Pam Ferris
Encyclopedia
Pamela Ann "Pam" Ferris is a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-born Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 actress. She is best known for her starring roles on television as Ma Larkin in The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama which was first broadcast between 1991 and 1993 produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV Network. It is set in an idyllic rural 1950s Kent, among a large, boisterous family. The three series were based on the novels by H. E. Bates. Originally...

, as Laura Thyme in Rosemary & Thyme
Rosemary & Thyme
Rosemary & Thyme is a British television mystery series that starred Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme. The show began on ITV in 2003, and the third series ended in August 2007...

, and for playing Miss Trunchbull in the movie Matilda. She also played the part of Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...

.

Personal life

Ferris was born in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, to Welsh parents, while her father was serving in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. Ferris spent her childhood in the Aberkenfig
Aberkenfig
Aberkenfig Aberkenfig Aberkenfig (Welsh Abercynffig, meaning mouth of the Kenfig (stream) is a village of around 2,000 people located in the County Borough of Bridgend, Wales to the north of Bridgend town.-Location:...

 area, near Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

 in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Her father, Fred Ferris, was a policeman, and her mother, Ann Perkins, worked in her family's bakery business. Her family emigrated to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 when she was thirteen. Ferris returned to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in her early twenties. In 1986, she married actor Roger Frost.

Career

Ferris performed in her younger years at the Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre (Auckland)
The Mercury Theatre is a theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, located on Mercury Lane, off Karangahape Road. It was built in 1910, by the architect Edward Bartley and is the oldest surviving theatre in Auckland. Built in the English Baroque style, it was initially known as the Kings Theatre. However,...

 in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, and later with various regional companies in the UK.

Ferris is best known for her role as motherly Ma Larkin in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 series The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama which was first broadcast between 1991 and 1993 produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV Network. It is set in an idyllic rural 1950s Kent, among a large, boisterous family. The three series were based on the novels by H. E. Bates. Originally...

, which ran from 1991 to 1993. However, she has also acted in a succession of television dramas, including: Connie, Hardwicke House
Hardwicke House
Hardwicke House was a 1987 seven-episode sitcom produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. It was so negatively received that only the first two episodes were transmitted.-Plot and episode titles :...

, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (TV serial)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was a critically acclaimed 1990 BBC television drama, directed by Beeban Kidron. Jeanette Winterson wrote the screenplay, adapting her semi-autobiographical first novel of the same name . The BBC produced and screened three episodes, running to a total of 2 hours and...

, Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...

 and Paradise Heights
The Eustace Bros.
The Eustace Bros. was a BBC drama series starring Charles Dale, Neil Morrissey and Ralf Little as three brothers from Nottingham struggling to keep their discount warehouse business afloat...

. From 2003 to 2006, she played the gardening sleuth, Laura Thyme, in Rosemary & Thyme
Rosemary & Thyme
Rosemary & Thyme is a British television mystery series that starred Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme. The show began on ITV in 2003, and the third series ended in August 2007...

.

Her roles in costume drama
Costume drama
A costume drama or period drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era.The term is usually used in the context of film and television...

s include parts in television adaptations of Middlemarch
Middlemarch
Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put aside during the final illness of Thornton Lewes, the son of her companion George Henry Lewes...

, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel by English author Anne Brontë, published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell...

, Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...

, The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story.Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive...

, Pollyanna
Pollyanna
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...

 and Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...

.

Ferris portrayed the horrid Miss Trunchbull in Matilda. Additionally, she played the nasty Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...

, and Miriam, a motherly activist in Children of Men
Children of Men
Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...

, both of which were directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.- Early life :...

.

She has also acted in productions for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

.

Her career in the theatre has included parts in Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...

 and National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...

 productions. In 2007 she played Phoebe Rice in an acclaimed revival of John Osbourne's The Entertainer
The Entertainer (play)
The Entertainer is a three act play by John Osborne, first produced in 1957. His first play, Look Back in Anger, had attracted mixed notices but a great deal of publicity. Having depicted an "angry young man" in the earlier play, Osborne wrote, at Laurence Olivier's request,about an angry middle...

 at London's Old Vic Theatre.

