Val McLane (born Valerie Bradford 25 February 1943, in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

) is an English actress, scriptwriter, director and teacher.

Early life

She grew up in Walker and Benton. Her younger brother is actor and musician

Jimmy Nail James Michael Aloysius Bradford (born 16 March 1954), known as Jimmy Nail, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He played the role of Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the television show ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' ( ...

. She attended the convent direct grant grammar Sacred Heart Catholic High School, Newcastle upon Tyne in Fenham. She has an English degree and a post-graduate teaching diploma from the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

Career

She taught for six years from 1965 to 1971 at St. Joseph's RC Grammar Technical School. Six years later she completed a part-time Drama in Education course at Durham University. McLane founded the Live Theatre Company in Newcastle in 1973 with director Geoff Gillham. She has appeared in numerous television roles, including '' Brookside'' in 1983 as Maureen Lomax, a friend of regular character,

Sheila Grant Sheila Corkhill (also Grant) is a fictional character from British soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside'', played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1990. Her ...

; '' When the Boat Comes In'', ''Behind the Bike Sheds'', and some Catherine Cookson adaptations for Tyne Tees Television. She appeared as Norma, Dennis' ( Tim Healy) sister in the second series of ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...

''. Other television roles include a role as a secretary in '' Our Friends in the North''. Stage roles include Florrie in '' Andy Capp: The Musical'' at the Aldwych Theatre. She usually appears in the biannual benefit concert ''

Sunday for Sammy ''Sunday for Sammy'' is a series of biennial Benefit concert, charity concerts held in aid of the Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund, which benefits young performers. The fund was established in memorial to Sammy Johnson, an actor from North East Engla ...

''. She appeared in the films '' Wish You Were Here'' and '' Purely Belter''. She also appeared in Jane Eyre 1997 and Grace Poole. She has edited ''The Prison Plays'' by Tom Hadaway and released ''Women in My Past: A Dramatic Monologue'', an audio book of dramatic monologue in prose, poetry and song. She was drama leader at the University of Sunderland until retiring in 2008. She now teaches the BA Honours Bridging Course at Reid Kerr College on behalf of University of Sunderland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLane, Val 1943 births Living people Academics of the University of Sunderland Alumni of Durham University Alumni of the University of Leeds English dramatists and playwrights English film actresses English television actresses Actresses from Newcastle upon Tyne