Alethea Charlton
Alethea Charlton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alethea Blow Charlton 9 August 1931 Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 6 May 1976 (aged 44) Chelsea, London, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1961–1976 |
Alethea Blow Charlton (9 August 1931 – 6 May 1976) was an English television and radio actress.
Early life and education
Alethea was born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. She attended Ripon High School and the Northern Theatre School which was based at the Bradford Playhouse.[1][2][3][4]
Career
After working in repertory for a few years in Yorkshire, she moved to London in 1960 before touring American universities as a member of a group.[1] Charlton's first screen role was in a now missing episode of Educated Evans, a BBC comedy series starring Charlie Chester. Her only film appearance was in 1962's Touch of Death, starring William Lucas and David Sumner.
Beginning in 1961, she began to make regular appearances on TV, including multiple appearances on the long-running series Z-Cars between 1962 and 1971. In 1963 Charlton was a cast member in episodes two, three and four of the first ever Doctor Who serial (An Unearthly Child) as a cavewoman called Hur.[5] She returned to the series two years later, playing the character Edith in the serial The Time Meddler in 1965.[6]
In 1970 Charlton played the title role in the one-off TV play Marie Stopes: Sexual Revolutionary.[7] Her other TV credits include: Follyfoot, The Borderers, Doomwatch, Out of the Unknown, Upstairs, Downstairs. Her best known role was the character of Ethel Barraclough in the Granada Television drama Sam, across the shows three series broadcast from 1973 to 1975.[8][9]
Between 1968 and 1975 Charlton made several appearances on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre. She also acted in The Dales, and in radio adaptations of Richard Gordon's Doctor novels.[10][11]
Charlton died at the Royal Marsden Hospital, Chelsea, from skin cancer in May 1976, aged 44.[12] Her death came less than two months after her Sam co-star, Michael Goodliffe.[13] Her final acting role was in the soap opera The Cedar Tree, which was aired posthumously in October 1976.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Role | Network | Archive status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Educated Evans | Series 2, Episode 4: Musical Tip | Lucy | BBC Television Service | Missing |
| 1961 | Deadline Midnight | Series 3, Episode 9: Striptease | Objector | ITV (ATV) | Exists |
| 1962 | Z-Cars | Series 1, Episode 22: Incident Reported | Vicky Carron | BBC Television | Exists |
| Silent Evidence | Episode 6: Prophet of Truth | Sister Cook | BBC Television | Missing | |
| Playbox | Series 8, Episode 2 | Sarah Hepple | BBC Television | Missing | |
| Touch of Death | Feature film | Mrs. Grey | Helion Pictures | Exists | |
| 1963 | Z-Cars | Series 2, Episode 24: Follow My Leader | Millie Lovegrove | BBC Television | Missing |
| The Sunday Play | Series 4, Episode 48: Plain Jane | Myrtle | BBC Television | Missing | |
| Doctor Who | Series 1: An Uneartly Child (3 episodes) | Hur | BBC Television | Exists | |
| 1964 | Compact | Episode 232: A Difficult Assignment | Mrs. Timms | BBC Television | Missing |
| Sergeant Cork | Series 3, Episode 6: The Case of the Medicine Man | Rose | ITV (ATV) | Exists | |
| Armchair Mystery Theatre | Series 2, Episode 3: The Lonely Crime | Nora | ITV (ABC) | Missing | |
| The Sleeper | Series 1, Episode 3: Rendezvous | Ilina | BBC Two | Exists | |
| Cluff | Series 1, Episode 5: The Daughter-in-law | Miriam Bateson | BBC One | Missing | |
| The Villains | Series 3, Episode 1: Bent | Mary Bates | ITV (Granada) | Exists | |
| The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling | Episode 23: A Second-rate Woman | Mrs. Bent | BBC One | Missing | |
