Anita Carey

Anita Carey
Carey as Vivien March in Doctors
Born
Anita Eileen Carey

(1948-04-16)16 April 1948
Halifax, England
Died19 July 2023(2023-07-19) (aged 75)
Alma materRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
OccupationActress
Years active1971–2018
Television
Spouse
​
(m. 2002)​
Children2
RelativesAnna Wing (mother-in-law)[1]

Anita Eileen Carey (16 April 1948 – 19 July 2023) was an English actress. She appeared in British television programmes from the 1970s, with her first notable appearances including roles in Beryl's Lot, The History of Mr. Polly and The Spoils of War. She then played Joyce Smedley in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 1996 to 1997. After further appearances in various series, she joined the cast of the BBC soap opera Doctors as Vivien March in 2007. She stayed in the role for two years, during which her character was involved in a rape scene that won her the British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance in 2009.[2]

Early life

Anita Eileen Carey was born on 16 April 1948,[3] in Halifax, to Sidney Carey, a postal worker, and Louisa Crowther. She was brought up in Brighouse and upon leaving Holmfirth Secondary Modern School at 14, she worked as a typist for a carpet firm. At the same time, she acted with a drama club run by Esme Church at Bradford Civic Playhouse. Aged 19, Carey and her then fiancé, Steve Hodson, successfully auditioned to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama, which she attended from 1967 to 1970.[3]

Career

Carey's first professional role was in a theatre production at the Lyceum Theatre, Crewe.[3] Some of Carey's early roles were in programmes such as Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, I Didn't Know You Cared, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Ripping Yarns. In Coronation Street, Carey appeared in the part of Joyce Smedley from 1996 to 1997.[4] In 2006, Carey had a small role as a voice actress playing Venat in the PlayStation 2 game Final Fantasy XII.[5]

Carey then played the role of receptionist Vivien March in the BBC soap opera Doctors from 17 May 2007 to 20 March 2009.[6] After a storyline involving Vivien being raped aired, Carey was awarded the British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance at the 2009 British Soap Awards. The story also won Best Storyline, as well as the episode of the rape, "A Kind of Hush", winning Best Single Episode.[7] In 2018, the storyline was once again recognised at the British Soap Awards, being nominated for Greatest Moment.[8] In 2013, she appeared as Gower in Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.[9]

Personal life and death

In 1973, while appearing in a stage production in Sheffield, Carey met actor Mark Wing-Davey, a member of the company there.[3] The two began living together the following year.[3] They married in 2002.[3] The pair had two children together. After Wing-Davey took a job in the U.S., they moved there together and she began appearing in American stage productions.[3]

Carey was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 and died of it on 19 July 2023, aged 75.[3] Her ashes are interred in the cemetery at Favières (Somme) France.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1971 Kate Shirley Recurring role
1971–1972 Z-Cars Jill / Pam Rutherford Guest roles
1972 Please Sir! Air Hostess Episode: "The Fixer"
1972 Queenie's Castle Francis Episode: "England Expects"
1973 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Sue Episode: "But Freud, Freud is Dead"
1973 The Flaxton Boys Billie Shackleton Episode: "1945: Welcome Home, Tommy Atkins"
1973–1974 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? Susan Chambers Recurring role
1974 Billy Liar Susan Episode: "Billy and the Alter Ego"
1974 Marked Personal Sara Bennett 2 episodes
1974 Dixon of Dock Green Carol Hayward Episode: "The Long Memory"
1974 Napoleon and Love Françoise Episode: "Eleonore"
1974 Centre Play Lorraine Episode: "Mutinies"
1974 Horizon Joey's Mother Episode: "Joey"
1974, 1976 One-Upmanship Various Main role
1975 The Loner Mave Episode: "Dawson's Encounter"
1975–1976 I Didn't Know You Cared Pat Main role
1975, 1977 Beryl's Lot Babs Humphries Main role
1977 Ripping Yarns Irene Olthwaite Episode: "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite"
1978 Play of the Month Ms. H1B Episode: "Mr. & Ms. Bureaucrat"
1978 Some Enchanted Evening Television film
1978 Premiere Amanda Episode: "Something's Wrong"
1978 Coronation Street Brenda Summers Guest role
1979 Strangers Edna Episode: "Clever Dick"
1979–1980 Play for Today Jill / Sharon 2 episodes
1980 The History of Mr. Polly Mrs. Polly / Miriam Main role
1980 Juliet Bravo Melisande Duffy Episode: "Cages"
1980–1981 The Spoils of War Martha Blaze Main role
1981 Roger Doesn't Live Here Anymore Woman in market 1 episode
1982 Andy Robson Elsie Ritson Episode: "Flare Up"
1984 Miracles Take Longer Patti Blakeston Episode: "Frankie and Johnnie"
1986 First Among Equals Joyce Gould Main role
1990 A Kind of Living Linda Main role
1991 Poirot Miss Rawlinson Episode: "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor"
1992 The Good Guys Miss Treasure Episode: "Verschwinden"
1992 Virtual Murder Chief Inspector Grant Episode: "Last Train to Hell & Back"
1993, 2003 Heartbeat Helen Rawlings / Babs Crane 3 episodes
1993 The Bill Jean Episode: "A Better Life"
1996 Band of Gold Glennis Minkin Guest role
1996–1997 Coronation Street Joyce Smedley Regular role
1998 Still Crazy Tax Woman Film
2000 The Wyvern Mystery Mrs. Carew Television film
2001 Perfect Strangers Sibling's Mother Recurring role
2002 Rescue Me Carol Chatwin Recurring role
2002 Where the Heart Is Maggie Flannigan Episode: "United We Stand"
2003 Crust Receptionist Film
2004 Last of the Summer Wine Mavis Episode: "Spores"
2005 The Murder Room Tally Clutton Guest role
2005 Midsomer Murders Barbara Flux Episode: "The House in the Woods"
2005 Doctors Shirley Carver Episode: "Lost for Words"
2005 Casualty Faye Skinner Episode: "Enough's Enough"
2006 The State Within Pauline Recurring role
2007–2009 Doctors Vivien March Regular role
2011 Candlesticks Mother Short film
2018 The Last Witness Joan Caldercott Film
Sources:[10][11]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2008 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors Nominated [12]
2009 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors Nominated [7]
[13]
2009 British Soap Awards Best Dramatic Performance Doctors Won

References

  1. ^ "Profile: Mark Wing-Davey - Zaphod Beeblebrox". BBC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. ^ "History". The British Soap Awards. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Hayward, Anthony (6 August 2023). "Anita Carey obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Anita Carey". www.corrie.net. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Anita Carey (visual voices guide)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  6. ^ BBC. "BBC – Drama – Doctors – Characters – Vivien March". Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  7. ^ a b Green, Kris; Kilkelly, Daniel (10 May 2009). "British Soap Awards 2009: The Winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  8. ^ Tobin, Christian (1 June 2019). "Here are the British Soap Awards 2019 winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Pericles, Prince of Tyre at Berkeley Rep". www.berkeleyrep.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Anita Carey – filmography". TV Guide. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Anita Carey Movies and TV shows". Plex.tv. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  12. ^ Hilton, Beth; Green, Kris (4 May 2008). "The British Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  13. ^ McLennan, Patrick. "British Soap Awards 2009: Nominations revealed!". What's on TV. Future plc. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.