Anna Wing

Anna Wing MBE
Wing in 2007
Born	(1914-10-30)30 October 1914 Hackney, East London, England
Died	7 July 2013(2013-07-07) (aged 98) Hackney, East London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1938–2012
Television	EastEnders
Spouse	Peter Davey ​ ​ (m. 1944; div. 1950)​
Partner	Philip O'Connor (1953–1960)
Children	2, including Mark Wing-Davey
Relatives	Anita Carey (daughter-in-law)

Anna Wing MBE (30 October 1914 – 7 July 2013) was an English actress who had a long career in television and theatre, known for portraying the role of Beale family matriarch Lou Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Early life

Wing was born in Hackney, London, and started out as an artist's model and later, during the Second World War, worked in East End hospitals. At age 30, she married the actor Peter Davey, by whom she had a son, actor-director Mark Wing-Davey, but the marriage ended in divorce after six years. Her seven years as the lover of Philip O'Connor, a surrealist writer and contemporary of Stephen Spender and Laurie Lee, saw her spend some time as a nursery teacher in West London. With her new lover she had a second son, Jon O'Connor.

Career

Wing is best known for portraying the Beale and Fowler family matriarch Lou Beale on EastEnders from the show's inception in February 1985, until the character was killed off in July 1988. She quit her role in the hit show as she was unhappy with the direction in which it was going, but later reflected that it may not have been the right decision.

Wing studied at the Croydon School of Acting in London, and appeared in London repertory theatre for over 65 years. She also performed in Canada at the Stratford Festival in 1967.

She made an earlier soap appearance in Market in Honey Lane for ATV in the late 1960s. She also had a role in the Doctor Who serial "Kinda" in 1982. Other TV credits include The Witches and the Grinnygog, Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Play for Today and in 1976 in The Sweeney episode On the Run in which she played Mrs. Haldane. Her film career included roles in Billy Liar (1963), Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969), The 14 (1973) which also featured her future EastEnders co-star June Brown, A Doll's House starring Jane Fonda (1973), Providence (1977), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978), The Ploughman's Lunch (1983), and 3 British horror films – Full Circle (1977), The Godsend (1980) and Xtro (1983), in which her character was killed by a life-size Action Man doll.

After leaving EastEnders, Wing continued to work on stage, playing the medium, Madame Arcati, in Noël Coward's comedy Blithe Spirit. She also had numerous television roles, including parts in Casualty, Doctors, French and Saunders, The Bill, as well as adding her vocal talents to the animated series Fungus the Bogeyman. Her later film credits included The Calcium Kid with Orlando Bloom, Tooth (2004), in which she played an ancient fairy), and Grandma in the 2007 film Son of Rambow.

In May 2005, she attended the British Soap Awards, where she presented June Brown with a lifetime achievement award for Brown's portrayal of Dot Branning in EastEnders. In 2005, by now aged 91, Wing formed part of the cast of the short film Ex Memoria, directed by Josh Appignanesi and produced by Oscar-winning producer Mia Bays. The short film tells of an elderly woman's struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Ex Memoria was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Short in 2006.

In 2009, aged 94, she worked on a short film, Numbers Up, from Guildhall Pictures. The same year Wing was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for her services to drama and charity.

In April 2012, she appeared in the music video for Quarrel's 'Is It Cool?'.

Later life and death

Wing was a member of the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers, and supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

She attended the funeral of her EastEnders on-screen daughter Wendy Richard on 9 March 2009.

Wing died in her sleep on 7 July 2013, aged 98. The episode of EastEnders which was broadcast the following day, was dedicated to her memory and was immediately followed by a 90-second long BBC News report, the headlines of which included her death. Her funeral took place in London. Adam Woodyatt was amongst the mourners.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1938	Hyacinth Halvey	Crowd Member	Television film
1939	Smiling at Grief	Hilda	Television film
1957	The Power and the Glory	Peasant Woman	Television film
1960	Soldier, Soldier	Mrs. Scuffham	Television film
1961	The Bun House Wedding	Mrs. Montgomery	Television film
	One Way Pendulum	Mrs. Gantry	Television film
1962	The Ghost Sonata	The Cook	Television film
1963	Billy Liar	Mrs. Crabtree
1969	Two Gentlemen Sharing	Woman Neighbour
1971	The Blood on Satan's Claw	Villager
1972	A Day Out	Landlady	Television film
1973	A Doll's House	Anne Marie
	The 14	Mrs. Booth
1975	The Naked Civil Servant	Old Lady	Television film
1976	The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd	Grandmother	Television film
1977	Providence	Karen
	Full Circle	Mrs. Flood
1978	The Hound of the Baskervilles	Sausage and Mash Lady
1980	The Godsend	Mrs. Taverner
	High Rise Donkey	Fortune-Teller
1981	The Crucible	Sarah Good	Television film
1982	Xtro	Mrs. Goodman
1983	The Ploughman's Lunch	Woman at Poetry Reading
	Runners	Old Lady at Swimming Pool
1990	A Christmas Carol	Mrs. Dilber	Television film
1991	The Grove Family	Gran	Television film
1993	Family Matters	Grandmother
2000	Occult Art	Old Lady	Short film
	Y	Elderly Lady	Short film
2001	Dog Eat Dog	Gran
2004	Tooth	Ancient Fairy
	The Calcium Kid	Vera
	Roman Road	Lady in Wheelchair	Television film
	Beat	Woman Reading Poetry	Short film
2006	Wednesday	Mrs. Furnival	Short film
	Ex Memoria	Jenny	Short film
	Dead Rich	Nana	Short film
2007	Son of Rambow	Grandma
	Call Me Harry	Mrs. Holmes	Short film
	Little Things	Grande Dame	Short film
2009	Numbers Up	Jean Parker

