Wikipedia / Barbara Flynn
Wikipedia / Barbara Flynn
Barbara Joy Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series A Family at War (1970–1972). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy Open All Hours (1976–1985), Jill Swinburne in The Beiderbecke Trilogy (1985–1988), Dr. Rose Marie in the BBC series A Very Peculiar Practice (1986–1988), Judith Fitzgerald in the ITV drama Cracker (1993–1995), and Mrs. Jamieson in Cranford (2007–2009). In 2021, she appeared in Doctor Who: Flux as Tecteun, a founder of Time Lord society and The Doctor's adoptive mother. Starting in 2023, she acted in Beyond Paradise, playing the mother of the detective's girlfriend. This included some episodes in 2024 where she was reunited with Peter Davison, her A Very Peculiar Practice co-star.
In her own words, she tends to play "feisty, strong women".
Personal life
Flynn was born as Barbara Joy McMurray, in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex. Her Irish father, Dr James McMurray, was a pathologist. Her mother was Joy (or Joyce) Crawford Hurst. Flynn attended St Mary's Convent School, Hastings. She then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (where she was awarded the Gold Medal in 1968) before appearing in repertory theatre.
Flynn married television producer and science writer Jeremy Taylor in 1982. The couple had a son, born in 1990. Taylor died on 17 July 2017.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1982 | Private Nurse | ||
1990 | Hostage | ||
1999 | Professor Corner | ||
The Escort | Kim's Mother | ||
2006 | Helen Potter | ||
2009 | Mrs. Argyle | ||
2012 | Aunt Bella | ||
2014 | Lady Camdon |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1970–1972 | Freda MacKenzie (née Ashton) | Main role, 40 episodes | |
1972 | Various characters | Episode: "1.6" | |
Jane Wardle | Episode: "Old Acquaintance" | ||
1975 | Centre Play | Angie | Episode: "The Flight Fund" |
1976 | Couples | Sally Mackworth | Episodes: "1.58", "1.59", "1.60" |
Beryl | Episode: "Afternoon Dancing" | ||
1977 | Murder Most English: A Flaxborough Chronicle | Pauline Sutton | Episode: "The Flaxborough Crab: Part 2" |
1977, 1981, 1982 | Monica Potter, Margaret Hanson, Jill | Episodes: "Love on a Gunboat", "No Visible Scar", "A Mother Like Him" | |
1980 | Marlene | Episode: "Phoney Business" | |
Heather | Episode: "Standing in for Henry" | ||
1981 | Second Chance | Sarah Fletcher | Episode: "October" |
Sue | Episode: "Absolute Zero: Part 2" | ||
Maybury | Dorothy Kemp | Episodes: "Mary", "Hugo" | |
Shirley | 6 episodes | ||
Sandy | Episode: "Protection" | ||
1981–1982, 1985 | The Milk Woman | Guest role (series 2–4), 11 episodes | |
1982 | Joanna Lassiter | Episodes: "The Big Smoke", "A Foot in the Door", "Scoop", "The Ties That Bind" | |
Mary Bold | Miniseries, 6 episodes | ||
1985 | Jill Swinburne | Miniseries, 6 episodes | |
1986 | Judy | TV film | |
Belinda | TV film | ||
1986–1988 | Dr. Rose Marie | Main role, 14 episodes | |
1987 | Jill Swinburne | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
Monica Height | Episode: "The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn" | ||
1988 | Jill Swinburne | Miniseries, 4 episodes | |
1989 | Jane | Episode: "Benefactors" | |
1990 | Eleanor Goodchild | Episodes: "The Lady from Rome: Parts 1–3" | |
1991 | Fiona Cashmore, Dakasha Karia, Daphne Peacock, Additional voices | 12 episodes | |
1992 | Sheila Green | Episode: "Queen's Gambit" | |
1993 | Madame Maigret | Episodes: "Maigret on the Defensive", "Maigret's Boyhood Friend", "Maigret and the Minister" | |
1993–1995 | Judith Fitzgerald | Main role, 20 episodes | |
1994 | Dee Chandler Tate | Main role, 6 episodes | |
1997 | (unknown) | Episode: "A Man of Letters" | |
Ms. Jeffries | TV film | ||
1998 | Chris's Mother | TV film | |
Episode: "King Lear" | |||
