Lilian Baron, known professionally as Lynda Baron, best known for having played Auntie Mabel in the award-winning children’s series Come Outside (1993–1997), Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the BBC comedy series Open All Hours (1976–1985) and its sequel, Still Open All Hours (2013–2016) has died at the age of 82.
On Monday, her agent Donna French said:
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved client Lynda Baron. She was a wonderful actress and a great friend. Her iconic roles of Nurse Gladys in Open All Hours and Aunt Mabel in Come Outside were loved by all generations.
Renowned for her leading roles in West End musicals and dramatic productions alike, we have lost a leading light of our world. We extend our deepest condolences to her daughter Sarah, her son Morgan and all her family.”
Baron’s early television roles included small parts in Crossroads (1964), Up Pompeii (1970), Z-Cars (1971), and the British horror film Hands of the Ripper (1971).
Baron appeared in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who three times, playing Captain Wrack in Enlightenment (1983) and Val in Closing Time (2011).
Years earlier, in 1966, Baron recorded the original song “The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon” for the soundtrack of the serial The Gunfighters.
In BBC soap EastEnders, she played Linda Clarke, the mother of Jane Beale; and also appeared in Last of the Summer Wine, Dinner Ladies and Barbra Streisand’s film Yentl in 1983.
