Paula Tilbrook (16 January 1930 – 1 December 2019) was an English actress who played Betty Eagleton in the ITV

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' from 1994 to 2015.

Career

Born in

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Tilbrook begun her career performing on stage across

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

. After a break from acting to raise her children, she moved into television, appearing in the sitcom '' The Dustbinmen'' in 1969 and alongside

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...

in ''Ken Dodd and the Diddymen'' from 1969 to 1973; thereafter, she became a regular on Dodd's radio programmes. In 1977, Tilbrook made an appearance as Estelle Plimpton in ''

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 ...

'', and followed this by appearances as Olive Taylor-Brown in the same show in 1978 and 1980, and Vivian Barford from 1991 to 1993. In 1979, she appeared in ''Tales of the Unexpected'', and in 1988, Tilbrook played Flo Capp in the sitcom ''

Andy Capp ''Andy Capp'' is a British comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe, seen in the ''Daily Mirror'' and the ''Sunday Mirror'' newspapers since 5 August 1957. Originally a panel (comics), single-panel cartoon, it was later expanded to four ...

''. She played dog-lover Mrs Tattersall in ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes over four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982, and 1985. The programme was developed from a television pilot broadcast ...

'', and three roles in ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

''. Her other credits include ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'', ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Bro ...

'' and two episodes of the BBC's ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

''. Tilbrook's film credits include ''

Yanks ''Yanks'' is a 1979 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, and produced by Joseph Janni and Lester Persky, and is written by Colin Welland and Walter Bernstein. It stars Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Chick ...

'' and

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

's ''

A Private Function ''A Private Function'' is a 1984 British comedy film starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. The film was predominantly filmed in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding in West Yorkshire. The film was also screened in the section of Un Certain Regard at the ...

''. In 1994, Tilbrook joined the ITV soap opera ''

'' as Betty Eagleton, a character known for her love of gossip and her on-screen relationship with

Seth Armstrong Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Stan Richards from 1978 until 2004. The role of Seth began as a temporary "bit part" and he was due to appear for just a few episodes ...

(played by

Stan Richards Stanley Richardson, known professionally as Stan Richards (8 December 1930 – 11 February 2005), was an English television actor, best known for his portrayal of Seth Armstrong in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Career He played the ...

). Initially signed to appear in only three episodes, she remained in the role for 21 years, and at the time of her departure was the longest-running female cast member. In April 2015, it was announced that Tilbrook would be retiring from acting and her final scenes as Betty aired on 25 May, which saw the character leave for Australia. She briefly reprised her role in ''Emmerdale'' on Christmas Day 2015, when Betty appeared via

Skype Skype () was a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also had instant messaging, file transfer, ...

to speak to the villagers.

Personal life and death

Tilbrook was married to Leslie Hall from 1952 until his death in 1985 from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. They had a son, Greg (born November 1953), and a daughter, Gaynor (born January 1957). From 1962 onwards, she lived in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

(later part of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

). Tilbrook died on 1 December 2019, aged 89; however, her death was not announced by her family until July 2020.

References

External links

* 1930 births 2019 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actors from Altrincham Actresses from Salford English film actresses English soap opera actresses English television actresses Place of death missing {{UK-tv-actor-1930s-stub