 Monumental star of the Carry On series, usually cast as formidable hospital matrons (at least four) or man-devouring predators whose affections were apt to strike terror in weak-kneed men, and she strikes an engagingly exotic note as Floella in Carry On Abroad (d. Gerald Thomas, 1972).
She was on stage since 1944, often in pantomimes and revues, and on radio in ITMA (1948-49) and Educating Archie (1950-54), she was on screen for over a decade before she began to 'carry on'. She can be spotted singing in the thieves' pub in Oliver Twist (d. David Lean, 1948), does a music hall turn with Bill Owen and Jean Kent in Trottie True (d. Brian Desmond Hurst, 1948), but, as with the rest of the 'Carry On' team, once she established her persona in the series it was hard to think of her as anything else.
She also had a notable TV career, especially as twin sister of the eponymous Sykes (1960-65, 1971-79). She married and divorced (1949-65) actor John Le Mesurier.
Brian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of British Cinema
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FILM & TV CREDITS
