Dinah Sheridan

Dinah Sheridan (born 17 September 1920) is an English actress who appeared in the films 29 Acacia Avenue (1945) and Genevieve (1953).

Dinah Sheridan made her film debut in 1937, and has frequently appeared on television. She played Jane Huggett in 1949's The Huggetts Abroad and appeared as Steve in two Paul Temple films.

Her most successful mature roles include the mother in the 1970 film, The Railway Children, and as Angela in the 1980s British sitcom, Don't Wait Up.

In 1983 she made a guest appearance in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as the Time Lady Flavia in the 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors.

Personal life

Born as Dinah Mec in Hampstead, London, she changed her name to Dinah Sheridan when she auditioned for the role of Wendy in a theatrical production of Peter Pan starring Jean Forbes Robertson. Since "Mec" was pronounced "Mess", she was determined not to give critics an easy laugh at her expense. Her parents, Lisa and James, changed their names to Sheridan as well at the same time. Her parents' photography establishment, "Studio Lisa", was highly successful and were known for their photographs of the royal family.^{[citation needed]}

Family

She has been married four times: first to the actor Jimmy Hanley (1942–1952), with whom she had three children, then to the business executive Sir John Davis (1954–1965), then to actor John Merivale (1986–1990) and finally to Aubrey Ison from 1992 until his death in 2007.

Her son, Jeremy Hanley, became an accountant and Conservative Party politician, and her daughter, Jenny Hanley, became an actress and a co-presenter of the British television series Magpie.

Filmography (selected)

• Landslide (1937) (as Dinah Shaw)
• Salute John Citizen (1942)
• 29 Acacia Avenue (1945), Pepper
• The Story of Shirley York (1948), Shirley Yorke
• The Huggetts Abroad (1949)
• Genevieve (1953), Wendy McKim
• The Sound Barrier (1952), Jess Peel
• Appointment in London (1952), Eve Canyon
• The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), Grace Marston
• The Railway Children (1970), Mrs. Waterbury

External links

• Dinah Sheridan at the Internet Movie Database