As of 2012 she is the seventh-longest serving actress (with Laila Morse) in the history of "EastEnders" (1985) (behind only Pam St. Clement, June Brown, Wendy Richard, Barbara Windsor, a tied Gillian Taylforth and Letitia Dean, and Natalie Cassidy), having played the character Ethel Skinner for 12 years.
Cousin of Clive Dunn.
Donated all the money she made from repeats of her television programmes to animal charities.
In 1929, she went to dance lessons at the Theatre Girls Club in Soho, London and became a noted tap dancer and founded a quartet called Four Brilliant Blondes.
Ranked #80 in the 100 Greatest "EastEnders" (1985) Characters of All Time for her performance as Ethel Skinner (2010).
She made her stage debut as a pantomime chorus girl in Bournemouth, earning £2 a week.