| Armchair Theatre | Episode: The Bandstand (unbroadcast due to schedling issues) | Unknown | ITV (ABC) | Exists | |
| 1965 | Z-Cars | Series 4, Episode 24: The Long Spoon | Mrs. Rosser | BBC One | Missing |
| Sherlock Holmes | Episode 3: The Copper Beeches | Mrs. Rucastle | BBC One | Exists | |
| Doctor Who | Series 2: The Time Meddler (4 episodes) | Edith | BBC One | Exists | |
| Armchair Mystery Theatre | Series 3, Episode 9: The Madam | Leonie | ITV (ABC) | Missing | |
| Cluff | Series 2, Episode 13: The Village Constable | Gunhilda | BBC One | Exists | |
| Hereward the Wake | Series 1, Episode 9: The War Arrow | Gunhilda | BBC One | Missing | |
| Z-Cars | Series 5, Episode 11: But the Crying... | Margaret Thomson | BBC One | Exists | |
| 1966 | The Wednesday Play | Series 4, Episode 7: A Game, Like, Only a Game | Elizabeth | BBC One | Missing |
| The Woman in White | All six episodes | Marian Halcombe | BBC One | Missing | |
| Thirty-Minute Theatre | Series 2, Episode 6: Play to Win | Margot Winters | BBC Two | Missing | |
| 1967 | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | Episode 2: The Croxley Master | Anastasia | BBC Two | Missing |
| Emergency Ward 10 | Series 3, Episode 8: A Cry for Help | Renee | ITV (ATV) | Missing | |
| Out of Town Theatre | Episode 5: A Nun's Tale | Sister Ursula | BBC One | Missing | |
| Armchair Theatre | Series 7, Episode 17: The Snares of Death | Vera Gabbitas | ITV (ABC) | Missing | |
| ITV Playhouse | Series 1, Episode 2: They Said 'Let's Live Together' | Madge | ITV (Rediffusion) | Missing | |
| The Revenue Men | Series 2, Episode 12: Fox in the High Street | Janice Brent | BBC Two | Missing | |
| Softly, Softly | Series 3, Episode 9: The Hunt | Mrs. Forbes | BBC One | Exists | |
| 1968 | Public Eye | Series 3, Episode 8: Honesty Is the Best Policy | Judy Marchmont | ITV (ABC) | Missing |
| The Expert | Series 1, Episode 7: Nobody's Going to Hurt You | Alice Simpson | BBC Two | Missing | |
| 1969 | Z-Cars | Series 6, Episode 197-198: Lost Property, Pts. 1 & 2 | Mary Smith | BBC One | Missing |
| The Borderers | Series 1, Episode 6: Stranger | Landlady | BBC Two | Exists | |
| Hardy Heating Co. Ltd. | Six of eleven episodes | Jean Wilkins | BBC One | Exists | |
| The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder | Series 1, Episode 1: The Treasure Hunt | Margaret Shackleton | ITV (Thames) | Exists | |
| The Gold Robbers | Series 1, Episode 2: Grounded | Fay Hartford | ITV (LWT) | Exists | |
| The Expert | Series 2, Episode 12: Do Not Go Gentle | Pat Elliot | BBC Two | Exists | |
| The Wednesday Play | Series 9, Episode 3: The Mark II Wife | Dolorea Sweeting | BBC One | Exists | |
| Detective | Series 3, Episode 7: Elimination Round | Harriet Ward | BBC One | Missing | |
| Paul Temple | Series 1, Episode 5: The Man Who Wasn't There | Enid Bray | BBC One | Missing | |
| 1970 | Z-Cars | Series 6, Episodes 317-318: In and Out, Pts. 3 & 4 | Fran | BBC One | Exists |
| Manhunt | Series 1, Episode 20: Machine | Helene | ITV (LWT) | Exists | |
| Marie Stopes: Sexual Revolutionary | TV Movie | Marie Stopes | BBC One | Exists | |
| Chronicle | Episode: Atatürk - Father of the Turks | Self - voice | BBC Two | Exists | |
| Special Branch | Series 2, Episode 7: Not to Be Trusted | Brenda Clifford | ITV (Thames) | Exists | |
| Thirty-Minute Theatre | Series 6, Episode 3: Did Your Nanny Come From Bergen? | Younger sister | BBC Two | Missing | |
| Menace | Series 1, Episode 6: Man with a Mission | Alice Campbell | BBC Two | Exists | |
| Ryan International | Series 1, Episode 9: The Muck Raker | Marianne | BBC One | Exists | |
| 1971 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Series 6, Episode 12: Waugh Plays Cops and Robbers | Cynthia Holmes | BBC Two | Exists |
| ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Series 3, Episode 8: Behind the Spearmint Sign | Helen Burroway | ITV (LWT) | Exists | |
| ITV Sunday Night Drama | Episode: Turn of the Year - The Parcel | Her | ITV | Missing | |
| Shadows of Fear | Series 1, Episode 5: Repent at Leisure | Jenny | ITV (Thames) | Exists | |
| Doomwatch | Series 2, Episode 9: In the Dark | Flora Seton | BBC One | Exists | |
| Z-Cars | Series 6, Episodes 402-403: Influence, Pts. 1–2 | Rachel Edmunds | BBC One | Missing | |
| Out of the Unknown | Series 4, Episode 3: This Body Is Mine | Ann Meredith | BBC Two | Exists | |
| Public Eye | Series 5, Episode 5: The Beater and the Game | Maureen | ITV (Thames) | Exists | |
| Trial | Series 1, Episode 4: On the Evidence You Will Hear | Julia Samuels | BBC Two | Missing | |
| Upstairs, Downstairs | Series 1, Episode 3: Board Wages | Enid | ITV (LWT) | Exists | |
| Play for Today | Series 2, Episode 4: O Fat White Woman | Miss Rone | BBC One | Exists | |
| The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Series 1, Episode 11: The Assyrian Rejuvenator | Doris Pratt | ITV (Thames) | Exists | |
| 1972 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Series 7, Episode 19: The Penthouse Apartment | Mrs. Runca | BBC Two | Missing |
| Six Days of Justice | Series 1, Episode 5: With Intent to Deceive | Molly Foster | ITV (Thames) | Exists | |
| The Lotus Eaters | Series 1, Episode 6: A Tiger in Bristol Street | Monica Turton | BBC Two | Exists | |
| Play for Today | Series 3, Episode 8: The Bankrupt | Anne | BBC One | Exists | |
| 1973 | Thriller | Series 1, Episode 3: Someone at the Top of the Stairs | Mrs. Oxhey | ITV (ATV) | Exists |
| Away From it All | Series 1, Episode 6: The Summer House | Alice | BBC Two | Missing | |
| Sam | Series 1: All 13 episodes | Ethel Barraclough | ITV (Granada) | Exists | |
| Follyfoot | Series 3, Episode 10: The Helping Hand | Phyllis Wetherby | ITV (Yorkshire) | Exists | |
| 1974 | Sam | Series 2: All 13 episodes | Ethel Barraclough | ITV (Granada) | Exists |
| Crown Court | Series 3, Episodes 113-114: Strange Past, Pts. 2–3 | Betty Tring | ITV (Granada) | Exists | |
| 1975 | Sam | Series 3: All 13 episodes | Ethel Barraclough | ITV (Granada) | Exists |
| 1976 | Big Boy Now! | Series 1, Episode 7: Staff Relations | Marjorie Marchant | ITV (ATV) | Missing |
| The Cedar Tree | Series 1, Episode 6: A Question of Values - Part 2 | Mrs. Wickham | ITV (ATV) | Exists |
References
- 1 2 Kenneth Passingham "How Alethea Sees Herself: I Want the Be Bawdy, Brassy and Beautiful", TV Times, 12–18 July 1975, p.48-49
- ↑ "New performance to tell 'untold story' Bradford theatre school". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ↑ Bradford: Northern Theatre School. The National Archives. 1946–1957.
- ↑ "The Northern School". Chapel Street Studio. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ↑ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - An Unearthly Child - Details". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007.
- ↑ "The Time Meddler ★★★★★". Radio Times.
- ↑ Leake, David (1 July 1970). "Crying over spilt milk..." Staffordshire Sentinel. p. 5. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Alethea Charlton". www.aveleyman.com.
- ↑ "Alethea Charlton". BFI. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019.
- ↑ "The Dales". BBC Programme Index. 25 June 1966. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Afternoon Theatre". BBC Programme Index. 1 June 1968. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Richards, Maurice (7 May 1976). "Tragedy of TV actress who found fame in Sam". The Daily Express. p. 11. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ↑ "Alethea's Integrity". TV Times. 3 June 1976. pp. 21–22. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)