Patricia Amy Rowlands (19 January 1931 – 22 January 2005)^[1][2] was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in theCarry On films series, as Betty Lewis in theITV Thames sitcomBless This House, and as Alice Meredith in theYorkshire Television sitcomHallelujah!.^[3][4]

Patsy Rowlands
Born	Patricia Amy Rowlands (1931-01-19)19 January 1931 Palmers Green,Middlesex, UK
Died	22 January 2005(2005-01-22) (aged 74) Hove,East Sussex, UK
Years active	1959–2001
Television	Bless This House Hallelujah!
Spouse	Malcolm Sircom ​ ​ (m. 1962;div. 1967)​
Children	1

Rowlands was born in Palmers Green, Middlesex and attended the Sacred Heartconvent school at Whetstone.^[5] While attending, anelocution teacher spotted her potential and encouraged her to pursue a career in acting. She applied for theGuildhall School of Music and Drama and won a scholarship aged 15.^[2]

Rowlands began her career in the chorus ofAnnie Get Your Gun, followed by a summer season inTorquay. She then spent several years with thePlayers' Theatre in London, before making herWest End theatre debut inSandy Wilson's musicalValmouth.^[1][6]

Rowlands's other West End credits includedSemi-Detached withLaurence Olivier and directed byTony Richardson (with whom she was to work often, appearing in his 1963 filmTom Jones),Shut Your Eyes and Think of England, withDonald Sinden,The Seagull andBen Travers'sThe Bed Before Yesterday, both directed byLindsay Anderson andWhen We Are Married forRonald Eyre.^[7][5] She also starred inCameron Mackintosh's revival ofOliver! in the mid-1990s, as well as playing Jack's mother in the original London cast of Sondheim'sInto the Woods.^[6] Her final appearance was as Mrs Pearce in theNational Theatre's production ofMy Fair Lady which also starredJonathan Pryce.^[8]

Rowlands also appeared quite frequently on television early in her career. Amongst the various series in which she appeared, were several appearances inGert and Daisy (1959) as Bonnie, as well as appearing in 2 episodes ofDanger Man (as different, unrelated characters) and inThe Avengers episode "Love All".^[9][10][11] Rowlands played the role of a love interest for George called "Beryl" in the 1979 Christmas special and final episode ofGeorge and Mildred

Rowlands made her debut in theCarry On films inCarry On Again Doctor in 1969 and soon became a regular member of the repertory company of performers, usually playing the dowdy, put-upon wife or the long-suffering secretary.^[4] Between 1969 and 1975 she appeared in nine of the films in increasingly large roles, appearing inCarry On Again Doctor,Carry On Loving,Carry On Henry,Carry On Matron,Carry On Abroad andCarry On Dick - more substantial roles includeCarry On at Your Convenience,Carry On Girls andCarry On Behind.^[12]

On 7 March 1971, Rowlands starred in a single episode(You've Really Landed Me In It This Time) of the ITV sitcomDoctor at Large, withBarry Evans andGeorge Layton, as a nymphomaniac secretary, the kind of role she had played inCarry On Loving.^[13][14]

From 1971 to 1976, Rowlands played Betty, the feckless neighbour in the ITV sitcomBless This House, which starred fellowCarry On starSid James.^[12] Her other television credits at this time included a couple of episodes ofFor the Love of Ada, playing a pregnant woman in the maternity ward also appearances with comedians such asLes Dawson andDick Emery. In the early 1980s, she appeared withThora Hird in the sitcomHallelujah!, in which they played an aunt and niece inThe Salvation Army. In 1991, she appeared in an episode ofZorro filmed inMadrid, Spain.^[15][16]

Rowlands also appeared in screen versions of two ofFrances Hodgson Burnett's books: the television filmLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980), as Mrs. Dibble, and a TV dramatisation ofA Little Princess (1986) as the baker's wife.^[17][18]

Towards the end of her life, Rowlands appeared in several revivals of majormusicals such asOliver! at theLondon Palladium andMy Fair Lady at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane.^[19]

Rowlands later television credits includeThe Cazalets,The Canterbury Tales,The Cater Street Hangman,Get Well Soon,Vanity Fair,Murder Most English, andBottom for theBBC. In 2002, she was a guest on the paranormal seriesMost Haunted. Rowlands took part in several DVD audio commentaries along with other surviving stars of theCarry On films in 2003.^[20]

Rowlands developedbreast cancer, abandoned her plans to become an acting teacher and retired. She died of the disease in anEast Sussexhospice, aged 74.^[5]

• Patsy Rowlands atIMDb
• Obituary inThe Guardian
• Obituary inThe Independent