Gillian Betty Merrison (born 27 May 1940 – 19 November 2003), better known by her stage name Gillian Barge was an English stage, television and film actress. She was born in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. She started acting at the age of 17, training at the Birmingham Theatre School. Barge's stage roles included ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'' (as Varya), ''

Measure For Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for ...

'' (Isabella) and ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' (Paulina). In 2001, she was nominated for a

Laurence Olivier Theatre Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''

Passion Play The Passion Play or Easter pageant is a dramatic Play (theatre), presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus: his Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, trial, suffering and death. The viewing of and participation in Passion Plays is a traditional part of L ...

'' at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

. Gillian was also a member of the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

. In addition to her theatre work, Barge has numerous television appearances to her credit. These include guest appearances on episodes of '' Pie in the Sky'' (1996), ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

'' (1994), ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' (2002), ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour episodes) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late ...

'' (1990), '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1980), '' Van der Valk'' (1977), ''Softly, Softly'' (1972) and also in the

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...

production of

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

starring as

Goneril Goneril is a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play ''King Lear'' (1605). She is the eldest of Leir of Britain, King Lear's three daughters. Along with her sister Regan (King Lear), Regan, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with p ...

in 1982. Her film credits include '' The National Health'' (1973). She portrayed

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...

in the TV movie, '' A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia'' (1990). Her second husband was the actor

Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 episodes of the 1989–1998 series o ...

. In 2003, she died aged 63 of cancer in Ipswich, Suffolk.

Selected film and television roles

Film credits include: *'' The National Health'' (1973) - Dr. Bird *''Seal Island'' (1976) - Warden's Wife *''Singleton's Pluck'' (1984) - Gwen *''

Mesmer Franz Anton Mesmer ( ; ; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorized the existence of a process of natural energy transference occurring between all animate and inanimate objects; this he cal ...

'' (1994) - Frau Mesmer *''The Discovery of Heaven'' (2001) - Onno's mother *'' Charlotte Gray'' (2001) - Madame Galliot *''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas film, Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous pro ...

'' (2003) - Cabinet Minister (final film role) Television credits include: *''

'' (1982) - Goneril *'' A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia'' (1990) (TV) -

*''

'' (1990) 'The Eternal Quadrangle as 'Mrs Doreen Mauleverer' *''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...

- The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' (1990) - Emily Inglethorp *'' Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors'' (1991) - Mildred Strete *''

A Dance to the Music of Time ''A Dance to the Music of Time'' is a 12-volume ''Book series#History, roman-fleuve'' by English writer Anthony Powell, published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim. The story is an often comic examination of movements and manners, power ...

'' (1997) - Mrs Erdleigh *'' The Uninvited'' (1997) - Mary Madigan *''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ( ...

: Winter Angel'' (1999) - Cheryl *''

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were broa ...

- The Lake of Darkness'' (1999) (TV) - Mrs Urban *''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton ...

'' (1999 episode: ''The First Stone'') - Grace Longfield *''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'' (2000) - Princess Shcherbatskaya *'' The Jury'' (2002) - Eva Prohaska / Juror No.9 *''

'' (2002 episode: ''A Worm in the Bud'') - Hannah Harrington

References

External links and references

*
Obituary
by Peter Gill {{DEFAULTSORT:Barge, Gillian 1940 births 2003 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Actresses from Hastings