Alethea Blow Charlton (9 August 1931 – 6 May 1976) was a British actress.

Life

She was born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and attended Ripon High School and the Northern Theatre School which was based at the

Bradford Playhouse The Bradford Playhouse is a 266-seat proscenium arch theatre with circle and stall seating based in Little Germany, in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Formerly known as The Priestley, the theatre also has a studio space that has f ...

.Kenneth Passingham "How Alethea Sees Herself: I Want the Be Bawdy, Brassy and Beautiful", ''

TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

'', 12–18 July 1975, p.48-49 After working in repertory for a few years in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, she moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1960 before touring American universities as a member of a group. Alethea's family history was traced by people investigating the Naylor family history. The report indicates that she was descended from a line of people with the surname Charlton, as well as Blow, Dickerson, Naylor and Heyes.

Acting career

Charlton was a cast member in episodes two, three and four of the first ever ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial (''

An Unearthly Child ''An Unearthly Child'' (sometimes referred to as ''100,000 BC'') is the first serial of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963 ...

'') broadcast in late 1963, as a cavewoman called Hur. She returned playing the character Edith in the serial ''

The Time Meddler ''The Time Meddler'' is the ninth and final serial of the second season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Douglas Camfield, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four ...

'' in 1965. Her other TV credits include: ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'', ''

Follyfoot ''Follyfoot'' is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television (for transmission on ITV) and the independent West German company ''TV München'' (for transmission on the ...

'', ''

The Borderers ''The Borderers'' is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1970. Setting A historical drama series, ''The Borderers'' was set during the 16th century and chronicled the lives of the Ker family, who lived in the Scott ...

'', ''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ( ...

'', ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...

'', '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and a three-year recurring role in the

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

drama ''Sam''.

Death

She died of a

malignant melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the Biological pigment, pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, i ...

at the age of 44. Her last known acting role was in the soap opera ''

The Cedar Tree ''The Cedar Tree'' was a television serial that ran from 1976 to 1979 on ITV in the United Kingdom. It involved the story of the upper class Bourne family before the turn of the Second World War. The main setting is Larkfield Manor, the famil ...

'', which was aired posthumously.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Alethea 1931 births 1976 deaths English television actresses 20th-century British actresses People from Middlesbrough 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 20th-century British businesspeople