Claire Nielson obit

 

Claire Nielson Has Died

She was not on the list.

Claire was an actor, writer and director who is well know for her many television appearances with The Two Ronnies and for creating the part of Mrs Hamilton in the famous ‘Waldorf Salad’ episode of Fawlty Towers. She also played Edith Rankin opposite Richard Briers in Monarch of the Glen and Amy McSwan in A is for Acid with Martin Clunes. Other TV appearances include leading roles in Taggart, Doctors, Holby City, The Jury, London’s Burning, Upstairs Downstairs, Just William, Angels, Z Cars, Crown Court, Dixon of Dock Green, Dr Finlay’s Casebook, The Dick Emery Show, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?; and the BAFTA-nominated BBC series The Crow Road. In the cinema, she appeared in the film version of Arnold Wesker’s The Kitchen and played Barbara Grant in Kidnapped opposite Michael Caine and Trevor Howard.

Claire’s London appearances include: Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare’s Globe); Brian Rix’s Don’t Just Lie There, Say Something! (Garrick Theatre); Threads (Hampstead); Desdemona in Othello and Lydia Languish in The Rivals opposite Fay Compton (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith); and Maggie in Sparrers Can’t Sing (Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop). In repertory, Claire’s credits include seasons at: Bolton; Hornchurch; Canterbury; Perth; Glasgow Citizens; Birmingham Rep; Theatre Royal, Stratford East; Theatre Royal, Plymouth; and Theatre Royal, Windsor as Ruth in Ayckbourn’s trilogy The Norman Conquests. At international festivals she played leading roles with Theatre Workshop at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt in Paris and the Maxim Gorki Theatre in East Berlin.

For BBC Radio, her credits include: Ripples; Mademoiselle Pearl; Dr Finlay: Adventures of a Black Bag; The Light of Heart; Wives and Daughters; and Lucy Bailey’s award-winning Radio 3 production of The Leopard. She has directed plays in London at the Riverside Studios and the Gate Theatre, and in Stratford-upon-Avon at the Other Place and the Swan Theatre for the RSC Fringe Festival. Also for the RSC she has devised and led many workshops including a prestigious series in Italy for Ferrara University.

Claire read English at King’s College, Cambridge. As a writer, her books include: Your First Grandchild (Harper Collins); The Spirit of Beardsley (Gramercy Books); Buddhism for Bears (St Martin’s Press); and The Tao of Babies (Random House). Her latest novel, The House at Strone, was published in 2022.

 

Actress

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Doctors (2000)

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2003

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2002

 

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TV Series

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2001

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Video

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1999

 

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1996

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1996

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London's Burning (1988)

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1994

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1993

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1993

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1992

 

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1991

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Triple Scotch & Wry (1990)

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Video

1990

 

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1990

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8.4

Video

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1987

 

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8.2

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1986

 

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1985

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Take the High Road (1980)

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1982–1984

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Gunfight at the Joe Kaye Corral

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1983

 

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1981

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1978–1980

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1980

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Play for Today (1970)

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TV Series

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1971–1979

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8.8

TV Series

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1979

1 episode

 

Bernie (1978)

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TV Series

1978

1 episode

 

Julie Dawn Cole and Janina Faye in Angels (1975)

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6.6

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1978

1 episode

 

The Les Dawson Show (1978)

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1978

2 episodes

 

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TV Series

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1978

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1971–1977

6 episodes

 

Sea Tales: The Return

TV Mini Series

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1977

1 episode

 

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1976

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TV Series

1976

1 episode

 

Warship (1973)

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TV Series

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1976

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Dick Emery in The Dick Emery Show (1963)

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1973–1975

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TV Series

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1975

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TV Series

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1975

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7.8

TV Series

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1975

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1974

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TV Series

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1974

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TV Series

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1974

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1974

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1973

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TV Series

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1972

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TV Series

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1972

1 episode

 

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1972

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6.2

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1971

 

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7.6

TV Series

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1971

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1971

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TV Series

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1971

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TV Series

1970

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Menace (1970)

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7.2

TV Series

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1970

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Mogul (1965)

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TV Series

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1970

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TV Series

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1970

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TV Series

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1969

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TV Mini Series

Liz Elliot

1969

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7.7

TV Series

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1969

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TV Series

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1969

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6.5

TV Series

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1968

1 episode

 

Detective (1964)

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6.9

TV Series

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1968

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TV Series

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1967–1968

36 episodes

 

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TV Series

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1967

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TV Series

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1966

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TV Series

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1966

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Love Story (1963)

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TV Series

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1966

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Softly Softly (1966)

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7.0

TV Series

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1966

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Nancy Kwan and Terry-Thomas in The Wild Affair (1965)

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1965

 

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7.3

TV Series

Alison Grant

1964

1 episode

 

Michael Quinn and Donald Wolfit in Ghost Squad (1961)

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7.2

TV Series

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1962–1964

33 episodes

 

No Hiding Place (1959)

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7.5

TV Series

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1963

1 episode

 

Backfire! (1962)

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6.5

Valentina Chenko (as Claire Isbister)

1962

 

Compact (1962)

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6.8

TV Series

Delia Appleby

1962

1 episode

 

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1959)

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7.8

TV Series

Valentina Chenko (as Claire Isbister)

1962

1 episode

 

The Kitchen (1961)

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6.2

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1961

 

ITV Television Playhouse (1955)

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8.3

TV Series

Jenny Colquhoun (as Claire Isbister)

1961

1 episode

 

ITV Play of the Week (1955)

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6.6

TV Series

Marigold Chesney (as Claire Isbister)

1961

1 episode

 

Hills Beyond the Smoke

TV Movie

Eileen (as Claire Isbister)

1961

 

Redgauntlet

TV Series

Lilias (as Claire Isbister)

1959

5 episodes

 

The Black Eye

TV Movie

(as Claire Isbister)

1958

 

Who Fought Alone: Epitaph on a Scottish Soldier

TV Movie

(as Claire Isbister)

1958

 

Self

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Rikki

TV Special

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2024

 

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7.1

TV Movie

SelfSelf - Mrs Hamilton

2023

 

'Fawlty Towers' @ 30 (2005)

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7.9

TV Movie

Self

2005

 

Storybook International (1981)

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8.3

TV Series

Self - Narrator (voice)

1981–1986

36 episodes

 

The Royal Highland Roadshow

TV Movie

Self

1974

 

Archive Footage

Heroes of Comedy (1992)

Heroes of Comedy

6.6

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2002

1 episode

 

The Best of the Two Ronnies (2001)

The Best of the Two Ronnies

8.2

Video

Various characters (archive footage)

2001