Gladys Ambrose

1. Janette
2. Wendy

Played: Mrs Hindle (19 November 1979)

Gladys Ambrose took singing, dancing and voice projection lessons at the Madam Edith Clarke School in Liverpool and, in 1949, made her professional debut as a chorus dancer in the revue Joye de Vivre, at the Theatre Royal, Castleford.

She graduated to starring roles and became a favourite in pantomime as both principal girl and principal boy. While playing the Wicked Queen in the original British stage tour of Snow White, she met Dutch-born Johnny Votel (Johannes Duiveman), who was performing as an acrobat in a speciality act at the Wood Green Empire, London. The two married in 1954, Gladys learned the trapeze and the pair perfected their act at an acrobatic training school in Holland.

After her husband fell 5m during a training session, they gave up 'high flying' and moved on to foot juggling and a comedy knockabout acrobatic routine, touring the Continent and the Middle East for many years.

After Johnny retired in 1977, Gladys concentrated on her singing, working in pantomime, summer seasons, cabaret, revue, musicals and variety across the country. She formed her own company, Rose Productions, staging shows along with her daughters, Janette and Wendy, who performed a double act as the Votel Sisters.

Gladys made her television debut in a play called Match of the Day, in which Bill Dean who later played Harry Cross in Brookside was her husband. She followed it with another TV play, Bag of Yeast, with Bill Dean as her brother and Peter Kerrigan - grandfather of Justine Kerrigan, who played her granddaughter Tracy Corkhill in Brookside - as her husband.

She also played both Eddie Yeats's landlady and Mrs Hindle in Coronation Street, Mrs Barrett in The Brothers McGregor and a noisy shopper in Bread. In 1985, she joined Brookside as Julia Brogan.

Gladys's 30th anniversary in showbusiness was celebrated in 1989 by BBC Radio Merseyside in a programme titled They Call Her Their Lillie Marlene.

On or off set, she was always immaculately turned out. The Barbara Castle of Brookside. A perfectionist with never a hair out of place. Warm and generous, she was idolised by workers at Mersey TV, who saw her as a mother. Gladys reciprocated, calling them her extended family, particularly after husband Johnny died in 1996.

She battled against cancer for 4 years but she died in July 1998, aged 67.

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