Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (1985), The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993), Where the Heart Is (1997–2000), Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006), and Call the Midwife (2012–2016). For her role as Peggy Snow in Where the Heart Is, Ferris was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards. Ferris is best known to younger audiences for her role as Miss Agatha Trunchbull in the film Matilda (1996).

Pam Ferris
Ferris in 2012
Born
Pamela Ferris

(1948-05-11) 11 May 1948 (age 76)
OccupationActress
Years active1970–present
Spouse
Roger Frost
(m. 1986)

Ferris also portrayed Marge Dursley in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Miriam in Children of Men (2006), Mrs. Bevan in Nativity! (2009) and Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (2012), voiced Mrs. Bennett / Aunty Betty in Ethel & Ernest (2016) and played Mrs. Faulkner in Tolkien (2019).

In theatre, her performance as Phoebe Rice in The Entertainer at The Old Vic in London saw her nominated for the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

Early life

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Ferris was born on 11 May 1948 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany,[1] to a Welsh mother and a English father who was serving in the Royal Air Force. After her parents returned to the United Kingdom, Ferris spent her childhood in the Aberkenfig area, near Bridgend in Wales. Her father, Fred Ferris, was a policeman, and her mother, Ann Perkins, worked in her family's bakery business.[2]

Career

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Ferris performed in her younger years at the Mercury Theatre in Auckland,[3] and later with various regional companies in the UK. She played motherly Ma Larkin in the ITV series The Darling Buds of May, which ran from 1991 to 1993. She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1991, when she was surprised by Michael Aspel while recording an episode of The Darling Buds of May at Yorkshire Television in Leeds.[4] She has also acted in a succession of television dramas, including Meantime, in which she played the Cockney mother of Phil Daniels and Tim Roth, Connie, Hardwicke House, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Where the Heart Is, and Paradise Heights. From 2003 to 2006, she played the gardening sleuth Laura Thyme in Rosemary & Thyme, starring opposite Felicity Kendal.[5]

Her roles in costume dramas include parts in television adaptations of Middlemarch, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Our Mutual Friend, The Turn of the Screw, Pollyanna, and Jane Eyre.

In 1996, Ferris portrayed the brutish, authoritarian school headmistress Miss Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda (a role played by male actors in the stage musical version).

In 2004, she played the foul-mouthed Marge Dursley in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In 2006, Ferris took on the role of Miriam, a motherly British activist, in Children of Men. She voiced Mrs. Bennett/Aunty Betty in the animated biographical film Ethel & Ernest, which was broadcast on BBC One on 26 December 2016, and played Mrs. Faulkner in Tolkien (2019).[6] She has also acted in productions for BBC Radio 4.

Her career in the theatre has included parts in Royal Court Theatre and National Theatre productions. In 2007, she played Phoebe Rice in a revival of John Osborne's The Entertainer at London's Old Vic Theatre. In 2007, Ferris took part in the BBC Wales programme Coming Home about her Welsh family history. In 2008, she played Mrs. General in a BBC adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Little Dorrit. From 2009 to 2010, she appeared in the final series of the BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey as Cath Smith. In 2010, she made a guest appearance in the sitcom Grandma's House. From 2012 to 2016, Ferris played the part of Sister Evangelina in the series Call the Midwife. In June and July 2015, Ferris was the guest of Sarah Walker on BBC Radio 3's Essential Classics.[7]

Personal life

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In 1986, Ferris married actor Roger Frost. She lives in Elham, Kent, England.[8] In a 2012 interview with The Guardian Ferris said, "I was obsessed with work in my youth. It's why I didn't get married until I was 38 and the reason I didn't have kids. Not having children isn't a sadness in my life, though. I know I wouldn't have been a half-bad mother, but that's what happened. There's no regretting it."[9]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Meantime Mavis
1996 Matilda Miss Agatha Trunchbull
2002 Death to Smoochy Tommy Cotter
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Marge Dursley
2006 Children of Men Miriam
2009 Nativity! Mrs. Bevan
2009 Telstar Mrs. Violet Shenton
2009 Malice in Wonderland The Duchess
2012 The Raven Mrs. Bradley
2012 Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger Mrs. Bevan
2013 Saving Santa Mrs. Claus
2016 Ethel & Ernest Mrs. Bennett / Aunty Betty (voice)
2018 Holmes & Watson Queen Victoria [10]
2019 Tolkien Mrs. Faulkner

