DAME THORA HIRD - May 28, 1911 to March 15, 2003

In these days when the news broadcast’s spew out stories of death and destruction around the clock and to be honest I’ve become more than a little de-sensitized.

I suppose I have become hard hearted but every now and then something touches me inside it was like when I heard of dear Thora’s passing.

I cried because I was so deeply saddened when I heard Thora had died, sad because it was like losing a relative but not a distant auntie you only hear from at Christmas but a truly loved one like your mum.

Thora was born in Morecambe Lancashire on the 28^th of May 1911 and she made her stage debut two months later when she was carried on to the stage of the Royalty Theatre in Morecambe, in a play directed by her stage manager father.

Despite her father’s theatrical background he did not want her to pursue an acting career and instead she worked at the local Co-op before joining Morecambe Repertory Theatre and her first appearance on a London stage wasn’t until 1940.

For many years she had to content herself playing cleaning ladies or housekeepers, and all the time her father proving to be a dominant influence throughout the early years.

Thora made the first of many television appearances as early as 1954 in “one Good Turn” followed by “The Queens Nose” and “The Adventures of Robin Hood” in 1955.

With the sixties came the so called kitchen sink drama’s routinely portraying gritty northern folk in everyday situations soap opera in other words but this was all grist for the mill to Thora.

But the talented actress could play Shakespeare, with equal ease, notably as the nurse in BBC TV's 1967 production of Romeo and Juliet.

The late sixties is the time I became aware of Thora Hird as I am of an age when I can remember her with the wonderful Freddie Frinton in the poplar situation comedy “Meet the Wife” playing Thora Blacklock the first of many success’s.

Such as “In Loving Memory” (1979) as the irrepressible Ivy Unsworth and she joined the cast of an already successful long running series “Last of the Summer Wine” where she played Edie Pegden from 1986 to 2003.

In between she was a regular in Play for Today, Play of the Month, The Wednesday Play and PBS Classic Theatre as well as guesting in shows like Dinnerladies, Heartbeat and All Creatures Great and Small.

As if this were not enough for one actor she also appeared in more than 100 films, including The Entertainer with Laurence Olivier.

But I think if I were forced to choose from her immense catalogue of work I would be difficult to ignore her brilliant collaboration’s with writer Alan Bennett in the TV series Talking Heads most notably  “A Cream Cracker under the Settee” and “Waiting for the Telegram.”

Thora Hird was also a deeply religious woman and her religious convictions led her to present Sunday TV shows such as Praise Be and Songs of Praise.

Then in 1976 with the publication of her autobiography her talent as a writer was revealed and she went on to write several other successful books.

In her long career Thora won three BAFTAS as well as the hearts of everyone that saw her.

In the 1990’s she was dealt the highest honor and the cruel blow of her life when she was made a Dame in 1993 and she lost “Scotty” her husband of 58 years, Jimmy Scott.

Despite this and with health problems of her own she chose not to rest on her laurels.

My most enduring memories of Thora will always be her appearances on chat shows when she could be herself.

She never lost the common touch and she said she liked to be “ordinary” in truth she was anything but ordinary she was a Vintage northern lass and she was truly a national treasure.