Maureen O'Brien (born 29 June 1943) is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki Pallister in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', although she has appeared in many other

television programme A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

Early life

O'Brien was born in Liverpool. She attended Notre Dame School, as well as the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

in London.

Career

After graduating in 1964, O'Brien returned to Liverpool to become a founder member of the Everyman Theatre. As well as acting, she worked as an assistant floor manager for the company. She played the part of Vicki in 38 episodes of ''

'' from 2 January to 6 November 1965, starring alongside the original Doctor,

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

. She has reprised the role in several

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

''Doctor Who'' audio plays. In 2022, 57 years after playing the role on screen, she appeared as Vicki in a short webisode made to promote the release of her first season on Blu-ray. She reprised the role again in the series ''

Tales of the TARDIS ''Tales of the TARDIS'' is a companion series to the television series ''Doctor Who'' which features re-releases of stories from the show's original run, enclosed by additional material featuring actors reprising their roles. The series is produce ...

''. After leaving ''Doctor Who'' O'Brien found it difficult to find acting work on television, and worked as a supply teacher. Her next role was in the theatre, where she appeared in an

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

production of ''

Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfo ...

'' with

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in ...

and

Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series '' Rising Damp'' from 19 ...

. O'Brien moved to Ontario, Canada, in November 1969, with husband Michael Moulds, who was then head of the

Canadian Film Institute The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) () involves Canada in the film production, study, appreciation process of film/moving images for cultural and educational purposes. The Canadian Film Institute organizes ongoing public film programming and artist ...

. In 1970 she played Imogen and Portia in productions of ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

'' and ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' respectively, both at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

. In 1971 she directed a production of

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

's ''

The Caucasian Chalk Circle ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' () is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than the baby's wealthy b ...

'' at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

. She later returned to the UK. She had recurring roles as

Morgan Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...

in ''

The Legend of King Arthur ''The Legend of King Arthur'' is a British television fantasy serial, produced by the BBC in association with Time-Life Television and the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and broadcast on BBC 1 in 1979.Kevin J. Harty, "Cinema Arthuriana: A ...

'' (1979) and as unit general manager Elizabeth Straker in the second season of ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' (1987). She made guest appearances in ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth (producer), John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV (TV network), ITV period drama ''Upstairs, ...

'' ("Trouble and Strife") (1976), ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

'' ("Forbidden Fruit") (1994), ''

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'' ("The Big Crunch") (1994), ''

A Touch of Frost ''A Touch of Frost'' is a British television detective mystery drama series starring David Jason produced by Yorkshire Television (later ITV Studios) for ITV from 6 December 1992 until 5 April 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R. ...

'' ("Private Lives") (1999) and '' Heartbeat''. In 1997 she appeared as Kirsten Holiday in "Jack in the Box", episode two of ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery fiction, mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician whi ...

''. In 1974, she played Celia in "Panic", an episode of the BBC Radio series ''The World of Daphne du Maurier''. The 1980s saw her teaching acting workshops in the USA. She also made a rare film appearance in the comedy '' She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas'' in 1985, opposite

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Go ...

. She received the '' Time Out'' Critic's Choice award for her production of Mike English's ''Getting In'' in 1986. O'Brien has also written seven detective novels: ''Close-Up on Death'' (1989), ''Deadly Reflection'' (1993), ''Mask of Betrayal'' (1998), ''Dead Innocent'' (1999), ''Revenge'' (2001), ''Unauthorised Departure'' (2003) and ''Every Step You Take'' (2004); all feature the character of Detective Inspector John Bright.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Maureen Living people 1943 births English mystery writers English television actresses Actresses from Liverpool 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses English women mystery writers Writers from Liverpool