Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a British actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including ''Connie'' (1985), '' The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), '' Where the Heart Is'' (1997–2000), '' Rosemary & Thyme'' (2003–2006), and ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'' (2012–2016). For her role as Peggy Snow in ''Where the Heart Is,'' Ferris was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and begun in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted o ...

. Ferris is best known to younger audiences for her role as Miss Agatha Trunchbull in the film '' Matilda'' (1996). Ferris also portrayed Marge Dursley in '' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (2004), Miriam in '' Children of Men'' (2006), Mrs. Bevan in '' Nativity!'' (2009) and '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'' (2012), voiced Mrs. Bennett / Aunty Betty in '' Ethel & Ernest'' (2016) and played Mrs. Faulkner in ''Tolkien'' (2019). In theatre, her performance as Phoebe Rice in '' The Entertainer'' at The Old Vic in London saw her nominated for the 2007

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

Early life

Ferris was born on 11 May 1948 in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, Germany, to a Welsh mother and an English father who was serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. After her parents returned to the United Kingdom, Ferris spent her childhood in the

Aberkenfig Aberkenfig (, meaning "mouth of the Kenfig" (stream)) is a village located in the County Borough of Bridgend, Wales to the north of Bridgend town. It is in the community of Newcastle Higher. Location Aberkenfig is located in South Wales, just ...

area, near

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

in Wales. Her father, Fred Ferris, was a policeman, and her mother, Ann Perkins, worked in her family's bakery business.

Career

Ferris performed in her younger years at the Mercury Theatre in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and later with various regional companies in the UK. She played motherly Ma Larkin in the ITV series '' The Darling Buds of May'', which ran from 1991 to 1993. She was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1991, when she was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

while recording an episode of '' The Darling Buds of May'' at

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. She has also acted in a succession of television dramas, including '' Meantime'', in which she played the

Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

mother of Phil Daniels and Tim Roth, '' Connie'', '' Hardwicke House'', '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', '' Where the Heart Is'', and '' Paradise Heights''. From 2003 to 2006, she played the gardening sleuth Laura Thyme in '' Rosemary & Thyme'', starring opposite

Felicity Kendal Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television ...

. Her roles in

costume drama Costume is the distinctive style of clothing, dress and/or cosmetics, makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used ...

s include parts in television adaptations of ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

'', '' The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'', '' Our Mutual Friend'', '' The Turn of the Screw'', '' Pollyanna'', and ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

''. In 1996, Ferris portrayed the brutish, authoritarian school headmistress Miss Agatha Trunchbull in '' Matilda'' (a role played by male actors in the stage musical version). In 2004, she played the foul-mouthed Marge Dursley in '' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''. In 2006, Ferris took on the role of Miriam, a motherly British activist, in '' Children of Men''. She voiced Mrs. Bennett/Aunty Betty in the animated biographical film '' Ethel & Ernest'', which was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

on 26 December 2016, and played Mrs. Faulkner in ''Tolkien'' (2019). She has also acted in productions for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. Her career in the theatre has included parts in

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

and National Theatre productions. In 2007, she played Phoebe Rice in a revival of

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...

's'' The Entertainer'' at London's Old Vic Theatre. In 2007, Ferris took part in the

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

programme '' Coming Home'' about her Welsh family history. In 2008, she played Mrs. General in a BBC adaptation of the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

novel '' Little Dorrit''. From 2009 to 2010, she appeared in the final series of the BBC comedy '' Gavin & Stacey'' as Cath Smith. In 2010, she made a guest appearance in the sitcom '' Grandma's House''. From 2012 to 2016, Ferris played the part of Sister Evangelina in the series ''

''. In June and July 2015, Ferris was the guest of Sarah Walker on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's ''Essential Classics''.

Personal life

In 1986, Ferris married actor Roger Frost. She lives in Elham,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. In a 2012 interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' Ferris said, "I was obsessed with work in my youth. It's why I didn't get married until I was 38 and the reason I didn't have kids. Not having children isn't a sadness in my life, though. I know I wouldn't have been a half-bad mother, but that's what happened. There's no regretting it."

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Pam 1948 births Living people 20th-century British actresses 21st-century Welsh actresses British film actresses British people of Welsh descent British radio actresses British stage actresses British television actresses British voice actresses Actresses from Bridgend County Borough People from Elham, Kent Actresses from Hanover Actresses from Kent Actors from Folkestone and Hythe District