Fenella Fielding obit

 

Fenella Fielding obituary

She was not on the list.

Fenella Fielding appeared in my first play, The Old Man’s Comforts, in 1972. She arrived for the read-through at the Open Space in London rather late, having been appearing in Euripides at a theatre in the north of England. “Sorry, darling,” she said to me after making her entrance, “I’m not quite all here yet.” “When the rest of you arrives,” I replied, “the effect should be overwhelming.”

It was. The production, which was mostly miscast and somewhat misdirected, was saved by her comedy expertise and her devotion to the young author’s text and intentions. I was grateful and admiring, and always will be.

Perry Pontac

In 2005 I was managing the North Wales Film and Television Trail, and we planned an event in Portmeirion, Gwynedd, to celebrate the location of the 1960s cult series The Prisoner.

Fenella Fielding was the logical choice as she was the voice of the village announcer/telephone operator in the show, and, having heard so much about the unique nature of the place, she was delighted to unveil a plaque there.

I dropped her off at the hotel the night before and arranged to pick her up at 10am so we could drive to the village in time for the ceremony. At 10.45 she wafted down the stairs in a cloud of floral perfume, wearing bright orange lipstick and flowing clothes – looking like her Carry On persona, but so much smaller.

In the car I asked how the room was. “It was beautiful, but oh, daaaaarhling”, she did actually purr, “That mattress in the room was so hard that one could not pooooossibly entertain a lover on it.”

She delivered a great speech and made every fan who greeted her feel as if they were the only one and their questions and comments a joy.

On receiving an ice cream she gave a squeak and said: “I have been waiting for this for so many years.” The highlight for me? Holding her by the arm as we made our way down the hill – what a lady.

Richard Coombs

I remember Fenella Fielding from the late 1940s and early 50s when we were both members of St John’s Wood Jewish youth club. Fenella performed in a sort of cabaret where she “sang” a piece in her gravelly, sexy voice, in the role of a railway station announcer: “When I say ‘Woking, Woking’ all the men say I’m provoking …”

Anthony Tibber.

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Filmography

 

Film

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1959            Sapphire          Lingerie Shop Manageress            Uncredited

1959    Follow a Star   Lady Finchington      

1960    Doctor in Love Mrs Tadwich          

1960            Foxhole in Cairo            Yvette 

1961    No Love for Johnnie Sheilah

1961    Carry On Regardless            Penny Panting

1961    In the Doghouse            Miss Fordyce          

1962    Village of Daughters            Voice-Over   

1963    Doctor in Distress            Passenger on Train     

1963    The Old Dark House            Morgana Femm           

1965    How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment            Narrator          

1966    Doctor in Clover            Tatiana Rubikov          

1966    Carry On Screaming!            Valeria Watt    

1966    Drop Dead Darling            Fenella

1969    Lock Up Your Daughters            Lady Eager  

1972    Dougal and the Blue Cat       The Blue Voice            Voice, Uncredited

1974            S*P*Y*S        Voice-over            Uncredited

1977            Cumbernauld Hit            Liana   

1984    The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood            Molly  

1999    Guest House Paradiso            Mrs Foxfur 

2001            Beginner's Luck            Mark's mum    

2007    The All Together            Mrs Cox     

2007            Wishbaby        Eve     

2009    Radio Mania   Mrs Langdon          

2011            Tincture of Vervain            Her Ladyship         

2011    Over the Edge            Mrs van Eisner        

2016    Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel  Fenella Fielding           

2017            Frankula          Voice-over     Voice

2021    The Curse of Minerva            Minerva            Posthumous release

Television

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1957    BBC Sunday-Night Theatre            Prostitute            Episode: "The Magnificent Egotist"

1957            Destination Downing Street   Djemila            3 episodes

1958            Saturday Playhouse            Delia Mitchell            Episode: "Design for Murder"

1959    The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull            The Rajah's Wife            Episode: "A Spicy Dish"

1960            International Detective            Marcelle Clinton            Episode: "The Whitley Case"

1960            Armchair Theatre            Susi Flamberg            Episode: "Guardian Angel"

1960    The Four Just Men            The Contessa            Episode: "Treviso Dam"

1960    ITV Television Playhouse            Ernestine Lawrence            Episode: "Reprise"

1960    The Strange World of Gurney Slade            Caroline the Cow            Voice; Episode: #1.3

1960    Danger Man     Hostess            Episode: "An Affair of State"

1962    Saki            Mary Drakmanton            All 8 episodes

1963    Mr Justice Duncannon            The Girl            Episode: "Trial and Error"

1963            Comedy Playhouse            Julie            Episode: "Comrades in Arms"

1964    The Avengers            Kim Lawrence            Episode: "The Charmers"

1964    Love Story    Celia            Episode: "Divorce, Divorce"

1964    Theatre 625            Cleopatra            Episode: "The Ides of March"

1964            Armchair Theatre            Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax            Episode: "The Importance of Being Earnest"

1965    Drama 61-67   Mrs Garfield            Episode: "Mrs. Quilley's Murder Shoes"

1966    Izeena            Izeena            All episodes

1967    The Prisoner            Loudspeaker Announcer            Voice; 7 episodes

1968    Ooh La La!       Various            4 episodes

1969    A Touch of Venus            Marcella            Episode: "The Autograph"

1971    That's Your Funeral            Mrs Darling            Episode: "A Touch of Violet"

1980            Nobody's Perfect            Vivien            Episode: "Vivien's Problem"

1981    Cribb            Zena Prothero            Episode: "Mad Hatter's Holiday"

1984    The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood            Molly            TV film

1985    The Pickwick Papers  Mrs Leo Hunter            Episode: #1.4

1990–1993            Uncle Jack     The Vixen   18 episodes

1999    Doctor Who Night            Narration        Voice; Segment: "Carnival of Monsters"

2004    Abroad Again in Britain            Dearie            Voice; Episode: "Brighton Pavilion"

2011    The Legend of Dick and Dom            Lotte Lawoo            Episode: "Land of the Luvvies"

2012    Skins            Miriam Henley            Episode: "Alex"

2019            Conditions       Mother            Voice; all 13 episodes