Margaret John

Margaret John (14 December 1926 – 2 February 2011) was a BAFTA award-winning Welsh actress. She is often remembered for her later roles in TV comedies such as Doris O'Neill in Gavin & Stacey and Elsie "Mam" Hepplewhite in High Hopes.

Early life Born in Swansea, as a child she wanted to be a nurse or vet, but she could not stand the sight of blood. She occasionally acted at school with her sister Mair. Spotted while acting in a chapel pageant competition, after an audition John trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, graduating in 1950.

Career Margaret John's first public appearances were at Swansea's Grand Theatre, where she had small parts in weekly repertoire. Not being a fluent Welsh speaker, she found Welsh language productions challenging.

In September 2009, John appeared in the graphic short film Cow by director Peter Watkins Hughes warning of the dangers of texting while driving.

Also in 2009, John appeared in The Vagina Monologues; prior to that, she had not been on stage since the 1980s, when she appeared in Medea at London's Young Vic Theatre, with Dame Eileen Atkins. John subsequently appeared on stage in Calendar Girls at the Wales Millennium Centre from 27 July to 7 August 2010 and at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, from 9 to 14 August 2010, alongside fellow Welsh actress Ruth Madoc. She also starred in the 2009 film A Bit of Tom Jones?.

In March 2010, she appeared in the BBC One Wales programme Margaret John – National Treasure, which featured clips from the last 50 years of television and special guest interviews with, among others, Ruth Jones, Eve Myles and Joanna Page. The programme was broadcast again, in tribute to John, on 5 February 2011. She also featured in a short BBC video in which she cooked Welsh cakes for St. David's Day.

Her last appearance on screen, broadcast after her death, was in Game of Thrones as Old Nan.