulted on picking the right voice for the 118 118 directory enquiry service.[5]

Personal life

At the University of Edinburgh, Gilan met Michael Gill, later to have a career as a television director and producer; they married in 1951 and had two sons, Adrian and Nicholas. Their marriage was dissolved in 1978.[6]

Gilan's younger son Nicholas (Nick), a talented chef, unaccountably disappeared in 1998 and has not been heard from since. 'He was an incredibly successful Michelin-starred chef, but he had reached rock bottom.'[7]

Her older son, Adrian, a newspaper columnist and writer, was known professionally as A. A. Gill. In his autobiography, Adrian described his mother's appearance and characteristics as he recalled them from childhood:

Physical, gamine, a thick shock of short black hair with a heavy fringe. Freckles, dark complexion. A witty, interested, boyish face, but provocative, mocking, with an exhibitionist smile that is not altogether humorous ... Her smile can wither or zap like Dan Dare's ray gun.[8]

Gilan kept the letters that Adrian wrote to her from his boarding school, St. Christopher School, Letchworth, in Hertfordshire, and returned them to him half a century later.[8][9] He died on 10 December 2016, at the age of 62.[10][11]

Gilan died of breast and lung cancer on 14 June 2018, and is survived by her grandchildren, Louis, Hannah, Flora, Alasdair, Edith and Isaac.[12]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Agatha	Mrs. Braithwaite
1981	Chariots of Fire	Mrs. Liddell
1983	Another Time, Another Place	Jess
1987	Empire of the Sun	Mrs. Lockwood

References

1. "Yvonne Gilan obituary". The Guardian. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
2. "Yvonne: The story of me and my mentor – Resonance Training / Karen Glossop".
3. "Yvonne Gilan obituary". The Times. 5 September 2018.
4. "Meet Our Trainers". Retrieved 17 July 2011.
5. "The Welsh accent". BBC. 21 February 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
6. Levy, Paul (24 October 2005). "Michael Gill (obituary)". The Independent. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
7. Rumbelow, Helen (14 March 2005). "Missing persons charity faces closure". The Times. London. Retrieved 20 November 2016. (subscription required)
8. Gill, A.A. (25 October 2015). "Drunks' dreams are never a pretty, relaxed place... I knew all about hallucination". The Sunday Times Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2016. (subscription required)
9. Adrian Gill had been sent to St. Christopher because his parents thought it might have been able to assist with his dyslexia, but he left without any qualifications: Sunday Times, 11 December 2016
10. "Yvonne Gilan obituary". The Times. 5 September 2018.
11. "Obituary – Yvonne Gilan, Scottish actress known as the flirtatious Frenchwoman in Fawlty Towers".
12. Yvonne Gilan obituary – The Guardian

External links

• Yvonne Gilan at IMDb