Bella Emberg

Bella Emberg (born Sybil Dyke;[1] 16 September 1937 – 12 January 2018)[2] was an English comedy actress whose television career spanned 60 years.[3][4]

Bella Emberg
Born
Sybil Dyke

(1937-09-16)16 September 1937
Brighton, Sussex, England
Died12 January 2018(2018-01-12) (aged 80)
Morden, London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationActress

Early life and career

Emberg was born in Brighton, and grew up wanting to be an entertainer. Her professional debut was in weekly repertory in Ryde, Isle of Wight in the summer season of 1962, aged 25.[5]

She appeared in TV series such as The Benny Hill Show, Robin’s Nest, Softly, Softly, Z Cars, Bear Behaving Badly and Grange Hill. Her best-known role was in The Russ Abbot Show, where she played superheroine Blunderwoman alongside Abbot's Cooperman character.[3] The show ran from 1980 to 1996, and at its peak attracted 18 million viewers.[5]

Emberg also starred in Mel Brooks' film History of the World, Part I (1981).[6] She made a guest appearance in the revived version of The Basil Brush Show in 2006, and also featured in Doctor Who three times. In 1965 she had an uncredited appearance in Undermind, (non-speaking) and other uncredited roles in the 1970s Third Doctor serials Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Time Warrior.

Prior to her death, she completed filming for In the Long Run, a Sky One comedy created by Idris Elba, due to be broadcast in April 2018.[4] Emberg's housemate found her collapsed at their home in London's Raynes Park on 12 January 2018, aged 80. Paramedics were unable to resuscitate her and she was found to have died from alcohol toxicity.[5][7]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1965UndermindVolunteer at Flu Research Centre: "Waves of Sound" EpisodeABC Television
1970Morning StoryMrs ShawBBC television film
1978Sammy's Super T-ShirtWoman at doorUncredited
1981History of the World, Part IBaguette(The French Revolution)

References
  1. Harp, Justin (13 January 2018). "Russ Abbot Show's Blunderwoman, actress Bella Emberg, dies at age 80". DigitalSpy.
  2. Hayward, Anthony (14 January 2018). "Bella Emberg obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. "Blunderwoman star Bella Emberg dies at age 80". ITV News. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  4. "Comedy actress Bella Emberg dies". BBC News. 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  5. Jones, Stephen (12 January 2018). "Blunderwoman comedy star Bella Emberg dies. aged 80". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  6. McPhee, Rod (2017-06-11). "'I put the costume on and my boobs fell out!' Bella Emberg on being Blunderwoman". mirror. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  7. Dyer, Chris (12 January 2018). "Blunderwoman star Bella Emberg died of alcohol poisoning, inquest hears". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 7 February 2021. A post mortem examination by Dr Athanasis Vargiamidou found [Emberg] died from "alcohol toxicity". [...] Assistant Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: [...] "There is nothing in her medical notes to suggest she was a heavy drinker, police found no evidence of chronic alcohol misuse.


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