Lynda Baron

Lilian Ridgway, known professionally as Lynda Baron, was an English actress, best known for playing Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the BBC comedy series Open All Hours (1976-1985) and its sequel, Still Open All Hours (2013-2016). From 1993 to 1997, she played Auntie Mabel in BBC children's programme Come Outside and in 2006, she starred as Linda Clarke in EastEnders, before returning from 2008 to 2009 and again in 2016. Baron was born in Urmston, Lancashire. She was originally trained as a dancer at the Royal Academy of Dance. Early in her career, she appeared in repertory theatre and several West End venues. 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 on television in BBC-3 (1965), a series in the vein of That Was The Week That Was, involving some of the same performers. She also alternated with Annie Ross as the resident singer on Not So Much a Programme,