My friend Janet Dale, who has died aged 79 of a brain tumour, was an incredibly versatile actor, her roles in 50 years of theatre and TV ranging from Shakespeare to Coronation Street, Chekhov to Casualty.
In the 1970s, Janet starred in many of Alan Ayckbourn’s plays at the Library theatre in Scarborough. In 1982, she was in the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s award-winning production of Nicholas Nickleby, a smash hit in both London and Broadway. She was nominated for the actress of the year in a new play Olivier award (1981), for her performance in Peter Whelan’s The Accrington Pals, and for the Olivier award for outstanding performance of the year in a supporting role (1986), for her role in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In 1991, she starred in Alan Bennett’s play The Madness of George III as Queen Charlotte.
