Dilys Rhys Watling (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Jones, 5 May 1942 – 10 August 2021) was an English actress, best known for appearing on

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

(''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

'' and ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo se ...

'').

Early life and education

Watling was born Dilys Rhys Jones, the daughter of actor Ion Rhys Jones and Patricia Hicks. Ion Rhys Jones was killed in action in World War II, and her mother later married actor

Jack Watling Jack Stanley Watling (13 January 1923 – 22 May 2001) was an English actor. Life and career Watling was born 13 January 1923 in Chingford, Essex, England. The son of a travelling scrap metal dealer, Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy ...

. She attended St Mary's Convent School, Woodford,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, followed by acting school.

Career

She acted in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

and at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

. Watling was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her Broadway debut in the short-lived '' Georgy'' in 1970. It proved to be her sole Broadway credit. Other stage credits include the musical '' Pickwick'' (1964), an adaptation of

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

's ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...

''; the role of the Beggar Woman in the 1980 London cast of ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

'' in the West End; and the West End

multi-media Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as writing, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. This is in contrast to tradition ...

Dave Clark rock musical ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' (1986). She also made occasional film appearances, including rôles in the comedy '' Two Left Feet'' (1963); crime film, '' Calculated Risk'', (also 1963); and the horror film, ''

Theatre of Death ''Theatre of Death'' (also known as ''Blood Fiend'') is a 1967 British horror movie directed by Samuel Gallu and starring Christopher Lee, Lelia Goldoni and Julian Glover. It was written by Ellis Kadison and Roger Marshall. Plot Philippe Darv ...

'', (1967).

Personal life

Watling had four half-siblings through her mother's marriage to actor

. These include actor

Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...

and politician/actor

Giles Watling Giles Francis Watling (born 18 February 1953) is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton from 2017 until 2024. He was an actor prior to entering politics. Early life and education Giles Watli ...

. Watling was married twice: her first marriage was to Australian Bruce Anderson in 1966; they later divorced. After a relationship with actor Christopher Matthews, in 1986 she married actor

Owen Teale Owen Teale (born 20 May 1961) is a Welsh character actor having appeared in many films, including ''Robin Hood'' (1991), '' The Hawk'' (1993), ''King Arthur'' (2004), '' The Last Legion'' (2007), '' Tolkien'' (2019), and '' Dream Horse'' (2020) ...

, with whom she had a son, Ion, before divorcing in the mid-1990s. On 10 August 2021, she died aged 79 after a long illness.Dilys Watling death: Coronation Street and The Two Ronnies star dies aged 78
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

TV credits

Filmography

References

External links

* 1942 births 2021 deaths English musical theatre actresses English television actresses Actresses from Buckinghamshire 20th-century English actresses English people of Welsh descent English film actresses Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts Dilys Watling {{UK-tv-actor-1940s-stub