Diane Holland

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 trenches during World War 1.[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.[1] At the peak of Hi-de-Hi! in the 1980s, Holland received a letter from British troops in the Falklands and it "just snowballed", with her becoming a Forces' sweetheart.[3]

Following the end of 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.[4]

Holland lived in Godstone, in the county of Surrey, where she died on 24 January 2009 at the age of 78 after contracting bronchial pneumonia. Her body was buried in the graveyard of St. Nicholas' Church in Godstone.[5] 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.[6]

• Diane Holland on IMDb