Sheila Reid

A seasoned character actress, the diminutive Sheila Reid was born into a military family in Glasgow, one of three siblings. She was educated at the Moreton Hall School in Shropshire and at London's Rose Bruford College. Her father encouraged her acting ambitions. From childhood, Sheila aspired to be on the stage. In her own words: "... I used to just live in the world of make-believe because I wasn't terribly keen on who I was. It was interesting because with acting I would play character roles, and where there were roles where you were playing yourself I found that the hardest thing of all - because I would have to strip it all away and be me." After further studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Sheila Reid graduated in 1958. After formative years (1957-58) with the Colchester Repertory Company, Sheila became a member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963. She appeared as Bianca on the stage and in the National's filmed version of Othello, acting alongside Laurence Olivier (in the title role), Frank Finlay, Derek Jacobi and Maggie Smith. In between seasons with the ensemble of London's Old Vic (1965-70) and with the RSC (1991-93), she took breaks from the theatre to "go it alone and get a foothold in telly and films". On screen from 1960, Sheila established her versatility across a wide range of genres, from police dramas (Z Cars (1962), The Bill (1984)) to science fiction (Doctor Who (2005), as Clara Oswald's paternal grandmother), from period drama (Lillie (1978), as Queen Victoria) to comedies (Hi-de-Hi! (1980), The Power of Parker (2023), Big Boys (2022)). Her regular role as the strong-willed matriarch Madge Harvey in the sitcom Benidorm (2007) is perhaps her best known. Other portrayals have included Lady Florrie in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980), the hysterical Mrs Buttle in Terry Gilliam's black comedy Brazil (1985), the Reverend Alice in Monarch of the Glen (2000) and the reclusive Lady Edna Forbes-Leith in a season Three episode of Father Brown (2013). In 2011, Sheila Reid was presented with an Order of the British Empire for her services to drama.