Veronica Doran (born 17 May 1948) is a British character actress who remains best known for her 18-month stint as Marion Willis in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

''. She appeared in the series from 1982 to 1983.

Early life

Veronica Doran was born on 17 May 1948 in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, but was brought up in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. She was educated at St. Margaret Mary's School and St. Patrick's School in Carlisle before attending the Sacred Heart School in Blackpool. As a child she trained as a dancer and appeared with the

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...

Children's Ballet Company. Her career as an actress began as a voluntary helper with a small Lancashire repertory company.

Career

In June 1971 Doran played the small part of a worker at the Mark Brittain Warehouse named Carol in the long-running ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street''. Over ten years later she returned to this programme and performed in her best known role, that of flower shop assistant Marion Yeats. She played this part from February 1982 to December 1983. Prior to this role Doran worked steadily at a string of parts in various television shows, beginning with a tiny role in the drama ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

''. Through the '70s she played mostly in single-episodes rather than as returning characters, and gained roles in such well-known shows as ''

Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs Downstairs may refer to: Television *Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975 *Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...

'',

Man About The House ''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer that starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV from 15 August 1973 to 7 Apr ...

and ''

The Pallisers ''The Pallisers'' is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels. Set in Victorian era England with a backdrop of parliamentary life, Simon Raven's dramatisation covers six of Anthony Trollope's novels and follows the ev ...

''. In 1981 Doran scored a regular role in the comedy ''Funny Man'' but the programme lasted only one season. After her ''Coronation Street'' portrayal ended, Doran's television work became sparse. She appeared three times in ''

In Loving Memory In Loving Memory may refer to: * ''In Loving Memory'' (TV series), a 1979–1986 British period sitcom * ''In Loving Memory'' (Beneath the Sky album) or the title song, 2010 * ''In Loving Memory'' (compilation album), a gospel compilation, 1968 ...

'', a comedy about undertakers. Her most recent television role came in 2000 in an episode of the crime drama ''City Central''. She has also worked on stage, her latest appearances being in ''

Once a Catholic ''Once a Catholic'' is a play by Mary O'Malley. ''Once a Catholic'' is a comedy first performed at The Royal Court Theatre in London in 1977, directed by Mike Ockrent. It concerns a retrospective view of the values of 1950s Catholic convent s ...

'' as Mother Thomas Aquinas, ''

Billy Liar ''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popular songs. The semi-comical story is about William Fisher, ...

'' as Barbara, ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorot ...

'' as Mrs. Perkins, '' The Wizard of Oz'' as the Wicked Witch and ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...

'' as Edith. Doran has acted in several films including ''

For the Love of Ada ''For the Love of Ada'' is an ITV sitcom that ran between 1970 and 1971. Although not seen on British TV for over 30 years, the complete series began airing again in late 2018 on Talking Pictures TV, albeit edited with certain offensive words ...

'', ''Screamtime'', ''

The Haunted House of Horror ''The Haunted House of Horror'', also titled ''Horror House'' and ''The Dark'', is a 1969 British horror film directed by Michael Armstrong and starring Frankie Avalon and Jill Haworth as young adults looking for a thrill by spending the nigh ...

'', and ''

Adventures of a Private Eye ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed the 1976 film ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' and was followed ...

''.

Personal life

Doran trained as a telephone receptionist and works for the charity the

King's Fund The King's Fund is an independent think tank, which is involved with work relating to the health system in England. It organises conferences and other events. Since 1997, they have jointly funded a yearly award system with GlaxoSmithKline. Th ...

, an organisation set up by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

to improve the British health system. When not employed in acting, Veronica donates her spare time to the organisation.http://www.corrie.net/profiles/actors/doran_veronica.html Veronica Doran page at Corrie.net

Filmography

*''

'' (1969) as Madge *''

'' (1972) as Carol *''

The Sex Thief ''The Sex Thief'' is a 1973 British sex comedy film starring David Warbeck, Diane Keen and Christopher Biggins. It was an early film credit for director Martin Campbell. The film was released in North America (in January 1976) as ''Her Family ...

'' (1973) as Meter Attendant *''

Escort Girls ''Escort Girls'' is a 1974 sexploitation film written, produced and directed by Donovan Winter and starring Helen Christie, Brian Jackson, David Dixon, Veronica Doran and David Brierly. Its working title was ''All Lovers Are Strangers''. Plo ...

'' (1975) as Vicky *''It Could Happen to You'' (1975) as Queen *''

'' (1977) as Maud *''Screamtime'' (1983) as Miss Burns

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doran, Veronica 1948 births Living people English television actresses People from Blackpool