Fenella Fielding dies

Star of stage and screen was 90

by Jennie Kermode

Fenella Fielding with sometime rival Kenneth Williams in Carry On Screaming
Fenella Fielding with sometime rival Kenneth Williams in Carry On Screaming

Fenella Fielding, the husky-voiced actress once dubbed 'England's first lay of the double entendre', has passed away at the age of 90 due to complications from a stroke. Much loved for her appearances in Carry On Screaming and Carry On Regardless, she also appeared in cult TV series The Avengers and Danger Man and lent her vocal talents to The Prisoner and Magic Roundabout spin-off film Dougal And The Blue Cat.

After surviving a brutal childhood, Fielding won a scholarship to RADA and made a name for herself by appearing in comedy revues. She went on to receive acclaim for her performances in the work of Shakespeare and Euripides. Though she struggled to find good film roles in her later years, she recently found a recurring role in TV hit Skins. Earlier this year she received an OBE. She suffered a stroke in August, following which doctors did not expect her to recover.

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