Angela Bruce


Angela Bruce is an English actress, noted for her television work. Bruce was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire to a West Indian father and white mother. She was put up for adoption aged three, and brought up in Craghead, County Durham.
Bruce made her stage debut in 1970 in the musical Hair after she joined other members of the audience dancing on stage during a performance in Newcastle and was then signed up to appear in the show.
Bruce made her screen debut in the 1973 film Man at the Top, and on the London stage she was the second actress to play Magenta in the original production of The Rocky Horror Show, succeeding Patricia Quinn. Regular or recurring roles in television series include Sandra Ling in Angels, Janice Stubbs in Coronation Street and reporter Chrissie Stuart in Press Gang. In 1980, she appeared in "Charlie Boy", an episode of Hammer House of Horror.
Bruce is also recognisable to sci-fi fans for her performance as Brigadier Winifred Bambera in the 1989 Doctor Who serial Battlefield, her female Lister in Red Dwarf and her portrayal of Dayna Mellanby in the Blake's 7 audio drama The Syndeton Experiment.
Her other notable credits include Prime Suspect and Only Fools and Horses in which she played Councillor Murray. She also appeared as prison officer Mandy Goodhue in the popular ITV1 prison drama series Bad Girls; this was the second time she had appeared in a British women's prison drama series, having played tough inmate Bobbie in an episode of Within These Walls titled "The Good Life".
Bruce played Gina in the 2002 film Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War and in 2008 she guest-starred in the Sapphire & Steel audio dramas Second Sight and Zero. She also guest-starred in Old Wounds, a 2015 episode of Vera in which she played Beryl Doyle, mother of a murder victim found buried, having gone missing 30 years earlier. In June 2020, she appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors as Carmen Few.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1974ITV PlayhouseNellEpisode: "Lucky"
1975Within These WallsRobertaEpisode: "The Good Life"
1975–79AngelsSandra LingSeries 1–5, 34 episodes
1975Play for TodayNight NurseEpisode: "Through the Night"
1976Red Letter DayJuneEpisode: "Matchfit"
1976Rock FolliesGloriaMiniseries; 5 episodes
1978Coronation StreetJanice Stubbs12 episodes
1979Empire RoadCamilleEpisode: "Mongrels"
1980Hammer House of HorrorSarahEpisode: "Charlie Boy"
1983The WinnerMrs. RoperTV movie
1985Dempsey and MakepeaceNursing SisterEpisode: "Tequila Sunrise"
1986The PracticeRita Lunt1 episode
1987Up LineCamilla Du Bois4 episodes
1988King & CastleHeadmistressEpisode: "Class"
1988Red DwarfDeb ListerEpisode: "Parallel Universe"
1988South of the BorderMauraSeries 1, Episode 7
1989–90Press GangChrissie StuartSeries 1–2, 10 episodes
1989Doctor WhoBrigadier Winifred BamberaSerial: "Battlefield"
1989Starting OutAsbestos ExpertEpisode: "Mr. Christie"
1991SpenderMelanieEpisode: "Dance Girl Dance"
1991Doctor at the TopSheilaEpisode: "Waring Goes Private"
1991Prime SuspectHelen MastersSeries 1
1991Waiting for GodJudyEpisode: "Counselling for the Dying"
1992LovejoyDr. PilgerEpisode :"Eric of Arabia"
1992Van der ValkTony VishnuEpisode: "Still Waters"
1992Sean's ShowScriptwriterEpisode: "Blind Date"
1992Watt on EarthEve Carter1 episode
1993The Upper HandClaudiaEpisode: "Big Bad Burrows"
1993JackanoryStorytellerEpisode: "Pass-the-Story"
1994Takin' Over the AsylumIsabelMiniseries
1996The BillJessica JosephSeries 12, Episode 31
1996CasualtyJoySeries 11, Episode 11
1996Our Friends In The NorthNursing SisterEpisode: "1987"
1996Only Fools and HorsesCouncillor MurrayEpisode: "Heroes and Villains"
1996-1999The BillVarious3 episodes
1996-2015CasualtyVarious3 episodes
1997The BillAnn HarrisSeries 13, Episode 33
1997Keeping MumDoctorEpisode: "The Accident"
1999Big Bad WorldMiss Sayer2 episodes
2000–01The Ghost HunterMrs. JustinSeries 1–2, 8 episodes
2000Hero to ZeroMrs. Vaughn2 episodes
2000EastEndersD.S. Langford6 episodes
2001Silent WitnessAlice Michaels2 episodes
2001-2020Holby CityVarious6 episodes
2002My FamilyServerEpisode: "Misery"
2002-2020DoctorsVarious6 episodes
2003MessiahDr. DugdaleSeries 2, Episodes 1 & 2
2004Doctors and NursesInspectorEpisode: "Seeing Stars"
2005Holby CityBryony MillerSeries 7, Episode 12
2005DoctorsAngela DevonSeries 7, Episode 23
2005Waking the DeadJudgeEpisode: "Straw Dog: Part 1"
2005Mary Seacole: The Real Angel of CrimeaMary SeacoleTV movie
2006Bad GirlsMandy Goodhue11 episodes
2007SpooksRuth ChambersEpisode: "The Broadcast"
2009DoctorsMrs. GilbertSeries 10, Episode 189
2015VeraBeryl DoyleEpisode: "Old Wounds"
2016DoctorsPatricia TelfordSeries 17, Episode 163
2016HimFranMiniseries, all 3 episodes
2017Death in ParadiseErnestine Gray1 episode
2025The Iris AffairMeski4 episodes

Audio Drama