Anna Dawson

• Name — Anna Dawson • Birth Name — Anna F. Dawson • Born — 27 July 1937 • Birthplace — Bolton, Lancashire, England • Died — 27 June 2026 • Place of death — Kerikeri, New Zealand • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1964–1995

Anna F. Dawson was born in Bolton, Lancashire, on 27 July 1937. She spent part of her childhood in Tanganyika, where her father worked. Dawson attended the Elmhurst Ballet School and after training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she learned her craft by playing in repertory theatre companies. During her career, Dawson appeared in several West End musicals and theatre productions, as well as making various appearances in television shows and entertainment programmes, which included Dixon of Dock Green, The Benny Hill Show, The Generation Game, Give Us a Clue and 3-2-1. Her later roles included Bonnie in Bad Boyes and Stella Whipple in Don't Tell Father, with her final role prior to retirement being as Hyacinth Bucket's sister Violet ("the one with the Mercedes, sauna and room for a pony") in the fifth and final series of the sitcom Keeping Up Appearances in 1995. Dawson married former Black and White Minstrel Show soloist John Boulter in 1985. They subsequently moved to New Zealand where they lived in various retirement villages. They remained together until Boulter's death in December 2025. Dawson died in Kerikeri, New Zealand, on 27 June 2026, aged 88.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1964–1966 — Dixon of Dock Green — Mary Crawford — 23 episodes • 1965 — Mother Goose — Squire's daughter — TV film • 1971 — Slapstick and Old Lace — Various • Brian Rix Presents... — 7 episodes • 1973 — Z-Cars — Sheila Clowes — Episode: "Domestic" • 1975–1989 — The Benny Hill Show — Various — 9 episodes • 1976–1978, 1980 — What's on Next? • 1976–1981 — The Generation Game — Self — 4 episodes • 1977 — Hi Summer! • Larry Grayson — Bubbles — 3 episodes • Miss Jones and Son — Carole — Episode: 'Baby Talk' • 1978 — Bernie — 1 episode • 'ITV Votes for Women' 50th Anniversary Gala — One-Off special • Whodunnit? — Panellist — 5 episodes • 1978–1979, 1985 — Blankety Blank • 1978–1989 — Give Us a Clue — Guest Contestant — 8 episodes • 1978 — The Morecambe & Wise Show — Bandaged Newsreader / Lola — Christmas Special • 1978–1979 — Rings on Their Fingers — Deirdre — 4 episodes • 1979 — The Dick Emery Special — Various • 1979 — Leslie Crowther's Scrapbook • 1979, 1982, 1986 — 3-2-1 — Guest Entertainer — 10 episodes • 1980 — Robin's Nest — Atalanta — Episode: "Just an Old-Fashioned Girl" • Life Begins at Forty — Jill Simpson — 4 episodes • The Crowther Collection — Various • The Dick Emery Hour • The Allan Stewart Show • 1980–1981 — The Kenny Everett Video Show — Carla / Various — 8 episodes • 1980–1982 — Keep It in the Family — Mrs Morgan / Woman Juror — 2 episodes • 1981 — It's A Celebrity Knockout — Celebrity Contestant (Budgie) • The Jim Davidson Show — 1 episode • The Paul Squire Show • The Kenny Everett Video Cassette — Carla • 1982 — Royal Variety Performance — Introductory Sequence • The Generation Game — Guest during run-up to 1982 Wimbledon Pantomime • The Good Old Days — Guest Entertainer — 3 episodes • 1983 — All for Love — Wife — Episode: "Down at the Hydro" • 1984 — The Steam Video Company — Various — 6 episodes • 1985 — The New Statesman — Enid Vance — 6 episodes • 1986 — Crosswits — Celebrity Panellist • Rainbow — Self — Episode: "Decision Making" • The Sooty Show — Guest (Swimming Pool etc.) • Smith & Jones — Various — Episode: "Football Supporters on a Plane" • Super Gran — Wendy Whiplash — Episode: "Supergran and the World's Worst Circus" • 1988 — Bad Boyes — Bonnie — 7 episodes • 1991 — Benny Hill: Unseen — Various — TV film • 1992 — Don't Tell Father — Stella Whipple — 3 episodes • 1995 — Keeping Up Appearances — Violet — 4 episodes • Sources: