Noel Dyson

An unsung hero remembered by Laurence Marcus

Noel Dyson, the distinguished British character actress whose career spanned over five decades, was known for her versatility which ensured a rich career of over 120 screen appearances, as well as numerous stage roles.

Born on 23 December 1916 in Newton Heath, Manchester, England, Elsie Noël Dyson had the advantage of growing up in a wealthy family who ensured she had the best start in life by sending her to the prestigious private boarding school, Roedean, in Brighton, Sussex. After attending finishing school, she followed her early interest in acting by securing a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from where she graduated in 1938 at the age of 21. Dyson began performing around the country in Rep, eventually moving to London's West End before the start of the Second World War.

When war broke out, Dyson put her career aside and volunteered as an Aid Detachment Nurse before returning to the stage at the end of hostilities. One of her earliest notices was written in The Stage newspaper in October 1947 where the critic, reviewing the farce Piccadilly Moonshine at the Gateway Theatre Club noted, 'Noel Dyson gives a comic, almost Dickensian performance as Millicent Frisby and underlines every opportunity with skilful wit.' She continued to tour the country appearing as far afield as Liverpool to Surrey. By 1949, The Stage were singing her praises once again when she appeared in Top Secret at The Winter Garden.

It wasn’t long before she transitioned to screen work, and in 1949, Dyson made her television debut in a 90-minute BBC production titled The Guinea Pig which was an adaption of a contemporary stage play about a shop-keeper's son who wins a scholarship to a public school. By the end of the next decade Noel Dyson was credited with almost 50 television and film appearances.

As the 1960s began, Dyson was cast in a new soap opera for Granada Television for what was initially only expected to be a 13-episode run. But when Coronation Street proved to be a tremendous success it was extended indefinitely. Dyson, who played Ida Barlow, the matriarch of the Barlow family, married to Frank Barlow and mother to Ken and David Barlow, would travel from London to Manchester for filming. She decided, for that reason, and for not wanting to be typecast, to not extend her contract beyond what she had signed for, which included Granada's option to an extension beyond the initial 13-weeks should Coronation Street prove a success. She found herself committed to the series for almost a year. 

Her departure, after 41 episodes was not a natural exit and proved a rather unexpected and shocking one for viewers. Ida Barlow was killed off-screen, having been run over by a bus. It was a rather abrupt and tragic end to her character.

For the rest of the 1960s, Noel Dyson found no shortage of roles. She briefly stood in for Jessie Matthews in the BBC radio drama Mrs Dale's Diary in 1963 and turned up regularly on TV appearing in shows such as Z Cars, No Hiding Place, The Odd Man, Gideon's Way, Dixon of Dock Green, The First Lady, Meet the Wife and Hark at Barker. The latter of these being comedies it was no surprise when she was cast in her next regular role in 1968.

Father, Dear Father starred Patrick Cargill as Patrick Glover, a single parent to two teenage girls who tries, and usually fails to run a chaotic household. Noel Dyson played the family's live-in maid, Matilda Harris, affectionately known as "Nanny". She stayed with the series throughout its run becoming an integral part of the family and being the only one who seemed unaffected by the surrounding chaos. The series ran for 5 years and Dyson appeared in 45 episodes. In 1978, she followed Cargill to Australia when the series was revived under the imaginative titled of Father, Dear Father in Australia. 

The following year, Noel Dyson starred in her last long running series, playing alongside Arthur Lowe in the sitcom Potter. Dyson played the part of Aileen Potter, the long-suffering wife of a busybody who spends his retirement interfering in other people's business. Potter ran for three series and despite Lowe's death between series 2 and 3, Dyson appeared throughout the entire run which finished in 1983. For the rest of her career, Dyson continued to make guest appearances in many top-rated shows such as The Lifes and Loves of a She-Devil, C.A.T.S. Eyes, Never the Twain, Prime Suspect (playing Helen Mirren's mother), Casualty and, in her final screen appearance in 1995, Heartbeat. 

Noel Dyson was married twice, firstly to actor Kenneth Edwards (1901 - 1970) and secondly to schoolteacher Major Harry Judge who had been an Army reconnaissance officer responsible for liberating numerous Dutch towns in the spring of 1945.

Noel Dyson passed away on 9 February 1986, after succumbing to cancer at the age of 78 years. She left behind a legacy that continues to be admired. Though not as widely remembered as some of her contemporaries, her body of work remains an important part of British television and film history. Her versatility as a character actress made her an enduring favourite. Throughout her long career, Dyson was known for her professionalism, her warm but authoritative manner, and her ability to transform into a wide range of characters.