Peggy Batchelor

Peggy Batchelor
Born(1916-11-26)26 November 1916
Died18 July 2020(2020-07-18) (aged 103)
Leicester, England, UK
OccupationActress
Known forThe Waiting Room
My Hero
Blackout

Peggy Batchelor (26 November 1916 – 18 July 2020) was a British actress, drama teacher and adjudicator.[1][2][3]

Career

Born to parents who were entertainers, Batchelor's first major public performance was at the age of eight as "Baby Peggy", dancing the troops across the stadium each night for the ten weeks of the Wembley Tattoo at the British Empire Exhibition in 1925.[4][5][6][7][8][9] She shared her memories of this in a radio broadcast on the BBC Home Service in 1946, Scrapbook for 1925.[8][10][2]

In the late 1930s, Batchelor worked as a school teacher and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[1][2][11] During World War II, she joined the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA).[1][2][12][13] She performed for troops in the UK, West Africa[8], Egypt and India.[12]

In 1946, Batchelor became a founding member of The West of England Theatre Company.[1][2][14][15] Her roles included Alice Foster in J.B. Priestley's They Came to a City,[14][16] Fan in Emlyn Williams' The Light of Heart,[17] Ruth in Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit,[18] Sarah the old nurse in Priestley's Eden End,[19][20] Sally Pratt in Priestley's I Have Been Here Before,[21] and Donna Lucia d'Alvadorez in Charley's Aunt.[15] Batchelor was popular with audiences;[22] one reviewer wrote, "For her characterisation of a Northcountry maid in the West of England Theatre Company's presentation of J. B. Priestley’s "Eden End,” Peggy Batchelor received well-deserved recognition from an even larger than usual audience at the New Hall, Tiverton, on Tuesday. Miss Batchelor had obviously spared no pains to get well under the skin of her part of forthright but kind-hearted family servant the pre-1914-18 war era, and her attention to detail in the matter of accent was just one of the things which gave her performance that audience appeal which comes from really good acting."[20] Another reviewer wrote of her role in A.A. Milne's The Dover Road that she was the "[o]utstanding performer in a capable cast".[23]

Appearances on television and radio followed including Gilbert and Sullivan,[2] Mrs Dale's Diary, Dick Barton,[24] The Adventures of P.C. 49[24] and Cabaret with a young Benny Hill.[25] Batchelor voiced the Kingmaker in the 2001–2002 Doctor Who audio drama Death Comes to Time.

Teaching

Batchelor obtained a teacher’s degree at the Guildhall.[1] In 1955, she founded The Ridley Studios in Leigh-on-Sea,[1][26] named after her Guildhall Professor, Frank Ridley; Dame Sybil Thorndike was a patron.[27] Batchelor continued to direct the Ridley Studios until shortly before moving to Buckinghamshire and marrying in 1984.[27] Batchelor also had a close relationship with the Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea, directing and appearing in plays herself,[28][29][26] and providing students of the Ridley Studios for child and teenage roles in performances there.[27] She was a member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators[2][12] and a founder member of the National Drama Festivals Association. As an adjudicator and teacher, Batchelor travelled to music and drama festivals around England, Wales and Northern Ireland.[1][13][30][31] The chairman of one county drama association considered her "a lady of national repute which makes her views of the work offered a valuable contribution to raising the standards."[32] In 1973, she was made a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music;[2][13] she was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts[25] and of the Victoria College of Music and Drama, and vice-chairman of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama.[12]

Personal life

Whilst in Lahore, India, Batchelor met RAF Squadron Leader Air Commodore Arthur Clegg on 1 September 1944 after one of her performances. They met again many years later when he was living in Wendover and married on 1 September 1984, the fortieth anniversary of their first meeting. After ten years, Arthur died and Peggy returned to acting in theatre and TV. Becoming too frail to look after herself, she moved closer to be near family. She died in Leicester, England on 18 July 2020 aged 103, making 100-year-old Arnold Yarrow the oldest living Doctor Who cast member at the time.[30]

Filmography[3][33][34]

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Waiting Room Doris
2008 Blackout Allison

