Dora May Bryan OBE was an English actress of stage, film and television. Born Dora May Broadbent, her career began in pantomime as a child actor. In World War II she joined the ENSA in Italy to entertain British troops.
After having established herself as a versatile stage actress, covering everything from drama and comedy to musicals, she started to appear in film in the late 1940s, and in 1968 she even had her own TV series, "According to Dora". At one point in her career she was Britain's highest-paid star.
She was active on stage until the mid 1990s and continued to work in film and television until 2005, when she finally had to give up the acting profession as she could no longer remember her lines.
Her autobiography According To Dora was published in 1987. In 1996, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to acting and the same year she was also awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for her role in the West End production of the Harold Pinter play "The Birthday Party".
She was married to British cricket player Bill Lawton from 1954 to his death in 2008. She lived in a nursing home in Hove, outside Brighton, until her death in 2014.
as Aunt Nan
as Self (archive footage, uncredited)
as Lily Anderson(1 ep)
as Dame Nelly Fletcher(1 ep)
as Connie(1 ep)
as Millie
as Bosom Lady
as Molly Bramley(1 ep)
as Dolly(1 ep)
as Mrs Mim(1 ep)
as Jane Thompson(1 ep)
as Bosom Lady(1 ep)
as Monica
as Margaret McKinney
as Hester Blewett(1 ep)
as Emma
as Self(2 eps)
as Roz(60 eps)
as Auntie Cora Crumpington
as Dora Page(7 eps)
as Mrs. Golding
as Ruby Hopkins
as Mrs. De Vere
as Amber Spottiswood
as Self
as Helen
as Dora Morgan(12 eps)
as Queen
as herself
as Julie Skidmore
as Pvt. Cox
as Gay Bennett
as Norah
as Telephonist
as (uncredited)
as Julie Skidmore(1 ep)
as Lily
as Cassie
as Myrtie
as Hortense Tipp
as May
as Herself(2 eps)
as Comedian
as Berengaria
as Marge
as Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
as Mary Rawlings, the maid
as Dora Bee
as Barmaid
as Prostitute
as Olga
as Dora
as Mrs. Hackett
as Pearl
as Tilly
as Peggy Stebbins
as Glad Flanagan
as Valerie
as Miss La Fosse
as Mrs. Bowers
as Movie Publicist
as Maggie
as Bubbles Fitzgerald
as Elsie Tripp
as Eva
as Maisie
as Waitress
as Maisie
as Jenny Jenkins
as the waitress
as Talkative Hairdresser (uncredited)
as Blonde Sales Assistant (uncredited)
as Winnie
as Model in Shop
as Barmaid
as The Girl
as Rose
as Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)