1999 | Miss Browning | Miniseries, 4 episodes | |
2000 | Sarah Ridd | TV film | |
2001 | Perfect | Imogen | TV film |
2002 | Eleanor Kimbrough | TV film | |
Night Flight | Moira | TV film | |
Emily Forsyte | Regular role, 6 episodes | ||
2003 | Mrs. Mason | TV film | |
Grace Fisher | Episode: "Stalkers" | ||
Jane Frampton | Episode: "1.3" | ||
Mrs. Mason | TV film | ||
2004 | Maureen Finnegan | Episode: "If Wishes Were Horses" | |
Mrs. Allerton | Episode: "Death on the Nile" | ||
Mrs. French | Miniseries, 3 episodes | ||
2005 | Lt. Col. Petra Summers | Episodes: "Omen: Parts 1 & 2" | |
Julia Bickleigh | TV film | ||
Miniseries, 2 episodes | |||
2006 | Sally Tipper | Episode: "To Whom Do You Beautifully Belong" | |
Judith Fitzgerald | TV special of the main TV series | ||
2007 | Narrator of TV Documentary | Episode: "Project Aphrodite: Part 1" (uncredited role) | |
Eileen Dallaglio | TV film | ||
Rita | TV film | ||
2007–2009 | Mrs. Jamieson | Main role, 8 episodes | |
2008 | Miniseries, Episode: "These Things Are Always Chaos" | ||
Croc Trooper / Sister Chalice (voice) | Episode: "The Skull of Sobek" | ||
2009 | Carole Milburn | Episode: "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" | |
Episode: "The Enemy Within" | |||
2011 | Carol Fisher | Episodes: "Lost: Parts 1 & 2" | |
Millie Bullard | Episode: "The Oblong Murders" | ||
Mrs. Beaumont | TV film | ||
2012 | Isabella | Episode: "The Choice" | |
2013 | Carol | Episode: "The Shrine" | |
Pat | Main role, 6 episodes | ||
2014 | Episode: "1.3" | ||
2016–2019 | Aunt Hermione | 5 episodes | |
2019 | Julia | Episode: "Do You Know How to Dispose of a Body?" | |
2020 | Patti Grenson | Episode: "A Murder in Portrait" | |
2020–2022 | Councillor Lavinia Bone | Main role, 10 episodes | |
2021 | Awsok / Tecteun | Episodes: "Once, Upon Time", "Survivors of the Flux" | |
2022 | Professor Vansom (voice) | Episode: "Secrets of Telos" | |
2023–present | Anne Lloyd | Main role, 20 episodes |
Narration
In addition to her acting work, Flynn has provided voice-overs for numerous TV documentaries, including:
Body Styles (1989)
Time of Her Life (1993)
Network First (1 episode; 1997)
The Lost Gardens of Heligan (1997)
The Real... (1 episode; 1999)
The Man Who Would be Kubrick (1999)
Deaf Century (3 episodes; 1999)
The 1900 House (1999)
Horizon (8 episodes, 1999–2008)
When Pat Phoenix Met Tony Booth (2002)
Rosalind Franklin: DNA's Dark Lady (2003)
The 50s and 60s in Living Colour (2003)
George Orwell: A Life in Pictures (2003)
Diana Mosley: Adolf, Oswald and Me (2003)
Your Life in Their Hands (1 episode; 2004)
From Here to Paternity (2004)
The Monastery (2005)
The Ghost in Your Genes (2005)
Timeshift (2 episodes; 2005)
The Queen's Castle (2005)
You Don't Know You're Born (3 episodes; 2007)
There's Something About... Morse (2007)
Queen Camilla (2007)
Guarding the Queen (2007)
The Restaurant (1 episode; 2008)
The Lion Cub from Harrods (2009)
Cutting Edge (1 episode; 2010)
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (14 episodes; 2011–2013)
Jet! When Britain Ruled the Skies (2 episodes; 2012)
Hillsborough: The Search for the Truth (2012)
The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance (2013)
The Planners (8 episodes; 2013)
Permission Impossible: Britain's Planners (8 episodes; 2014)
Countdown to Murder (8 episodes; 2021)
1978: The Winter of Discontent (2022)
Diana: the Curse of the Spencers (2022)
The Kardashians: Billion Dollar Dynasty (2 episodes; 2023)
Morse and the Last Endeavour (2023)
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2020 | (voice) |
Theatre work
Flynn appeared in the Birmingham Repertory Theatre production of Pythagoras in 1976. This was a new play by Danny Abse. In 2016, she appeared in the world premiere production of Elegy at the Donmar Warehouse.
References
External links