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 My Hero Mrs. Raven Episode: "Night Fever"
The Queen's Sister Mile End Flat Woman TV film
2006 Holby City Yvonne Perry Episode: "If the Heart Lies"

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Woman in the festival hot seat". Gateshead Post. Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. 8 March 1979. p. 14. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "To judge the drama". St. Neots Weekly News. St Neots, Cambridgeshire, England. 21 May 1987. p. 25. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Peggy Batchelor | Actress". IMDb.
  4. ^ Hawkins, Carole (2012). Never a Dull Moment: A Biography of Peggy Batchelor as Told to Carole Hawkins. AuthorHouseUK. ISBN 978-1467882507.
  5. ^ "Peggy the Pride of the Regiments. Little Dancer Feted by Tattoo Troops. Toasted in Tea". London Daily Chronicle. 24 October 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Peggy, the Mascot". Daily News (London). 23 October 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Baby Peggy's Emotion. Last Dance Across Stadium Before Tattoo Soldiers - Riot of Colour". Daily Mirror. 2 November 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Baily, Leslie (18 January 1947). "Leslie Baily's Radio Diary". Lancashire Evening Post. Preston, Lancashire, England. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Social and Personal". Western Mail. Cardiff, Wales. 24 October 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Radio Outlook". Dundee Evening Telegraph. Dundee, Scotland. 14 November 1946. p. 5.
  11. ^ "10 Weeks Of Glory, Then Obscurity. Wembley Tattoo Child Dancer Still Wants To Act. Life Altered By Flash of Fame". Sunday Express. 16 January 1938. p. 11. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d Brown, Alec (6 February 1992). "Thrills on and oft the stage". Bucks Herald. p. 23. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  13. ^ a b c "Festival talent is praised by actress". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast, Northern Ireland. 2 March 1978. p. 15. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Regular Plays Coming. Plans for Taunton and Wellington. Arts Council Repertory". Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser. 11 May 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Round the Country - Exmouth". The Stage. 30 August 1951. p. 12. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  16. ^ ""They Came to a City" - Company at Crediton". Crediton Gazette. 16 May 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  17. ^ R.R. (13 July 1946). ""The Light of Heart" - Another Arts Council Play Success". Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser. p. 6. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  18. ^ ""Blithe Spirit" - Welcome Reappearance of West of England Players". Brixham Western Guardian. 22 August 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  19. ^ F.G.R. (19 April 1947). ""Eden End" - Taunton Arts Council Production". Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser. p. 4. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  20. ^ a b W.J.T. (15 April 1947). ""Eden End" - Priestley Play at Tiverton". Crediton Gazette. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  21. ^ E.C. (8 July 1947). "Priestley Success at Tiverton". Tiverton Gazette. p. 6. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  22. ^ Footlights (2 August 1951). ""Home at Seven" Brings Out Players' Talent". Western Evening Herald. p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  23. ^ "Anthony Holland in Milne Comedy. Welcomed by Tiverton Audience". The Tiverton Gazette. 8 October 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Programme Index". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Local Face: Peggy Batchelor". Wendover News. Wendover, Buckinghamshire. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  26. ^ a b J.K.M. (19 February 1976). "Southend - '21 - Not Out'". The Stage. p. 12. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  27. ^ a b c Monk, Peter. "Peter Monk". Palace Theatre Club - History, archive, memories and photos. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  28. ^ "Problem Child". The Stage. 1 December 1960. p. 18. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  29. ^ "A Hated Columnist in Thriller". The Stage. 26 May 1966. p. 17. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  30. ^ a b "Tribute: Peggy Batchelor". Wendover News. Wendover, Buckinghamshire. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  31. ^ Johns, June (4 September 1968). "Dramatic entrances". Liverpool Daily Post (Merseyside ed.). p. 5. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  32. ^ "Drama festival plan for eisteddfod". The West Briton. Truro, Cornwall, England. 23 January 1986. p. 36. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  33. ^ "Peggy Batchelor (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  34. ^ Smith, Laura (29 November 2006). "Actress Peggy is still a star at 90". Southend Echo. Retrieved 31 December 2024.