Aimée Delamain

Aimée Delamain (21 April 1906 – 18 June 1999) was an English actress, known for spending most of her career playing elderly ladies.

Biography

Her father, Colonel Frank Delamain, was a member of King Edward VII's Bengal Lancers. Upon his retirement in 1909, the family moved to Lamberhurst, Kent. Tragedy struck in 1915 when Aimée's mother Mabel (née Bullock) died of rheumatic fever and the following year her elder brother Frank Gun Delamain was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme.

Brought up by relatives, she expressed a desire to act and began performing as a teenager in little plays in the village hall to raise money for the local football club. By 1931, she graduated from RADA. This was followed by playing in the provinces but when the Second World War broke out, Aimée worked as a nurse with the Voluntary Aid Detachment, later playing in an ENSA company. Subsequently, he often cast her in several of his productions. Some parts were small but memorable, especially her appearance as a type of deus ex machina in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Psychiatrist", precipitating Basil Fawlty's mental breakdown. Larger roles, as detailed below, showed her range.

Never married, Delamain moved into Denville Hall, the retirement home for actors in February 1991, retiring from acting not long afterwards. There, she spent her final years and indulged in a lifelong passion for gardening.

Selected filmography Film

Little Red Monkey (1955) – Mrs. Henley (Dr. Barnes's Housekeeper) (uncredited) The Secret (1955) – Miss Lyons Two Left Feet (1963) – Auntie (uncredited) Rotten to the Core (1965) – Lady Greville (uncredited) The Raging Moon (1971) – Alice I, Monster (1971) – Landlady The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972) – Elsie Tucker The House in Nightmare Park (1973) – Mother One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975) – Millicent Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? a.k.a. Too Many Cooks (1978) – Old Woman Oxford Blues (1984) – Lady Bemore Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) – Storyteller High Spirits (1988) – Great Granny Plunkett Getting It Right (1989) – Mrs. Arbuthnot

Television

The Bishop's Candlesticks (1949) – Baptistine Sunday Night Theatre (1954–1956) – Dulcie Curtis / Jessica Streatford Our Miss Pemberton (1957–1958) – Miss Henrietta Copley ITV Play of the Week (1959–1965) – Mrs. Culff / Phyllis / Miss Chancellor Theatre 70 (1960) – Beggarwoman Dixon of Dock Green (1961–1975) – Mrs. Lane / Matty / Arabella Floyd Tales of Mystery (1961–1962) – Aunt Eleanor / Mrs. Malleson Boyd Q.C. (1961) – Gladys Westbury Oliver Twist (1962) – Old Sally Z-Cars (1962) – Woman Customer Maigret (1962) – Lisette Harpers West One (1962) – Woman Customer Suspense (1963) – Aphrodite The Avengers (1963–1968) – 1st Lady / Miss Gladys Culpepper Emergency Ward 10 (1963) – Miss Edwardes Moonstrike (1963) – Farmer's Wife The Plane Makers (1963) – Mrs. Milne The Odd Man a.k.a. It's Dark Outside (1964) – Maude Rossiter The Human Jungle (1964) – Mrs. Oliver Riviera Police (1965) – Madame Beranger Hereward the Wake (1965) – Lapp nurse The Wednesday Play (1965) – Mrs. Morris Pardon the Expression (1966) – Miss Singleton No Hiding Place (1966) – Nurse Gibbs Thirteen Against Fate (1966) – Mademoiselle Couvert The Saint (1966) – Lady Haverstock Les Misérables (1967) – Porteress ITV Playhouse (1967–1968) – Miss Davidson / Prudence Omnibus (1969) – Old Mary The Main Chance (1969) – Alice Greensmith Softly, Softly (1969) – Mrs. Abbott The Root of All Evil? (1969) – Dame Helen Blake ITV Sunday Night Theatre (1971) – Mrs. Hubbard The Troubleshooters (1971) – Mrs. Izard senior The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971) – Mrs. Hisgins Upstairs, Downstairs (1971) – Lady Templeton The Befrienders (1972) – Mrs. Kenwood Ooh La La! (1973) – Mademoiselle Owen, M.D. (1973) – Miriam Milton Crown Court (1974) – Mrs. Elgar The Morecambe & Wise Show (1974) – Miss Tasker Thriller (1975) – Penelope Beryl's Lot (1975) – Phoebe Shadows (1975) – Grandmother Angels (1976) – Dodie ITV Sunday Night Drama (1976) – Lady Taggart The Crezz (1976) – Lady Clarke Jackanory (1977) – Storyteller Target (1977) – Susan De Veer Come Back, Lucy (1978) – Aunt Olive Armchair Thriller (1978) – Mrs. Franklyn Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt (1978) – Mrs. Price The Famous Five (1978) – Mrs. Thomas George and Mildred (1978–1979) – Old Lady / Patient Fawlty Towers (1979) – Mrs. Johnson Shoestring (1979) – Anne Appleby The Swish of the Curtain (1980) – Countess of Brackonshire The Sandbaggers (1980) – Penelope BBC2 Playhouse (1981) – Rose Chronicle (1982) – Mrs. Brasher All for Love (1982) – Miss Bird Never the Twain (1982) – Miss Barnes Cymbeline (1982) – Gentlewoman The Professionals (1983) – Old Lady Shine on Harvey Moon (1984) – Lady Doctor Who (1985) – Doña Arana One by One (1985) – Miss Rind Fresh Fields (1985) – Mrs. Bevin C.A.T.S. Eyes (1986) – Mrs. Sitwell Screen Two (1987–1992) – Lady Birdstock / Ambulatory Grannie The District Nurse (1987) – Emily Rees Casualty (1987) – Eugenie 'Allo 'Allo! (1987) – Madame Sablon All in Good Faith (1988) – Mrs. Bagley Don't Wait Up (1988) – Mrs. Clarke Dramarama (1988) – Bookseller Wyatt's Watchdogs (1988) – Mary Spencer The Bill (1988–1990) – Mrs. West / Pensioner on Bus You Rang, M'Lord? (1990) – Aunt Maud A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1990) – Customer Service Lady Devices and Desires (1991) – Mrs. Copley Dizzy Heights (1991) – Rose