Zara Nutley (born Zahrah Mary Chassib Jaber, 19 August 1924 – 9 October 2016), was an English actress. She is best known for her roles in two television comedy series, ''

Mind Your Language ''Mind Your Language'' is a British sitcom that premiered on ITV in 1977. It was produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stuart Allen. Three series were made by the London Weekend Television between 1977 and 1979 and briefly re ...

'' (as college principal Miss Courtney) and ''

Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer w ...

'' (as Aunt Eleanor).

Biography

Nutley was born in Cornwall in 1924, the daughter of Stanley Jaber and Gladys Gregory, who married in 1923. Early in her career she was involved in amateur stage productions and subsequently repertory theatre. In the 1950s she studied and later taught at the Florence Moore Drama Studio in Hove, Sussex. Prior to 1977, she was variously billed as Zahrah, Zarah, or Zara Jaber. In the television sitcom ''

'' (1977–1979 & 1986), Nutley played Dolores Courtney, the principal of an adult education college. Her character was scripted as a stern, authoritarian feminist and spinster who was detested and feared by the staff and students at the school. Her other regular television role was the final three seasons of ''

'' (1981–1991), in which she played

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

's Aunt Eleanor. Nutley died aged 92 in

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

, East Sussex, on 9 October 2016.

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nutley, Zara 1924 births 2016 deaths British television actresses People from Falmouth, Cornwall Actresses from Cornwall 20th-century British actresses 20th-century English women 20th-century English people