Angela Margaret Leslie Thorne (born 25 January 1939) is an English actress of stage, television and film who is best known for her roles in '' To the Manor Born'', as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's best friend Marjory Frobisher, and as

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

in '' Anyone for Denis?''

Early life

Angela Thorne was born in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, in 1939. The daughter of an Indian Army doctor father, William Herbert Alfred Thorne, and a teacher mother, Sylvia (Leslie), she spent the first five years of her life in India. BBC - ''

Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series) ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' is a British genealogy documentary series that has aired on the BBC since 2004, in which celebrity participants trace their family history. It is made by the production company Wall to Wall. The programme has reg ...

'', 16 August 2010 She was later a pupil at

Farlington School Farlington School is an independent day and boarding school for pupils aged four to eighteen in Horsham, West Sussex, England. Farlington was founded in 1896 originally as a girls' school in Haywards Heath but moved to its present site at Stroo ...

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

. She trained for the stage at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

. Her marriage to television actor Peter Penry-Jones lasted from 22 September 1967 until his death in 2009. They had two sons, Laurence and

Rupert Rupert may refer to: People * Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert" Places Canada * Rupert, Quebec, a village *Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay *Rupert River, Quebec *Rupert ...

, both actors. In the BBC programme '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' featuring son Rupert, broadcast in August 2010, it was revealed that Thorne's father William had served with the Indian Medical Corps at the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

and that his preceding ancestors had a long-standing connection with the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

Acting career

Her first professional engagement was with the Caryl Jenner Children's Theatre. After

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

seasons at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, she appeared in ''Night Must Fall'' at Theatre Royal, Windsor and the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

. She also appeared in television productions, including ''

Elizabeth R ''Elizabeth R'' is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth I of England. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the ABC in Australia and broadcast in Amer ...

'' as

Lettice Knollys Lettice Knollys ( , sometimes latinized as Laetitia, alias Lettice Devereux or Lettice Dudley), Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester (8 November 1543Adams 2008a – 25 December 1634), was an English noblewoman and mother to the courtier ...

, ''The Liars'', and ''

The Canterville Ghost "The Canterville Ghost" is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts in '' The Court and Society Review'', 23 February and 2 March 1887. The story is about an American fa ...

'', playing the leading role opposite Bruce Forsyth as the Ghost. She played the part of

to critical acclaim in the satirical, comic farce ''Anyone for Denis?'', adapted for television in 1982. In 1969 she starred as Nancy Chuff in the comedy series ''

World in Ferment In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

''. In 1984 she played the role of Susan, "The Duchess" in a West End revival of Giles Cooper's play ''Happy Family'', opposite Ian Ogilvy and

Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, film, radio and theatre actress. Although she has a wide number of credits to her name, Beacham is best known for for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas ''The Colbys' ...

. In 1996 she starred in Alan Ayckbourn's ''Communicating Doors'' at the Savoy Theatre, London She appeared in two episodes of Thames Television's sitcom '' Get Some In!'' in 1976 as Mrs Fairfax, and in one episode of the BBC sitcom '' The Good Life'' in 1977 as Lady Truscott, before appearing as Marjory Frobisher in '' To the Manor Born'' between 1979 and 1981: her husband appeared in two of the later episodes. She reprised this role for both the 10-episode radio series in 1997 and the one-off 2007 Christmas Special on television. She followed this with a lead role in another sitcom, ''

Three Up, Two Down ''Three Up, Two Down'' is a British sitcom starring Michael Elphick and Angela Thorne that ran from 1985 to 1989. It was written by Richard Ommanney. Cast *Michael Elphick as Sam Tyler *Angela Thorne as Daphne Trenchard *Lysette Anthony as Angi ...

''. After ''To the Manor Born'', she also played the eponymous character in the ITV sitcom ''

Farrington of the F.O. {{infobox television , runtime = 30 minutes , creator = Dick Sharples , starring = Angela Thorne Joan Sims John Quayle Tony Haygarth Freddie Earlle Judy Cornwell , director = Ronnie Baxter Don Clayton , composer = Alan ParkerAl ...

'' written by Dick Sharples. She appeared in an episode of ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'' as well as in ''

Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by ''Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...

'' and Heartbeat''.'' In 1989, she voiced the role of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

in ''

The BFG ''The BFG'' (short for ''The Big Friendly Giant'') is a 1982 children's book written by British novelist Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 book ''Danny, the Champion of the World'' ...

'', the film adaptation of

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

's book.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Angela 1939 births Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English stage actresses English television actresses Living people Actresses from Karachi 20th-century English actresses