Denise Coffey

Denise Dorothy Coffey (12 December 1936 – 24 March 2022) was an English actress, comedian, director and playwright. Early life Coffey was born in Aldershot in 1936, the only child of Dorothy (née Malcolm), and her husband, Denis Coffey, an Irishman from Cork and a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force. Coffey was born three months prematurely, weighing just two pounds. She suffered with bronchitis for much of her life. The family moved frequently during the Second World War, though eventually settled in Inverkeithing in Fife, and later in Milesmark outside Dunfermline. She attended Dunfermline High School, and growing up was a big fan of George Bernard Shaw, who influenced her later writing. Career After training at the Glasgow College of Dramatic Art (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) she began a career in repertory at the Gateway Theatre in Edinburgh, then moved to the Palladium Theatre there. She appeared in as many as 12 shows a week, many with quick changes. Coffey created a satire of a radical radio talk show called Scope. The presenter was so impressed that he hired her as an interviewer for the BBC in Edinburgh, where she remained for three years. In the early 1960's, she left Scotland behind her, and began working as a character actress in London's West End.