Caroline Blakiston

Caroline Blakiston
Born Caroline G. Blakiston[1]
(1933-02-13) 13 February 1933
Chelsea, London, England[1]
Occupation Actress
Years active 1961–present
Spouse(s) Russell Hunter
(m. 1970; div. 19??)
Children 2

Caroline Blakiston (born 13 February 1933) is an English actress. She is best known in her native United Kingdom for her role in the television comedy series Brass, and to international audiences as Mon Mothma in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi.

Early life

Blakiston was born in London and attended RADA.

Career

In the 1960s, Blakiston appeared in three episodes of The Avengers as well a number of ITC productions such as The Saint and the 1969 Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) episode "Never Trust a Ghost". She appeared to great acclaim as Marjorie Ferrar in the BBC Television adaptation of Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga in 1967. In 1977 she appeared in Raffles as Lady Paulton, and also in Murder Most English as Helen Carobleat.

In 1983, Blakiston played the wayward character of Lady Patience Hardacre in the satirical Granada television series Brass, which ran for three series. She portrayed Mon Mothma, the primary political leader of the Rebel Alliance in the 1983 Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi. The 1980s saw Blakiston in a lead role as head of a special unit within British intelligence, opposite Alec McCowen in Mr. Palfrey of Westminster.

In 1986, Blakiston played the villain Bess Sedgwick opposite Joan Hickson's Miss Marple, in the episode "At Bertram's Hotel" of the BBC's Miss Marple series. She also appeared as Lionel Hardcastle's ex-wife in an episode of As Time Goes By. She and Geoffrey Palmer (Lionel) had previously played estranged spouses a decade earlier in Carla Lane's series The Last Song.

Since 2015, Blakiston has played Aunt Agatha in the BBC adaptation Poldark.

Personal life

In 1970, Blakiston married the actor Russell Hunter after they had played together in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park. They had a son and a daughter together, but later divorced.[2]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1966 The Trygon Factor White nun
1969 The Magic Christian Hon Esther Grand
1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday Rowing wife
1979 Yanks Golfing friend
1983 Return of the Jedi Mon Mothma
1987 The Fourth Protocol Angela Berenson

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1961–67 The Avengers Various roles 3 episodes
1962 City Beneath the Sea Dr Ann Boyd 7 episodes
1966 The Saint Eleanor Bastion Episode: "The Convenient Monster"
1967 The Forsyte Saga Marjorie Ferrar 4 episodes
1968 The Caesars Agrippina 4 episodes
1978 Les Misérables Madame Thenardier TV film
1979 Prince Regent Lady Frances Jersey 3 episodes
1981 Private Schulz The Countess 1 episode
1983–90 Brass Lady Patience Hardacre 32 episodes
1985 Charters and Caldicott Margaret Mottram 6 episodes
1987 Miss Marple Bess Sedgwick Episode: "At Bertram's Hotel"
2006 The Line of Beauty Lady Partridge 2 episodes
2012 Holby City Kathleen Pennington Episode: "Through the Darkness"
2013 Agatha Christie's Poirot Julia Carstairs Episode: "Elephants Can Remember"
2014 Father Brown Lady Lavinia Pryde Episode: "The Pride of the Pryde"
2015–17 Poldark Aunt Agatha
2015 Casualty Frances Barrett Episode: "The Long Haul"
2016 Midsomer Murders Sylvia Lennard Episode: "The Village that Rose from the Dead"

References

  1. 1 2 "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "Russell Hunter : Obituaries". The Independent. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
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