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Dora Bryan (born Dora Mary Broadbent on February
7, 1924) is a United Kingdom|British actress, a
household name with a huge list of films to her
credit. She was born in Southport, Lancashire, UK,
 and has a distinctive speaking voice which has
become a trademark of her film and television
performances.

Her career began in pantomime before the Second
World War, during which she joined the
Entertainments National Service Association|ENSA
in Italy to entertain British troops in that
theatre of the conflict. She became a regular
performer in the West End of London following the
war, where she became a star of theatrical revues.
She soon followed many of her theatre
contemporaries by moving into film acting,
generally playing supporting roles. She often
played women of easy virtue - for example in
Ealing Studios|Ealing's The Blue Lamp (1950) and
The Fallen Idol (1948), one of her earliest films.
She appeared in similarly stereotypical female
roles in other films, for example The Cockleshell
Heroes (1955), Carry On Sergeant (1958) and The
Green Man (1956), and A Taste of Honey (1961). She
played a 'dodgy' head mistress in The Great St.
Trinian's Train Robbery (1966).

Bryan had a break from acting in the 1970s to
raise children but did a public service
television|TV advertisement on children's safety
in this period. Since the early 1980s she has once
again been very active. Her most recent film
appearance is in MirrorMask (2005). She is
currently a regular in the long-running BBC comedy
series Last of the Summer Wine|Last Of The Summer
Wine.

Her autobiography According To Dora was published
in 1987 and has since been updated and
republished. In 1996, Dora Bryan was awarded the
Order of the British Empire in recognition of her
services to acting.

She has been married to Bill Lawton since 1954,
and is the mother of 3 children; she has been
living in Brighton, southern England for over 30
years.


==External link==
* imdb name|id=0116932 |name=Dora Bryan