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	The Man in Armour	Maud Fogey	Episode: "Teaching Teacher"
1956	Nom-de-Plume	Old Woman	Episode: "The Man Who Made People"
1959	ITV Play of the Week	Sister Inez	Episode: "The Bridge of San Luis Rey"
	ITV Television Playhouse	Mrs. Waldron	Episode: "The Paraguayan Harp"
	World Theatre	Citizen	Episode: "Julius Caesar"
	Charlesworth	Gladys	Episode: "And Violence Towards None"
		Mrs. Snider	Episode: "Further Developments"
1960	ITV Play of the Week	Mrs. Flyte	Episode: "The Accomplices"
	The Herries Chronicles	Innkeeper	Recurring role; 2 episodes
1962	Z-Cars	Mrs. Jones	Episode: "Four of a Kind"
	BBC Sunday-Night Play	Mrs. Johnson	Episode: "Charlie Was My Darling"
	The Big Pull	Mrs. Bruton	Episode: "Episode 5"
	Silent Evidence	Mrs. Maxwell	Episode: "Simple Arithmetic"
1963	Dixon of Dock Green	Mrs. Porter	Episode: "The Trouble with Spokey"
	Walter and Connie		Episode: "Walter and the Parcel"
	Jezebel ex UK	Mrs. Fellows	Episode: "Love and Let Love"
	BBC Sunday-Night Play	Mrs. Delt	Episode: "A Suitable Case for Treatment"
		Landlady	Episode: "The Full Chatter"
	Maupassant	Mere Paurnelle	Episode: "War"
1964	ITV Play of the Week	Mrs. Arthur	Episode: "The Wife of Knightsbridge"
	The Plane Makers	Molly Ingram	Episode: "The Homecoming"
	Detective	Annie Croft	Episode: "The Drawing"
	Dixon of Dock Green	Dolly Nelson	Episode: "The Night Man"
	Television Club	Auntie May	Episode: "The Brent Family: Auntie May Remembers"
	Compact	Mrs. Duckett	Episode: "Who Is Eddie Pritchard?"
1965	A Man Called Harry Brent	Mrs. Green	Episode: "The Pen"
	The Wednesday Play	Nannie	Episode: "And Did Those Feet?"
		Woman at Accident	Episode: "Up the Junction"
	Dixon of Dock Green	Landlady	Episode: "Witness Summons"
1966	ITV Play of the Week	Mother	Episode: "Nelson: A Study in Miniature"
	Hugh and I		Recurring role; 2 episodes
	Redcap	Mrs. Joy	Episode: "The Proper Charlie"
1967	Thirty-Minute Theatre	Flora	Episode: "Teeth"
	Theatre 625	Mrs. Stokes	Episode: "A Night Out"
	Beggar My Neighbour	Mrs. Crogan	Episode: "At Home on Saturday"
1967–1969	Market in Honey Lane		Recurring role
1968	Z-Cars	Charlady	Episode: "Two's a Pair: Part 1"
	One Pair of Eyes	Actress	Episode: "Michael Frayn: As When in a Dream We Discover We Can Fly"
1969	Armchair Theatre	Jan's Mother	Episode: "The Story-Teller"
	Public Eye	Mrs. Flockton	Episode: "Case for the Defence"
1970	ITV Playhouse	Mrs. "Clickers"	Episode: "The Bridesmaid"
	For the Love of Ada	Gertie Thomas	Episode: "The Wedding"
	Happy Ever After	Mrs. Maer	Episode: "The Marriage Vow"
1971	Mr Digby Darling	Peggy	Episode: "Contest"
	Brett	Mrs. Dutton	Episode: "Welcome to the City"
	Fathers and Sons	Arina Bazarov	Miniseries; 2 episodes
	Suspicion	Mrs. Venegar	Episode: "I Can See Your Lips Move"
1972	Owen, M.D.	Mrs. Goff	Episode: "Ancient Enemy"
	Crime of Passion	Madame Calchas	Episode: "Jean-Paul"
	Love and Mr Lewisham	Mrs. Munday	Episode: "Part 1"
	General Hospital	Cissie Richards	Recurring role; 2 episodes
	Z-Cars	Mrs. Islip	Episode: "Access"
1973	Pardon My Genie	Woman on Train	Episode: "Your Present Is Requested"
	Jane Eyre	Hannah	Episode: "Part 5"
1974	Dial M for Murder	Becasine	Episode: "The Vineyard"
	Microbes and Men	Senior Midwife	Episode: "The Invisible Enemy"
	Father Brown	Mrs. Deveraux	Episode: "The Hammer of God"
	Z-Cars	Beryl Wells	Episode: "Pursuit"
	Second City Firsts	Annie	Episode: "Silence"
