Helen Fraser (actress)

Helen Fraser
Fraser in 2011
Born	Helen Margaret Stronach (1942-06-15) 15 June 1942 (age 82) Oldham, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1962–2015
Spouse	Peter Handford ​ ​ (m. 1964; died 2007)​

Helen Fraser (born Helen Margaret Stronach; born 15 June 1942) is a retired English actress, who has appeared in many television series since the early 1960s.[1] For international audiences, she may be best known for her roles in Billy Liar (1963) and Repulsion (1965).[2] She is also well known in Britain for portraying the role of miserable warder Sylvia Hollamby in the prison drama series Bad Girls.[3] She appeared in the series from the first episode in 1999 until the last in 2006.[1]

Career

She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art alongside Tom Courtenay and John Thaw, among others.[4] She gained her breakthrough role alongside Courtenay in Billy Liar (1963).[5] They later played the parents of character Dave Best in the Christmas special of The Royle Family (2008).[6]

She is best known to television viewers for her long-running role in the ITV women's prison drama Bad Girls as unpleasant prison officer Sylvia Hollamby[7] from the first episode in 1999 to the last in 2006.[1] She reprised the role in the West End production of Bad Girls: The Musical in 2007.[6]

She made her TV debut in the early 1960s and her credits include Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, The Likely Lads, Doctor in Charge, The Dustbinmen, On the Buses, Rising Damp, Tales of the Unexpected, Duty Free, One Foot in the Grave and Casualty.[8] She also worked on TV with comedians like Dick Emery and the Two Ronnies in the 1970s.[6]

She has also appeared on stage, including with the Royal National Theatre, in the West End and in regional theatres across the country.[9] In 2009 and 2010, she toured the UK as Mrs Fisher in a stage version of Billy Liar.[3] In 2011, she joined the tour of Calendar Girls.[10]

Fraser has appeared in the ITV soap Coronation Street twice – in 1998 as Magenta Savannah and again in 2013 as Doris Babbage.[11][12][13]

In 2015, she appeared in an episode of the BBC daytime soap Doctors.[14]

Personal life

In 1964, she married the recording engineer Peter Handford; the couple had met on the set of Billy Liar.[3] Handford died in 2007.[15] Fraser lives in Eye, Suffolk.[16]

