Rosemary Nicols

Rosemary Nicols (born Rosemary Claxton; 28 October 1941, in Bradford, England) is a British actress and writer, best known for starring as Annabelle Hurst in the cult classic television series Department S. She comes from a theatrical family and was the author of a 1970 book The Loving Adventures of Jaby.

Biography

She was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls in Acton, west London. She made appearances as a child actress, before studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama and went into rep at Harrogate, Frinton-on-Sea and Wimbledon amongst others. Her first London lead was in Something Nasty in the Woodshed.

In films, she had roles in The Blue Lamp (1950), The Pleasure Girls (1965) and The Mini Affair (1968), and on stage in Fiddler on the Roof with Topol. She played assistant vet Sheila Dicken in Badger's Bend in 1963, and played the title role in the 1964 BBC series Ann Veronica based on a novel by H. G. Wells. She appeared in numerous television series such as the sci-fi drama Undermind in 1965, and Man in a Suitcase in 1968 but her best-known role was as computer expert Annabelle Hurst in the television series Department S.

Later roles included Anna Sergeyevna in a 1971 adaptation of Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, and appearances in shows like The Persuaders!, General Hospital and The Cedar Tree. Nicols had her own folk music programme on TV but was soon to give up acting; she married writer Frederic Mullally and moved to Malta to concentrate on writing. Nicols later moved to the US and contributed to the 2008 documentary Wanna Watch a Television Series?.

Filmography

Television