1975	Churchill's People	Margaret	Episode: "Shouts and Murmurs"
	Within These Walls	Vi Beswick	Episode: "Skivers"
	Wodehouse Playhouse	Mrs. Barnaby	Episode: "The Truth About George"
	Edward the Seventh	Countrywoman	Episode: "The Invisible Queen"
	Play for Today	Mrs. Goodwin	Episode: "Through the Night"
1976	The Sweeney	Mrs. Haldane	Episode: "On the Run"
1977	Van der Valk	Concierge	Episode: "Face Value"
	The Children of the New Forest	Cook	Episode: "Part 1"
	Anna Karenina	Agafea	Miniseries; 4 episodes
1978	The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie	Mrs. Delbert	Episode: "Newcastle"
	Out	Launderette Woman	Episode: "Maybe He'll Bring Back a Geisha"
1978–1979	Maggie and Her	Mrs. Young	Recurring role; 3 episodes
1979	BBC2 Play of the Week	Mrs. Proctor	Episode: "On Giant's Shoulders"
	Murder at the Wedding	Great Aunt May	Miniseries; 3 episodes
	Penmarric	Nanny	Recurring role; 3 episodes
1980	Company and Co	Anna	Episode: "Watch the Birdie"
	The History of Mr Polly	Female Mourner	Episode: "Episode 2"
	The Enigma Files	Woman at Bus Stop	Episode: "Billy - The Late and Great"
	Oh Happy Band!	Second Nun	Episode: "Home Cure"
1981	Sons and Lovers	Mrs. Bower	Episode: "Episode 1"
	Maybury	Marilyn Jensen	Episode: "Eddie"
1982	Doctor Who	Anatta	Episode: "Kinda: Part One"
	The Woman in White	Mrs. Clements	Miniseries; 3 episodes
	ITV Playhouse	Mother	Episode: "Skirmishes"
	Smiley's People	Woman at Westbourne Terrace	Episode: "The General's Big Fish"
	Sink or Swim	Mrs. Frost	Episode: "Making Amends"
	The Chinese Detective	Miss Alice Walden	Episode: "Secret State"
	Sorry!	Elsie	Episode: "Spellbound"
1983	Crown Court	Mrs. Ballantyne	Episode: "Fighting Fire with Fire: Part 1"
	Father's Day	Jumble Lady	Episode: "Nothing to Do with Me"
	The Old Men at the Zoo	Mrs. Leacock	Miniseries; 2 episodes
	Give Us a Break	Dolly	Episode: "Streetwise and Nancy Free"
	The Witches and the Grinnygog	Edie Possett	Miniseries; 3 episodes
1984	The Invisible Man	Mrs. Sarah Roberts	Miniseries; 2 episodes
	Comrade Dad	Gran	Episode: "Pilot"
1985	Summer Season	Mrs. Butterworth	Episode: "Picture Friend"
1985–1988	EastEnders	Lou Beale	Series regular; 233 episodes
1987	Flying Lady	Mrs. Burrows	Episode: "Love and Marriage"
1989	Scene	Gran	Episode: "I Like It Here"
1992	Spatz	Lou	Episode: "The Curse of Karen"
1993	Bonjour la Classe	Mrs. Tutt	Episode: "Vive la Revolution"
1994	French and Saunders	Old Lady	Episode: "French and Saunders' Christmas Carol"
1995	Men of the World	Old Lady	Episode: "Farewell My Lovely"
1996	Casualty	Binnie	Episode: "Made in Britain"
	Jo Brand Through the Cakehole	Various	Recurring role; 4 episodes
1997	The Detectives	Old Lady	Episode: "Cardiac Arrest"
1998	Real Women	Gran	Episode: "The Hitch"
	Mike and Angelo	Auntie Jeannie	Episode: "Mister Sensible"
	Bob and Margaret	Bob's Mother	Recurring role; 6 episodes
2000	Casualty	Milly Soames	Episode: "Starting Over"
2002	Doctors	Grace Moore	Episode: "Gut Feeling"
2003	The Bill	Alice Clarke	Episode: "Without a Trace"
	The Last Detective	Mrs. Grant	Episode: "Tricia"
2004	Fungus the Bogeyman	Elderly Woman	Episode: "Episode 1"
2007	The Bill	May Harvey	Episode: "A Life of Lies"
	Silent Witness	Mrs. Binefa	Episode: "Double Dare: Part 2"

External links

• Anna Wing at IMDb
• Anna Wing, interview from The Walford Gazette
• Lou Beale, BBC character profile
• Ex Memoria (short film with Anna Wing)