Doreen Mantle

Doreen June Mantle was born 22 June 1926 in Johannesburg, South Africa and was a character actress who is probably best known for her recurring role as Mrs Warboys in the long-running British sitcom One Foot in the Grave (1990) appearing in 18 episodes in the 1990s. Mantle first travelled to Britain with her parents when she was just six weeks old. Around four years later they returned to South Africa. She then returned to the UK permanently in her late twenties. She appeared in many British television series from the 1960s to the present, such as The Duchess of Duke Street, The Wild House, Chalk (1997), Casualty (1986), The Bill (1984), Doctors (2000), Holby City (1999), Love Soup (2005) and Jonathan Creek (1997). She played lollipop lady Queenie in Clatterford (2006). Mantle has worked extensively on the stage in such productions as My Fair Lady, Keep It in the Family, The Seagull and Hamlet. She also toured Britain in Billy Liar in the role of Florence Boothroyd and performed at the National Theatre in The Voysey Inheritance. In 1979 she was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Death of a Salesman. She also did a great deal of radio work for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. In 2011 Mantle appeared in Coronation Street (1960) as the mother of Colin Fishwick whose identity was taken by John Stape.