Moyra Fraser

Moyra Fraser (3 December 1923 – 13 December 2009) was an Australian-born English actress and ballet dancer, who is best known for playing Penny in the long-running sitcom As Time Goes By.

Early life Moyra Fraser was born in Sydney, Australia to John Newton Mappin Fraser, a director of Mappin & Webb, and Vera Eleanor (née Beardshaw) on 3 December 1923. Her sister was the actress Shelagh Fraser. Her family emigrated to the United Kingdom in June 1924. She was educated at St Christopher's, Kingswood, and Eversfield, Sutton. and creating the role of Hope in The Quest (Ashton/Walton after Spenser). She left the company to play the principal role in Song of Norway at the Palace Theatre, London. The Country Wife followed at the same theatre. She was part of the Old Vic Company in 1959–60, appearing in As You Like It, The Double Dealer and The Merry Wives of Windsor. She appeared in the film Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968) and starred in The Boy Friend (1971). Fraser's television career began in the 1960s, and she appeared on The Benny Hill Show, ITV Playhouse; Hancock (1963 TV series), as Maggie, in 'The Man on the Corner'; and an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973.

From 1985 to 1986, Fraser played Annie Jolly in From the Top appearing in a total of 12 episodes. She first played Penny, the sister of Jean's first husband, in 1993, on As Time Goes By. She continued with the part until the programme's final episode in 2005. During the show's run, Fraser appeared in other programmes including Rumpole of the Bailey and Jeeves and Wooster.

Personal life Fraser married author Douglas Sutherland, with whom she had a daughter, and Roger Lubbock, by whom she had two sons.

Selected filmography Madeleine (1950) – Highland Dancer The Dancing Years (1950) – Minor Role (uncredited) Moulin Rouge (1952) – Cancan Dancer (uncredited) The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955) – Ethel The V.I.P.s (1963) – Air Hostess Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968) – Mrs. McGregor Prudence and the Pill (1968) – Woman in Tea Shop The Boy Friend (1971) – Moyra Parkhill / Madame Dubonnet Take Me High (1974) – Molly Jones A Handful of Dust (1988) – Mrs. Northcote