Zena Walker

Zena Cecilia Walker (7 March 1934 – 24 August 2003) was an English actress in film, theatre and television.

Biography Walker was born in the Selly Oak district of Birmingham, the daughter of George Walker, a grocer, and his wife Elizabeth Louise (née Hammond). She attended St. Martin's School in Solihull, and then went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

She debuted in 1950 in the Birmingham production of Smooth-faced Gentleman

She appeared twice in the TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, the second time in the 1958 episode "Women's War".

In 1960, she starred in a TV adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel The Citadel.

Her most memorable performance is considered that of a mother in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1969), a black comedy by Peter Nichols, adapted from his stage play, about a disabled child. For her performance in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg on Broadway, Walker won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.

She was notable for playing Janet Portland the fiancee' of John Drake The Prisoner Number Six in the episode Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling of The Prisoner.

She was a memorable Ophelia in Hamlet (opposite Paul Scofield in the title role), and appeared as Her Ladyship in the film version of Ronald Harwood's play The Dresser (1983). Between 1970 and 1972, she appeared in the television series Man at the Top as Susan Lampton. She had a small role in the first series of New Tricks, playing Mrs Dubrovsky.

Walker married three times. Her first two husbands were actors: Robert Urquhart, with whom she had two children, and later Julian Holloway. Her third husband was John French, a theatrical agent, who survived her. She died in 2003 in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, aged 69, from undisclosed causes. Her last role was as the messenger in Oedipus.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1960 Danger Tomorrow Ginny 1960 Snowball Mary Donovan 1961 The Hellions Julie Hargis 1962 Emergency Joan Bell 1962 The Traitors Annette Lane 1963 Sammy Going South Aunt Jane 1963 Girl in the Headlines Mildred Birkett 1963 The Marked One Kay Mason 1964 Troubled Waters Janet Carswell 1964 Daylight Robbery 1965 Change Partners Anna Arkwright Edgar Wallace Mysteries1965 Public Eye Jean Lawford Episode: "You Have to Draw the Line Somewhere"1967 The Prisoner Janet Portland Episode: "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling"1968 Journey to the Unknown Carrie Clark Episode: "Girl of My Dreams"1969 The Last Shot You Hear Eileen Forbes 1970 The Reckoning Hilda Greening 1970 Callan Lady Lewis Episode: "Suddenly-At Home"1970 Cromwell Mrs. Cromwell 1970 Man at the Top (TV series) Susan Lampton Full series (1970-1972)1971 One of Those Things Mrs. Vinther 1971 The Chairman's Wife Margaret Howe Short1973 Country Matters Mrs. Davenport Episode: ″The Four Beauties″1976 The Likely Lads Laura Windsor 1983 The Dresser Her Ladyship 1993 Poirot Vanda Chevenix Episode: "Dead Man's Mirror"