Sylvia Coleridge (10 December 1909 – 31 May 1986) was a British stage, film, radio and television actress. Her credits included '' Tess'' (1979), '' The Avengers'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'', '' Survivors'', ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

'', ''

The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction on television, science fiction television series created by Roger Price (television producer), Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV Network, th ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', '' Shoestring'', ''

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'', ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, ...

'', and the BBC's adaptation of ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'' in 1985.

Early life

Coleridge was born on 10 December 1909 in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, now

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Career

After Coleridge made her stage debut in 1931, her theatre work included appearances at

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, the Malvern Festival and with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. Coleridge's television acting credits include: '' Out of the Unknown'', '' The Avengers'', '' Paul Temple'', '' The Lotus Eaters'', '' Ace of Wands'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Public Eye'', '' Sutherland's Law'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Survivors'', '' Armchair Thriller'' (in the serial '' Quiet as a Nun''), ''

'' (in the episode ''Gambit'' as the Croupier), '' Shoestring'', '' The Flipside of Dominick Hide'', ''

'', '' Funny Man'', ''

'', '' Artemis 81'', ''

'', and the sitcom '' Maggie and Her''. Coleridge made a guest appearance in the ''

'' serial '' The Seeds of Doom'' (1976).

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...

mentioned on the "Special Edition" DVD commentary for '' The Robots of Death'' that he had been so taken with Coleridge's eccentric performance in the serial that he had later suggested her as the new ''Doctor Who'' companion to producer Graham Williams.

Death

Coleridge died on 31 May 1986, in London.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Performances listed in the Theatre Archive University of Bristol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleridge, Sylvia 1909 births 1986 deaths 20th-century British actresses Actresses from London British film actresses British radio actresses British Shakespearean actresses British television actresses Sylvia People from Darjeeling Royal Shakespeare Company members