Jacqueline Anne Stallybrass (4 December 1938 – 3 July 2021) was an English actress who trained at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in London. The television roles for which she is best known are Jane Seymour in ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1970) and Anne Onedin in ''The Onedin Line'' (1971–1972). In the 1990s, Stallybrass played Dr Kate Rowan's Aunt Eileen in ''Heartbeat'' (Season 3 episode 5 and Seasons 5-7).

Biography

Stallybrass was born in

Westcliff-on-Sea Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 m ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, on 4 December 1938, to Edward Lindsay Stallybrass (1905–1990) and Annie Isobel (née Peacock) Stallybrass (1911–1981), who married in 1933 in Hackney, London. She was educated at St Bernard's Convent, Westcliff and spent three years training at the

, where she won the Drama Gold Medal. She began her professional acting career by spending several years in repertory, gaining experience in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, with the

Arthur Brough Arthur Brough (born Frederick Arthur Baker; 26 February 1905 – 28 May 1978) was a British actor and theatre founder, producer and director best known for portraying the character of bumbling senior menswear salesman Ernest Grainger on the BBC ...

Players, before moving to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

and then to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. The television roles for which she is best known are:

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

in '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1970), and Anne Onedin in ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (1971-1972), written by

Cyril Abraham Cyril Stanley Abraham (22 September 1915 – 30 July 1979), was an English screenwriter best known for creating the popular BBC series ''The Onedin Line'' (1971–1980), writing the scripts for 22 episodes in addition to five novels based on the ...

. In 1973 she appeared as a narrator in five episodes of the BBC children's television series ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fairy-t ...

.'' She also appeared as Doreen Haskins, wife of DCI Frank Haskins in the 1970s British police drama ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...

.'' Other major roles include Anna Strauss in ''

The Strauss Family ''The Strauss Family'' is a 1972 British Associated Television series of eight episodes,Acorn DVD sleeve notes about the family of composers of that name, including Johann Strauss I and his sons Johann Strauss II, Eduard Strauss and Josef Strau ...

'' (1972), Susan Henchard in ''

The Mayor of Casterbridge ''The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character'' is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Hardy's Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing in for Dorchester in ...

'' (1978 adaptation), and Muriel Thomas in ''

The Old Devils ''The Old Devils'' is a novel by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1986. The novel won the Booker Prize. The plot centres on Alun Weaver, a writer of modest celebrity, who returns to his native Wales with his wife, Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend ...

'' (1992). From 1995 until 1998 she played Eileen Reynolds in ITV's period police drama '' Heartbeat''. She portrayed

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, for '' Diana: Her True Story'' (1993), the made for TV mini-series from Andrew Morton's biography. Being a monarchist, she was initially unsure about taking the role, although her family used to tease her for bearing a resemblance to the Queen. She appeared in Midsomer Murders “Strangler’s Wood” (1999) as Emily Meakham. She was twice nominated for the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...

; for her portrayals of Anne Onedin and Anna Strauss.

Personal life

Stallybrass married twice and was unable to have children. She described this as "something I have learnt to live with. I take great joy in my three godchildren and have kept in touch with all the 'television children' I have had. She met her first husband

Roger Rowland Roger Rowland (1 April 1935 – 14 January 2011) was a British TV actor predominantly working in the 1970s and 1980s. He made quite a number of UK television appearances, including some well-remembered series (though none were starring roles). ...

in Nottingham; the couple married in 1963, separated after nine years of marriage and later divorced.

Peter Gilmore John Peter Gilmore (25 August 1931 – 3 February 2013), known as Peter Gilmore, was an English actor, known for his portrayal of Captain James Onedin in 91 episodes of the BBC television period drama ''The Onedin Line'' (1971–1980), cre ...

's second marriage broke up not long after and the friendship between the two ''Onedin Line'' actors gradually developed. In 1987, after 10 years together the couple married and remained together until Gilmore's death in February 2013. They lived in

Barnes, London Barnes () is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It takes up the extreme north-east of the borough, and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London. It is centred west sou ...

, and owned a cottage, named ''Onedin House'', in Dartmouth, which was used as a film location for scenes in ''

''. She died on 3 July 2021, at the age of 82.

References

External links

*
Site dedicated to the actors Anne Stallybrass and Peter Gilmore
gilmore-stallybrass.eu; accessed 31 July 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stallybrass, Anne 1938 births 2021 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music English film actresses English television actresses People from Barnes, London People from Westcliff-on-Sea 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Essex Actresses from London