Watling was born Dilys Rhys Jones, the daughter of actor Ion Rhys Jones and Patricia Hicks. Ion Rhys Jones was killed in action in World War II, and her mother later married actor Jack Watling.[2]
She attended St Mary's Convent School, Woodford, Essex, followed by acting school.
Watling had four half-siblings through her mother's marriage to actor Jack Watling. These include actor Deborah and politician/actor Giles Watling.
Watling was married twice: her first marriage was to Australian Bruce Anderson in 1966; they later divorced.[1] After a relationship with actor Christopher Matthews,[citation needed] in 1986 she married actor Owen Teale, with whom she had a son, Ion, before divorcing in the mid-1990s.[1]
On 10 August 2021, she died aged 79 after a long illness.[3][4][5]