Ann Mitchell

Ann Mitchell (born 22 April 1939) is a British stage and television actress. She came to prominence in the 1980s when she starred as Dolly Rawlins in the crime series Widows as well as the sequels Widows 2 and She's Out, all written by Lynda La Plante. In 2011, she was cast as Cora Cross in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, the mother of Tanya Cross and Rainie Cross. Mitchell has appeared in many roles in film, theatre and television and has played a significant number of major roles such as Mrs. Warren in Mrs. Warren's Profession and her Laurence Olivier Award nominated performance in Through the Leaves.

Early and personal life Mitchell was born on 22 April 1939 at the Royal London Hospital. She attended Raine's Foundation School and went on to train at East 15 Acting School, having received the first ever scholarship to the school. She has since worked in theatre, television, film and radio, starting with Diary of a Young Man, a series written for her by John McGrath and Troy Kennedy Martin, directed by Ken Loach.

She is a visiting lecturer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, East 15 Acting School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is Master Tutor on the foundation course at WAC. Mitchell is on the board of directors of the Unity Theatre Trust, a Trustee of Arbours (a psychotherapeutic care centre) and is a Patron of Clean Break, a theatre and training company for female ex-offenders.

Mitchell has been married twice and has two sons, one from each of her marriages, one of whom is the actor Ché Walker. She resides in London.

Career In 1984, she received the Pye Award for Female who had the greatest impact on television, for her role as Dolly Rawlins in the crime series Widows, written by Lynda La Plante. (She had a cameo, as Amanda's mother, in the 2018 U.S. film version of her series, Widows.)

In 1992, she received the award "Performance of the Year" by The Independent on Sunday for her Hecuba at the Gate Theatre. In 2003 Mitchell was a nominee for Best Actress in both the Evening Standard Awards and the Laurence Olivier Awards for her performance as Martha in Through the Leaves, first produced at the Southwark Playhouse and later the Duchess Theatre, London.

Her work as a director and writer includes: Voices from Prison (RSC Platform), Cathy Come Home (first stage adaptation, Pit Theatre), Ever After (co-written with Cathy Itzin), Kiss and Kill (co-written with Susan Todd for Monstrous Regiment and nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize). She directed the world premiere of Barrie Keeffe's Sus, at the Royal Court Theatre.

Ann Mitchell first worked with Simon Callow over 35 years ago in a Lincoln Theatre Royal production of The Erpingham Camp, where Callow made his debut. Since then, they have worked together several times, most recently eight years ago when Callow directed Mitchell in The Destiny of Me at the Leicester Haymarket.

While not collaborating with Callow, Mitchell has built up an extensive stage career. In an interview with What's on Stage, Mitchell commented that her favourite playwright was Eugene O'Neill. "I was about 15 when I first started reading him and, even at that age, I knew there was something going on there in the subconscious of his work. Tennessee Williams, because of his delicacy. I also like doing Racine, which is wonderful from the point of the view of the language. I've just done 'Britannicus' at the Citz."

Roles EastEnders

In 2011, Mitchell was cast in the British soap opera EastEnders as Cora Cross, the mother of already established characters Tanya Jessop and Rainie Cross. She first appeared to attend her on-screen daughter's wedding and was originally only scheduled to appear for a four episode guest stint. On 31 May 2011 it was announced that Mitchell was returning to EastEnders as Cora and will be back on screen as a regular character in summer 2011. In an interview with Inside Soap, the executive producer of EastEnders, Bryan Kirkwood commented: "With the loss of Barbara Windsor, I was keen to find a new matriarch for the show, and Ann Mitchell is a dream booking. I've always been a fan of her work, and with the storyline we've got planned, we'll wonder how we ever did without Cora". Mitchell had previously appeared in EastEnders as Jane Williams, a woman Roy Evans had an affair with but only appeared for six episodes. Upon joining the soap, Mitchell commented: "As a lifelong fan of EastEnders I am thrilled to join the cast. I am a great fan of June Brown’s and am looking forward to sharing some scenes with her." Executive Producer Bryan Kirkwood added, "I’m very excited to have the much-loved Ann Mitchell joining us. Cora Cross is a formidable woman, cut from the same cloth as many glorious Walford women of the past, and Ann Mitchell is just perfect for the role." She took a break in December 2015, and returned in 2017.

She returned for a brief stint unannounced in March 2026.

Other roles Theatre As a leading member of the ground-breaking Citizens' Theatre for many years, Mitchell's roles included at Glasgow: Mother Courage in Mother Courage and Her Children, Helen in A Taste of Honey, French & Saunders, and Gimme Gimme Gimme (written for her by Jonathan Harvey). She co-stars as Lillian in the forthcoming Granada production of Jane Hall's Big Bad Bus Ride, and was most recently seen as Rita in Tunnel of Love for Thames. As Dolly Rawlins in Widows I, II and She's Out (written for her by Lynda La Plante) she won acclaim and affection. In 2017 she joined the cast of CBBC's Hetty Feather. On 16 January 2022 she appeared in Vera in the episode "As the Crow Flies" in the role of Moira Swann.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes 1964 Z-Cars Mrs Napier 1965 The Wednesday Play Marie 1966 Dixon of Dock Green Mrs Stubbings Talking to a Stranger Mother as a young woman Theatre 625 1967 Hobson's Choice Ada Figgins 1973 Play for Today Amenities officer 1975 Upstairs, Downstairs Militant Woman Crown Court Vera Chadwick 1975–1976 Within These Walls Kathleen Marsh 1977 Full Circle Woman in park Feature film 1978 Angels Sister Huntley 1979 Murder by Decree Jane Feature film 1976 Play of the Week Mother 1981 Lady Chatterley's Lover Ivy Bolton Feature film 1983–1985 Widows Dolly Rawlins 1988 Bergerac Lola Betts The Bill 1990, 2009 Casualty Mrs McKenzie; Margaret Samson 1992 Taggart Annie Gilmore Maigret Mme. Moncin 1995 She's Out Dolly Rawlins 1996 The Detectives Superintendent Simmons 1998 Kavanagh QC Mrs Justice Addis 2001 Gimme Gimme Gimme Miss Twitch EastEnders Jane Williams; Cora Cross 2006 Jane Hall Lilian Ramsay 2008 Heartbeat Iris Grocott 2011 The Deep Blue Sea Mrs Nelson Feature film 2015 Dragonfly Margaret Grosvenor 2017 Hetty Feather Miss Sarah Smith 2018 Widows Amanda's Mother Feature film 2019–2020 Call the Midwife Elsie Dyer 2019 Year of the Rabbit Gwendoline 2021 Gunfight at Dry River Etta Ryles Silent Witness Molly Trask 2022 Vera Moira Swann 2023 The Gold Sadie For Her Sins Maggie True Haunting Myra Danvers TBA Feature film

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result 2012 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female 2013 18th National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance