Barbara Flynn

Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray; 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series A Family at War (1970–72). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy Open All Hours (1981–85), Jill Swinburne in The Beiderbecke Trilogy (1985–88), Dr. Rose Marie in the BBC series A Very Peculiar Practice (1986–88), Judith Fitzgerald in the ITV drama Cracker (1993–95), and Mrs. Jamieson in Cranford (2007–09). In her own words, she tends to play "feisty, strong women".

Early life
Flynn was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex. Her Irish father, Dr James McMurray, was a pathologist. Her mother was Joy (or Joyce) Crawford Hurst. Flynn attended St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Hastings. She then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (where she was awarded the Gold Medal in 1968) before appearing in repertory theatre.

Television

 * A Family at War (1970–72; 40 episodes)
 * Open All Hours (1981–85)
 * Murder Most English (1977)
 * The Barchester Chronicles (1982)
 * The Beiderbecke Affair (1984)
 * The Beiderbecke Tapes (1986)
 * The Beiderbecke Connection (1988)
 * Season's Greetings (1986)(TV drama)
 * Day To Remember (1986)
 * A Very Peculiar Practice (1986 and 1988)
 * Inspector Morse: The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1987)
 * Joshua Jones (TV series) (1992)
 * Maigret (1993)
 * Chandler & Co (1994–95 series)
 * Wives and Daughters (1999)
 * Cracker (series)
 * Lorna Doone (2001)
 * The Forsyte Saga (2002)
 * Hornblower: Loyalty (2003)
 * The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2004)
 * He Knew He Was Right (2004)
 * Agatha Christie's Poirot – Death on the Nile (2004)
 * Sea of Souls (2004)
 * Malice Aforethought (2005)
 * Elizabeth I (2005)
 * The Line of Beauty (2006)
 * Cranford (2007–09)
 * The Queen: The Enemy Within (2009)
 * Just Henry (2011)
 * New Tricks (2011)
 * Midsomer murders (2011)
 * Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (2012)
 * The Borgias (2012)
 * Pat & Cabbage (2013)
 * 1864 (2014) as Queen Victoria
 * The Durrell's in Corfu (2016) as Aunt Hermione

Narration
In addition to her acting work, Flynn has provided voice-overs for numerous TV documentaries, including:


 * Body Styles (1989)
 * Time of Her Life (1993)
 * Network First (1996)
 * The Lost Gardens of Heligan (1997)
 * Deaf Century (1999)
 * The 1900 House (1999)
 * Horizon (numerous episodes, 2002 to present)
 * The 50s and 60s in Living Colour (2003)
 * George Orwell: A Life in Pictures (2003)
 * From Here to Paternity (2004)
 * The Monastery (2005)
 * The Ghost in Your Genes (2005)
 * Time Shift: Alan Plater (2005)
 * The Queen's Castle (2005)
 * Guarding the Queen (2007)
 * The Restaurant (2008)
 * Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (2011 to present)
 * Jet! When Britain Ruled the Skies (2012)
 * The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance (2013)
 * The Planners (2013)
 * Permission Impossible: Britain's Planners (2014)

Film

 * Britannia Hospital (1982)
 * King Lear (1998)
 * You Are Dead (1998)
 * Miss Potter (2006)
 * The Christmas Candle (2013)