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	A Kind of Loving	Ingrid's Friend	Uncredited
1963	Billy Liar	Barbara
1965	Repulsion	Bridget
1966	The Uncle	Mary Ream
1968	The Birthday Party	Lulu
1972	Something to Hide	Miss Bunyan
1970	Start the Revolution Without Me	Mimi
1974	From Beyond the Grave	Guest	Segment 1: The Gate Crasher; uncredited
1977	Joseph Andrews	Mrs. Adams
1988	Gorillas in the Mist	Mme. Van Vecten
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	Silent Evidence	Tina	1 episode: "Driven to the Brink"
	Z-Cars	Hilda Stansfield/Vicky Bell	1962–1963; 2 episodes: "Contraband", "The Bad Lad"
	ITV Play of the Week	Ellen/Millie	1962–1965; 2 episodes: The Door, The Way of All Flesh
1963	Friday Night	Betty/Sheila/Mavis/Brenda Holroyd	4 episodes
1964	The Villains	Pat	1 episode: "Amateurs"
	No Hiding Place	Jill	1 episode: "The Hoarders"
	Thursday Theatre	Janey Jenkins	1 episode: "The Cure for Love"
1965	The Valiant Varneys		1 episode: season 2.3
	Comedy Playhouse	Mousy Bird (Greta Spavin)	1 episode: Here I Come Whoever I Am
	Pardon the Expression	Hilda Norton	2 episodes: "The Trouble with Ada", "The Visitor"
	Six of the Best	Vanessa	1 episode: "Charlie's Place"
	Dixon of Dock Green	Gwen	1 episode: "Castles in the Air"
	Knock on Any Door	Madge	1 episode: "A Paragraph of for Mr Blake"
	Theatre 625	Mrs. Hampton	1 episode: "Portraits from the North: The Nutter"
	The Likely Lads	Helen	1965–1966; 2 episodes: "Talk of the Town", "Love and Marriage"
	Blackmail	Brenda/Daphne Appleton	1965–1966; 2 episodes: First Offender, Boys and Girls Commute to Play
1966	The Wednesday Play	Linda/Polly	1966–1967; 2 episodes: Way off Beat, The Fat of the Land
1967	Love Story	Sue	1 episode: A Diamond is Forever
	The Gamblers	Joyce	1 episode: "Oil and Water"
1969	Doctor in the House	Rigor Mortis	1 episode: "Getting the Bird"
	Dombey and Son	Susan Nipper	TV serial; 9 episodes
1970	The Dustbinmen	The Goddess	1 episode: season 2.4
1971	Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width	Doreen Lawton	1 episode: "Mix Me a Marriage"
	Now Look Here	Tracey	1 episode: Season 1.2
	On the Buses	Linda	1 episode: "Boxing Day Social"
	The Dick Emery Show	Lampwick's Daughter	12 episodes
1972	A Day Out	Mrs. Ackroyd	Television film
	Doctor in Charge	Dr. Mary Parsons/Dr. Mary Bingham	1972–1973; 6 episodes
1973	The Upper Crusts	Mrs. Smith	1 episode: "Sitting Pretty"
	Hunter's Walk	Janet Kenwright	1 episode: "Disturbance"
	Man About the House	Gabrielle	1 episode: "Three's a Crowd"
1974	Sporting Scenes	Helen	1 episode: "The Needle Match"
1975	Cilla's Comedy Six	Gloria	1 episode: "Father's Doing Fine"
	...And Mother Makes Five	Miss Finch	1 episode: "Legs Eleven"
	Rising Damp	Gwen/Bride	1975–1978; 2 episodes: "For the Man Who Has Everything", "Pink Carnations"
1976	Jumbo Spencer	Mrs. Spencer
1978	BBC2 Play of the Week	Polly Wright	1 episode: Fairies
1980	BBC2 Playhouse	Lou Parker	1 episode: The Black Madonna
1981	Partners	Monica	1 episode: "Fair Shares"
	The Patricia Neal Story	2nd Neighbour	Television film
1982	Tales of the Unexpected	Beryl	1 episode: Blue Marigold
	Sorry!	Psychotherapist	1 episode: "Perchance to Dream"
	Play for Today	Joyce Midgley	1 episode: "Intensive Care"
1983	Dramarama	Joan Osgerby	1 episode: "Rig It Up"
1984	Duty Free	Emily	1 episode: "Spanish Lace"
	The Box of Delights	Ellen	4 episodes
1986	In Loving Memory	Enid Bracegirdle	1 episode: "They Shoot Undertakers, Don't They"
1987	Screen Two	Mrs. Mortland	1 episode: Northanger Abbey
1988	Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun	June Carberry	Television film
1990	One Foot in the Grave	Dr. Snellgrove	1 episode: "The Big Sleep"
1995	Under the Moon	Miss Prudhomme	Television film
1997	The Uninvited	Charge Nurse	Mini-series
1998	Coronation Street	Magenta Savannah	2 episodes: episode #4394, episode #4397
1999	Bad Girls	Sylvia Hollamby	1999–2006; 92 episodes, main role
2003	Casualty	Joan Jowell	3 episodes: "Flash in the Pan, Truth or Dare, In the Frame"
2008	The Royle Family	Jocelyn Best	1 episode: "The New Sofa"
2012	The Unforgettable	Herself	1 episode: The Unforgettable John Thaw
2013	Coronation Street	Doris Babbage	Guest appearance
2015	Doctors	Mary Star	1 episode: "Pudding"

References

1. "Helen Fraser". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016.
2. "Helen Fraser | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
3. "Helen Fraser on life with Billy Liar". walesonline. 2 March 2009.
4. "Helen Fraser — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk.
5. McFarlane, Brian; Slide, Anthony (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526111968 – via Google Books.
6. "Helen Fraser – Actress". bslbt.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
7. "Helen Fraser plays Sylvia Hollamby". badgirls.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 November 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
8. "Helen Fraser". www.aveleyman.com.
9. "Helen Fraser | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
10. "Calendar Girls open in Carlisle". ITV News.
11. Young, Glenda (19 February 2013). "Coronation Street Blog: Helen Fraser joins Coronation Street".
12. "Actress Helen Fraser's top five films". 10 May 2013.
13. "Actress voices race row fears". Ipswich Star.
14. "BBC One - Doctors, Series 17, Pudding". BBC.
15. "Big Interview - Helen Fraser". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
16. Clarke, Andrew. "Bad Girl Helen Fraser's journey back to the beginning of a dramatic career". Retrieved 15 December 2017.

External links

• Helen Fraser at IMDb
• Image & voice sample Archived 29 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine