Katherine Parr (actress)

Katherine Parr
Born	Lily Elizabeth Tindal (1921-02-05)5 February 1921 London, England
Died	December 2013 Kent, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1959–1989

Katherine Parr (5 February 1921 - December 2013 was a British actress, best known for playing the recurring role of Irene Holloway, commonly known as Auntie Irene, in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, between 1986 and 1987, when her character was killed off.

Early life

Katherine Parr was born in London, England in 1921, where she grew up, giving her a thick cockney accent.

Career

Parr's television appearances date back to the late-1950s, when she made her screen debut as Joan Stringer on the series Emergency – Ward 10. She went on to appear in several popular television shows including Coronation Street (1963), appearing for seven episodes as Amy Preston. She also appeared in the 1963 film This Sporting Life.

She has also appeared in various other television shows including The Wednesday Play, Softly, Softly, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green and The Sweeney.

In 1986, she was cast in the role of Irene Holloway, commonly known as Auntie Irene, in the soap opera EastEnders, which had been commissioned one year before Parr's arrival on the show. Parr's role in the show was as the elderly cancer-stricken aunt of established character Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt), and it is arguably the role she is most recognized for to date. She made her final appearance on the show on the 16 June 1987, and her character died off-screen two days later.

Her last television appearance was in a 1989 episode of the police procedural drama The Bill.

Parr played Mrs Penny in the BBC radio drama David Wade - Power of Attorney which was broadcast in 1990.

Selected filmography

Film

• This Sporting Life (1963) - Mrs. Farrer
• Otley (1969) - Newsagent
• A Severed Head (1970) - Receptionist
• Doomwatch (1972) - Middle-Aged Woman

Television

• Starr and Company (1958, 16 episodes, as Rene Cremer)
• Three Golden Nobles (1959, 4 episodes, as Mother Bellinger)
• The Days of Vengeance (1960, 6 episodes, as Agnes Cranwell)
• Emergency – Ward 10 (1959, 1 episode, as Joan Stringer, 1965, 3 episodes, as Mrs. Hicks)
• Coronation Street (1967, 7 episodes, as Amy Preston)
• The Doctors (1969 - 1970, 10 episodes, as Gran Beckett)
• EastEnders (1986, 1987, 2 episodes, as Auntie Irene)

External links

• Katherine Parr at IMDb
• "Katherine Parr". BFI.