Diane Holland

Diane Holland
Diane Holland in Hi-de-Hi!
Born June Diane Neeltje
(1930-02-28)28 February 1930
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[1]
Died 24 January 2009(2009-01-24) (aged 78)
Godstone, Surrey, England
Occupation Actress
Years active 1966–2001
Relatives Gilda and Jimmy Perry
(sister and brother-in-law)

Diane Holland (28 February 1930 – 24 January 2009) was a British actress best known for playing Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves in Hi-de-Hi! from 1980-88.

Born in Melbourne, Australia as June Diane Neeltje, she was raised in England, where she would live for the remainder of her life. She was partly Dutch - the Holland in her professional name represented her ancestry. On arrival in Britain, the family was hampered by her father's ill-health, the after-effects of having been gassed in the first world war trenches.[2]

She trained as a dancer before being given the part of Yvonne Stewart-Hargreaves in Hi-de-Hi! (1980) by her brother-in-law, Jimmy Perry. Perry, who co-wrote Hi-de-hi!, married Holland's sister Gilda, and saw Holland's talent. She also played the recurring role of Sarah Maynard in Crossroads from 1964-70. At the peak of Hi-de-Hi! in the 1980s, Holland received a letter from British troops in the Falklands and it "just snowballed". She became a Forces' sweetheart.[3] Following Hi-de-Hi!, in 1990 she appeared in Central Television's comedy The Upper Hand. In 1992-93, she played the notoriously outrageous female magistrate, Celia Littlewood, in Grace and Favour, the sequel to Are You Being Served. One of her last appearances included The Nutcracker in Covent Garden. She also appeared in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em as a maternity hospital receptionist.

Death

Holland lived in Godstone, Surrey and died on 24 January 2009 at the age of 78 after contracting bronchial pneumonia. She never married or had children. The news of her death was not made public until more than three weeks later. She was survived by her younger sister, Mrs. Gilda Neeltje Perry, a former actress.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Obituary, Independent.co.uk; accessed 25 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Obituary for Diane Holland, theguardian.com; accessed 27 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: Diane Holland: actress on television show Hi-de-Hi!", timesonline.co.uk; accessed 25 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Hi-De-Hi!'s Yvonne dies aged 78", BBC.co.uk; accessed 25 October 2016.
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