Dora Bryan, OBE, born Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 — 23 July 2014), was a British actress.
Her first time on stage was appearing in a pantomime in Manchester when she was a child. After her mother encouraged her joined the Oldham Repertory in her teens. She spent six years there before moving to London and performing in the West End.
She was most prominent throughout the early fifties playing man-hungry women in films, most notably in The Fallen Idol, The Blue Lamp, Gift Horse, The Cockleshell Heroes, The Green Man and Carry On, Sergeant. Her performance in Sergeant was well-received, so she was hoped to return to the Carry On... Series in the next two entries - as Student Nurse Stella Dawson in Carry On Nurse and Sarah Allcock in Carry On Teacher - but she didn't, and the two roles went to Joan Sims, who went on to star in the second most Carry On films, only in two less than Kenneth Williams.
In The '60s and The '70s, she continued appearing in films including A Taste of Honey, The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery, and Up the Front. As The '80s rolled around, she began appearing on TV more and more, most notably starring in Both Ends Meet (later retitled to Dora) and taking the role of Roz Utterthwaite on Last of the Summer Wine.
She died at the age of 91.
Works on TV Tropes she appeared in:
Film
- Odd Man Out (1947) — Girl in Telephone Kiosk (Uncredited Role)
- The Blue Lamp (1950) — Maisie
- Carry On, Sergeant (1958) — Norah
- A Taste of Honey (1961) — Helen
- The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966) — Headmistress Amber Spottiswood
- Hands of the Ripper (1971) — Mrs. Golding
- Up the Front (1972) — Auntie Cora Crumpington
- Apartment Zero (1988) — Margaret McKinney
- Mirrormask (2005) — Aunt Nan
- Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, 1 episode (1986) — Pam's Mum
- CASUAL+Y, episode "Cherish" (1992) — Hester Blewett
- Heartbeat, episode "The Frighteners" (1993) — Jane Thompson
- Absolutely Fabulous, 2 episodes:
- "The Last Shout: Part 2" (1996) — Millie
- "Fish Farm" (2001) — Dolly
- dinnerladies, episode "Moods" (1998) — Connie
- Last of the Summer Wine, 49 episodes (2000-05) — Aunt Roz Utterthwaite
- Doctors, episode "Second Time Around" (2000) — Lily Anderson
- Bernard's Watch, episode "Alien Times" (2001) — Marjorie Bell
- Holby City, episode "Lives Worth Living" (2002) — Betty Wheeler