In 2008 she played Mrs General in an all-star cast BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 adaptation of the Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

 novel Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit is a serial novel by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....

. In 2009 she appeared in the final series of the BBC comedy Gavin and Stacey. In 2010 she made a guest appearance in the sitcom Grandma's House
Grandma's House
Grandma's House is a sitcom television series for BBC Two. Written by Simon Amstell and long term collaborator Dan Swimer, the series stars Simon Amstell playing a version of himself: a television presenter searching for meaning in his life...

.

Television series

  • The Darling Buds of May
    The Darling Buds of May
    The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama which was first broadcast between 1991 and 1993 produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV Network. It is set in an idyllic rural 1950s Kent, among a large, boisterous family. The three series were based on the novels by H. E. Bates. Originally...

     (1991–1993)
  • Connie (1985)
  • Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
    Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (TV serial)
    Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was a critically acclaimed 1990 BBC television drama, directed by Beeban Kidron. Jeanette Winterson wrote the screenplay, adapting her semi-autobiographical first novel of the same name . The BBC produced and screened three episodes, running to a total of 2 hours and...

     (1990)
  • Cluedo (1990)(1992)
  • Middlemarch
    Middlemarch (1994 TV serial)
    George Eliot's novel Middlemarch has been adapted for television twice. The most recent version in 1994 was directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Andrew Davies...

     (1994)
  • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
    The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
    The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel by English author Anne Brontë, published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell...

     (1996)
  • Where the Heart Is
    Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)
    Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...

     (1997–2000)
  • Our Mutual Friend
    Our Mutual Friend (1998 TV serial)
    Our Mutual Friend is a British television serial broadcast in 1998 and adapted from Charles Dickens's novel Our Mutual Friend .-Plot summary:For a full length summary of the book see Our Mutual Friend plot summary.-Awards:...

     (1998)
  • The Turn of the Screw
    The Turn of the Screw
    The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story.Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive...

     (1999)
  • Clocking Off
    Clocking Off
    Clocking Off is a British television drama series which ran on the BBC One network for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott...

     (2000)
  • Pollyanna
    Pollyanna
    Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...

     (2003)
  • Rosemary & Thyme
    Rosemary & Thyme
    Rosemary & Thyme is a British television mystery series that starred Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme. The show began on ITV in 2003, and the third series ended in August 2007...

     (2003–2006)
  • Jane Eyre (2006)
  • Little Dorrit
    Little Dorrit (TV serial)
    Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857....

     (2008)
  • Gavin & Stacey
    Gavin & Stacey
    Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...

     (2009)
  • Midsomer Murders
    Midsomer Murders
    Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...

     - Echoes of the Dead (2011)
  • Luther
    Luther (TV series)
    Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as the title character Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. A first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC One from 4 May to 8 June 2010. The second series of four episodes was shown on BBC One in summer 2011...

     (2011)

Films

  • Meantime
    Meantime (film)
    Meantime is a 1983 film directed by Mike Leigh, produced by Central Television for Channel 4. It was shown at the London Film Festival in 1983 and on Channel 4 a few weeks later, on 1 December...

     (1984)
  • Muppet Treasure Island (1993)
  • Matilda (1996)
  • Death to Smoochy
    Death to Smoochy
    Death to Smoochy is a 2002 American dark comedy film directed by and starring Danny DeVito and starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, and Jon Stewart.-Plot:...

     (2002)
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...

     (2004)
  • Children of Men
    Children of Men
    Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...

     (2006)
  • Nativity!
    Nativity (film)
    Nativity! is a British comedy directed by Debbie Isitt and released on 27 November 2009. The film stars Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen. The film is written by its director, Debbie Isitt, but is also partially improvised....

     (2009)
  • Telstar
    Telstar (film)
    Telstar is a film adaptation of James Hicks' play of the same name. It stars Con O'Neill as Joe Meek and Kevin Spacey as Meek's business advisor, Major Banks...

     (2009)
  • Malice in Wonderland
    Malice in Wonderland (2009 film)
    Malice In Wonderland is a 2009 British fantasy adventure film directed by Simon Fellows and written by Jayson Rothwell. It is roughly based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.The film was released on DVD in the UK on February 8, 2010....

     (2009)
  • The Raven (2012)

External links

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