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1971 BBC Play of the Month Puck and Fairie Episode: “A Midsummer Night's Dream”
1984 Dramarama Dorothy Episode: “Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest”
1985 The Bill Mrs. Draper Episode: “Death of a Cracksmen”
1985 Connie Nesta 13 episodes
1986 Ladies in Charge Charlie Episode: “Double Act”
1987 Hardwicke House Ms. Crabbe 2 episodes broadcast, 5 unaired and all 7 uploaded to YouTube in 2019.
1987 Lizzie's Pictures Grace 3 episodes
1987 Dramarama Anne Bailey Episode: “Peter”
1987 Casualty Linda Episode: “The Raid”
1988 The Fear Brenda Episode: “#1.1”
1988 Valentine Park Mrs. Fox Episode: “A Rose By Any Other Name”
1988 South of the Border Brenda Episode: “#1.6”
1989 All Change Maggie Oldfield Episode: “The Bosom of the Family”
1990 Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Mrs. Arkwright 3 episodes
1990 A Sense of Guilt Magdalen Parry 3 episodes
1991–1993 The Darling Buds of May Florence "Ma" Larkin 20 episodes
1992 Mr Wakefield's Crusade Mad Marion 2 episodes
1992 Cluedo Mrs. White 6 episodes
1992 Performance Mrs. Bryant Episode: “Roots”
1993 Comedy Playhouse Matron Episode: “Once in a Lifetime”
1994 Middlemarch Mrs. Dollop 3 episodes
1994 The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends Aunt Pettitoes (voice) Episode: “The Tale of Pigling Bland”
1994 The Rector's Wife Eleanor Ramsay 2 episodes
1995 Screen Two Alice Hartley Episode: “Mrs Hartley and the Growth Centre“
1996 Wycliffe Pat Trethowan Episode: “Last Judgment”
1996 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Mrs. Markham 2 episodes
1997–2000 Where the Heart Is Peggy Snow 36 episodes
1998 Our Mutual Friend Mrs. Boffin 4 episodes
1999 The Turn of the Screw Mrs Grose Television film
2001 Linda Green Norma Fitts Episode: “Victim Support”
2002 Paradise Heights Marion Eustace 6 episodes
2003 Clocking Off Pat Fletcher 6 episodes
2003–2006 Rosemary & Thyme Laura Thyme 22 episodes
2004 Agatha Christie's Marple Elspeth McGillicuddy Episode: “4:50 from Paddington”
2006 Jane Eyre Grace Poole 4 episodes
2007 Lilies Alice Bird Episode: “The Serpent”
2008 Little Dorrit Mrs. Hortensia General 9 episodes
2009 Gavin & Stacey Catherina "Cath" Smith 2 episodes
2010 Grandma's House Deborah Adler Episode: “The Day Simon Announced He Was in Control of the Universe”
2011 Midsomer Murders Liz Tomlin Episode: “Echoes of the Dead”
2011 Luther Baba 3 episodes
2012–2016 Call the Midwife Sister Evangelina 36 episodes
2020 Urban Myths Madame Gaudin Episode: “Les Dawson’s Parisienne Adventure”
2021 Beauty and the Beast: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas Marie

Theatre

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Year Play Role Venue Notes
1972 Gas Light Bella Manningham Ipswich Arts Theatre, Ipswich
Murder in the Cathedral Woman of Canterbury Ipswich Arts Theatre, Ipswich
Gamma Gurton's Needle Dame Chat Ipswich Arts Theatre, Ipswich
Captain Pugwash Cannibal Ipswich Arts Theatre, Ipswich
1974 Time and Time Again Anna Ipswich Arts Theatre, Ipswich
1979 Bleak House Lady Dedlock Royal Court Theatre, London with Shared Experience
Cymbeline Imogen Royal Court Theatre, London with Shared Experience
1984 The Luckey Chance Various roles Royal Court Theatre, London with Women's Playhouse Trust
1985 The Grace of Mary Traverse Mrs. Temptwell Royal Court Theatre, London
1988 Roots Mrs. Bryant Cottesloe Theatre, London
1991 The Seagull Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina UK Tour with Oxford Stage Company
1994 The Queen and I Queen Elizabeth II Leicester Haymarket Theatre - Leicester, Royal Court Theatre - London & UK Tour with Out of Joint Theatre Company
Road Brenda/Helen/Joe's Mum/Mr and Mrs Bald Leicester Haymarket Theatre - Leicester, Royal Court Theatre - London & UK Tour with Out of Joint Theatre Company
2002 Closing Time Vera Royal National Theatre, London
2004 Notes on Falling Leaves Mother Royal Court Theatre, London
2007 The Entertainer Phoebe Rice The Old Vic, London

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
1996 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress Matilda Nominated
1997 National Television Awards Most Popular Actress Where the Heart Is Nominated
1998 National Television Awards Most Popular Actress Where the Heart Is Nominated
2000 National Television Awards Most Popular Actress Where the Heart Is Nominated
2003 Michael Elliott Trust Awards Actress of the Year Won
2005 Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actress Notes on Falling Leaves Nominated
2008 Clarence Derwent Awards Best Female in a Supporting Role The Entertainer Won
Laurence Olivier Awards Best Performance in a Supporting Role The Entertainer Nominated

References

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  1. ^ ltd, company check. "MS PAMELA FERRIS director information. Free director information. Director id 902329745". Company Check. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Coming Home: Pam Ferris". BBC News. BBC. 12 March 2007. Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Mercury Theatre Records (1966–1990)". Auckland City Government. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  4. ^ "This Is Your Life (UK). Dec 18, 1991". EpisodeDate.com. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  5. ^ "ITV TV Shows". Itv.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  6. ^ "This hand-drawn animated film of Raymond Briggs' Ethel and Ernest looks just lovely". Digital Arts Online. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Monday - Sarah Walker with Pam Ferris, Essential Classics". BBC Radio 3. BBC. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  8. ^ "'Darling Buds of May' star back in Kent high life. She participated in the 96 Atlanta Olympics". Itv.com. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Interview: This much I know: Pam Ferris". Guardian.com. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Holmes & Watson". Rotten Tomatoes.
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