Claire Davenport

Claire Davenport
Born	Claire Bernice Davenport (1933-04-24)24 April 1933 Sale, Cheshire, England, UK
Died	London, England, UK
Occupation	British actress
Years active	1961 - 1994

Claire Davenport (24 April 1933 – 4 March 2002) was an English actress well known for her "junoesque" form and who was often cast in character roles which highlighted her large physique.

Life and career

She was born Claire Bernice Davenport on 24 April 1933 in Sale, Cheshire and began acting in 1961 with a theatre role in Caesar and Cleopatra at the Playhouse in Oxford.

Her film work includes roles in Return of the Jedi (as the Yarna d'al' Gargan, originally billed as Fat Dancer), The Return of the Pink Panther, Adventures of a Plumber's Mate, Carry On Emmannuelle, The Tempest, and The Elephant Man. On television she appeared in Remington Steele, Doctor Who, Minder, George and Mildred, Robin's Nest, Fawlty Towers and at least three episodes of On The Buses among others. She also made a cameo appearance in an episode of Mind Your Language. Among the last of her television appearances was a 1993 episode of The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer.

Death

She suffered a series of strokes in the 1990s, which stopped her working. Claire Davenport died in London on 25 February 2002 (not 4 March as often stated), aged 68, from renal failure.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	Crossplot	Wedding guest
1970	Some Will, Some Won't	Blowzy Woman
1971	On the Buses	Peggy
1973	The Best Pair of Legs in the Business	Eating lady
1975	The Return of the Pink Panther	Masseuse
1976	The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones	Mrs Bakewell	Uncredited
	Intimate Games	Fat stripper
1978	Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse	Mrs Buchanan
	Adventures of a Plumber's Mate	Belinda
	Carry On Emmannuelle	Blonde in pub
	Jubilee	First Customs Lady
1979	Birth of the Beatles	Nude
	The Tempest	Sycorax
1980	The Elephant Man	Fat Lady
1983	Return of the Jedi	Fat Dancer
	Screamtime	Mrs. Harlett	Uncredited
1989	War Requiem	Charge Sister / Britannia

Partial Television roles

Title	Year	Role
Bulldog Breed	1962	Landlady
The Rag Trade	1963	Myrtle
Doctor Who	1964	The Empress
Love Story	1964	Miss Denning
Crossroads	1964	Miss Montgomery
The Sullivan Brothers	1965	Mrs Melvin
The Baron	1966	Anna Lubovitch
Gideon's Way	1966	Helen
Ways with Words	1966	Woman in restaurant
George and the Dragon	1968	Samantha
ITV Playhouse	1968	Mrs Mosscrop
Theatre 625	1968	Mrs Bliss
Boy meets Girl	1968	Nurse Vileski
Armchair Theatre	1969	Mrs Kapodis
W. Somerset Maugham	1970	Rosa
The Other Reg Varney	1970	Various characters
Play for Today	1971	Nurse
The Misfit	1971	Boris
Queenie's Castle	1971	Glenda
Stage 2	1972	Woman
Menace	1972	Barmaid
On the Buses	1973	Mrs Webb
The Song of Songs	1973	Neighbour
Hey Brian!	1973	Woman
Pollyanna	1973	Mrs Spencer
Shoulder to Shoulder	1974	Nurse Pine
Fawlty Towers	1975	Mrs Wilson
Don't Drink The Water	1975	Bertha
Couples	1976	Mrs Bagley
George and Mildred	1976	Shop assistant
The Fuzz	1977	Miss Bullock
Adventures of a Plumber's Mate	1978	Belinda
Angels	1978	Doreen Smith
George and Mildred	1978	Gloria Rumbold
Mind Your Language	1979	Eva
The Elephant Man	1980	Fat Lady
Metal Mickey	1981	Cavewoman

External links

• Claire Davenport at the Internet Movie Database
• Davenport Profile on Avelyman.com
• http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2013/08/19/star-wars-mysteries-who-is-wiebba-wiebba/