Avril Angers

Her mother Lilian Angers (born Lilian Woods on 29th January 1889) died in 1972.

In 1949 she announced her engagement to actor Barry Wicks, only to declare, nearly two years later, while in a summer show at Bexhill-on-Sea, that she was "too busy" for marriage. She never married and was survived by two brothers.

Her success in acting led her to becoming one of the first women to have a television series with a proper storyline, Dear Dotty, in 1954. She also partnered TV comedians such as Arthur Askey, Dick Emery and a young Bob Monkhouse. One of the first stand-up comediennes she regularly appeared in cabaret.

Avril Angers was one of Britain's finest comedy actresses. Once dubbed Britain's answer to Lucille Ball she was a great exponent of revue, musicals, cabaret and TV and film comedy. Born in Liverpool, Angers' long and successful career in show-business began in variety. Her father was the comedian Harry Angers and her mother was Lillian Errol, a member of the original Fol-de-Rols concert party. She was 14 when she made her debut at a concert party in Brighton and the same age when she played Cinderella with Wee Georgie Wood and Clarkson Rose at Birmingham. She followed in her mother's footsteps and became a Fol-de-Rol. During the Second World War she was one of the hardest working members of ENSA, touring the remotest parts of West Africa. She was awarded the Africa Star for her work and during the forties and fifties was rarely off the London stage or the cinema screen. As an actress she played a variety of roles from Billie Fawn in Born Yesterday to Marigold in the classic film The Green Man (1956), opposite Alistair Sim.

In 1964 she stole the notices in the hit London production of Little Me, in which she appeared with Bruce Forsyth, and she headlined in numerous West End comedies and thrillers.

She won critical appraise for her role as Liz Piper in Roy Boulting's film The Family Way (1966) and was cast opposite Richard Burton and Rex Harrison in the off-beat gay comedy Staircase (1969).