Cast & creator
Dora Bryan
Best known for Casualty, Heartbeat, Last of the Summer Wine
Dora May Bryan OBE was an English actress of stage, film and television. Born Dora May Broadbent, her career began in pantomime as a child actor. In World War II she joined the ENSA in Italy to entertain British troops. After having established herself as a versatile stage actress, covering everything from drama and comedy to musicals, she started to appear in film in the late 1940s, and in 1968 she even had her own TV series, "According to Dora". At one point in her career she was Britain's highest-paid star. She was active on stage until the mid 1990s and continued to work in film and television until 2005, when she finally had to give up the acting profession as she could no longer remember her lines. Her autobiography According To Dora was published in 1987. In 1996, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to acting and the same year she was also awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for her role in the West End production of the Harold Pinter play "The Birthday Party". She was married to British cricket player Bill Lawton from 1954 to his death in 2008. She lived in a nursing home in Hove, outside Brighton, until her death in 2014.
Also known as: Дора Брайен, Dora May Broadbent
66
film credits
21
television credits
87
1947–2005 · acting roles
6.5
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (87)
Showing 87 of 87 credits
Casualty
Hester Blewett
1986
Heartbeat
Jane Thompson
1992
Last of the Summer Wine
Roz
1973
Doctors
Lily Anderson
2000
An Audience with...
Self
1978
Performance
Bosom Lady
1991
Absolutely Fabulous
Dolly
1992
The Sooty Show
Herself
1955
World in Action
1963
Theatre Night
Julie Skidmore
1957
dinnerladies
Connie
1998
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Molly Bramley
1993
Hippies
Dame Nelly Fletcher
1999
Virtual Murder
Mrs Mim
1992
On the Up
1990
No Highway in the Sky
1951
A Taste of Honey
Helen
1961
MirrorMask
Aunt Nan
2005Happily Ever After
Dora Morgan
1961Both Ends Meet
Dora Page
1972
The Cockleshell Heroes
Myrtie
1955
Odd Man Out
Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)
1947
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
Millie
1996
Lady Godiva Rides Again
Movie Publicist
1951
As Long as They're Happy
May
1955
Hands of the Ripper
Mrs. Golding
1971
Gift Horse
Glad Flanagan
1952
The Blue Lamp
Maisie
1950
The Fallen Idol
Rose
1948Educating Archie
1958
Child in the House
Cassie
1956Hello London
herself
1960
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
Amber Spottiswood
1966
Scarlet Thread
Maggie
1951
Carry On Sergeant
Norah
1958
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Telephonist
1958
Apartment Zero
Margaret McKinney
1989
The Ringer
Mrs. Hackett
1952Before The Fringe
1967
Mad About Men
Berengaria
1954
No Room at the Inn
The Girl
1948
The Sandwich Man
Mrs. De Vere
1966
The Night We Got the Bird
Julie Skidmore
1960
Something in the City
Waitress
1950
Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard
Miss La Fosse
1952
Bed
Bosom Lady
1995
The Cure for Love
Jenny Jenkins
1949
Don't Ever Leave Me
Talkative Hairdresser (uncredited)
1949
Alice Through the Looking Box
Queen
1960
You Know What Sailors Are
1954
Screamtime
Emma
1983
The Interrupted Journey
the waitress
1949
Thora Hird Tribute
Self (archive footage, uncredited)
2003
Miss Robin Hood
Pearl
1952
The Crowded Day
Marge
1954
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
Tilly
1952
Time, Gentlemen, Please!
Peggy Stebbins
1952
The Green Man
Lily
1956
Adam and Evelyne
Blonde Sales Assistant (uncredited)
1949
The Intruder
Dora Bee
1953
Once Upon a Dream
Barmaid
1949The Dream Machine
Self
1964
Up the Front
Auntie Cora Crumpington
1972Mother's Ruin
1994
Two a Penny
Ruby Hopkins
1967
Traveller's Joy
Eva
1950
No Trace
Maisie
1950
Operation Bullshine
Pvt. Cox
1959
Circle of Danger
Bubbles Fitzgerald
1951
Now Barabbas
Winnie
1949
Desert Mice
Gay Bennett
1959
The Perfect Woman
Model in Shop
1949
Street Corner
Prostitute
1953
The Young Lovers
Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
1954
The Fake
Barmaid
1953
The Quiet Woman
Elsie Tripp
1951The Real Thing
Dora
1953According To Dora
High Treason
Mrs. Bowers
1951
Women of Twilight
Olga
1953
Small Hotel
(uncredited)
1957
Fast and Loose
Mary Rawlings, the maid
1954
Palmer
Monica
1991
You Lucky People!
Hortense Tipp
1955Follow That Horse!
1960
13 East Street
Valerie
1952
Harmony Lane
Comedian
1954