Nurse Dawson (Joan Sims) is a liability at Haven Hospital (Nurse)

      DE WOLFF, FRANCIS

      Role: Agrippa in Cleo

      Born in Southminster, Essex, in 1913, Francis De Wolff graduated from RADA and made a living playing character parts on stage and screen. His television work saw him in shows such as Disneyland, Interpol Calling, The Cheaters and running roles as Leopold of Austria in Richard the Lionheart and Jedikiah in 1970’s sci-fi series, The Tomorrow People.

      He was working in films from the 1930s, and among his credits are Flame in the Heather, Adam and Evelyne, Tom Brown’s Schooldays, The Diamond, The Smallest Show on Earth and The Three Musketeers.

      He died in 1984, aged seventy-one.

      DEAF OLD LADY

      Played by Esma Cannon

      Seen in Constable, the old lady has just diced with death and managed to cross a busy main road when along comes interfering PC Benson who shepherds her back across, much to her annoyance.

      DEAN

      Played by Donald Hewlett

      The Dean of the University of Kidburn is seen in Behind. He informs Professor Crump that he’ll be assisted on the archaeological dig by Professor Vooshka.

      DEARLOVE MODEL LAUNDRY (DRY CLEANING)

      One of their vans is seen chugging into Heathercrest National Service Depot in Sergeant carrying an extra piece of cargo in the shape of Mary Sage, the newlywed who wants to be near her hubby, who was called up on their wedding day.

      DEBRA

      Played by Sally Geeson

      With her enormous specs, Debra is Cecil Gaybody’s assistant on the television programme, Women’s Things. Seen in Girls when the TV crew arrive at the Palace Hotel in Fircombe to film the beauty contest.

      DEIRDRE

      Played by Valerie Leon

      Deirdre Philkington-Battermore is employed as Dr Nookey’s secretary in Again Doctor. With her short, low-cut dresses she’s obviously willing to satisfy her boss in every conceivable way.

      DELLING, HELEN

      Played by Carol Shelley

      Mr Delling’s wife is seen in Regardless. She returns to the family house unexpectedly, just as her husband has arranged for Delia King, from Helping Hands, to model some new clothes, including underwear, he wanted to buy his wife as a surprise anniversary present. Helen has quite a shock when she hangs her coat up in the bedroom cupboard only to find Delia, disguised as a workman, clambering out.

      DELLING, MR

      Played by Jimmy Thompson

      Appears in Regardless. A smart, dark-haired man who hires Delia King to model a set of outfits he’s bought his wife as a surprise anniversary present. When his beloved, Helen, arrives home early, Mr Delling panics and pushes Delia into the cupboard.

      DEMPSEY, MISS

      Played by Patsy Rowlands

      For years, the dowdy Miss Dempsey has been Mr Snooper’s housekeeper, taking care of his every need, so she’s understandably jealous when Sophie Bliss appears on the scene, albeit temporarily. Seen in Loving, she makes sure Sophie doesn’t get her claws into Mr Snooper by dressing seductively – or as seductive as Miss Dempsey can be – and coming out with plenty of outrageous comments about her relationship with her boss.

      DEMPSTER, JEREMY

      Role: Recruit in Sergeant

      DENBY, EILEEN

      Played by Laraine Humphrys

      One of the beauty contestants eager to win the Miss Fircombe crown in Girls.

      DENE, CARMEN

      Roles: Mexican Girl in Cowboy and Hospitality Girl in Up The Khyber

      Between the mid-1960s and early 70s, Carmen Dene was offered small parts in a handful of films, such as Genghis Khan, Cuckoo Patrol and Subterfuge, as well as television shows including The Avengers and The Benny Hill Show.

      DENTON, NURSE DOROTHY

      Played by Shirley Eaton

      A staff nurse at the Haven Hospital who’s infatuated with Dr Stephens. Seen in Nurse, she carries out her job efficiently and effectively, but when she realises her chances of romance with Stephens, who seems to like every young and pretty nurse in the entire hospital, are slim, she considers applying for a job in America. Her plans change, however, when she falls for journalist Ted York.

      DERNLEY, DOREEN

      Continuity on Camping

      She began working in films in the 1950s and established a list of credits which included such pictures as Shadow of a Man, Dracula, Cairo, Up the Junction, Get Carter, On the Buses and one of the sequels, Mutiny on the Buses.

      DESIREE, MADAME

      Played by Joan Sims

      In Dick, Madame Desiree tours the country with a group of girls entertaining at pubs, like the Old Cock Inn, as Madame Desiree et ses Oiseaux des Paradis, or Birds of Paradise. A cockney by birth, she’s adopted a French accent over the years to go with her act.

      DESK SERGEANT

      Played by Frank Forsyth

      Seen in Screaming! telling Detective Sergeant Sidney Bung that he’s wanted when Albert Potter causes mayhem at a milliner’s.

      DESMONDE, JERRY

      Role: Martin Paul in Regardless

      Born in Middlesbrough in 1908, Jerry Desmonde was always cast as the straight man, including a long-standing relationship alongside Sid Field and, later, Norman Wisdom in his films of the 1950s.

      Adroit at playing haughty roles, such as Major Willoughby in Wisdom’s Up in the World, Desmonde’s other film credits included The Perfect Woman, The Malta Story, Ramsbottom Rides Again, A Kind of Loving and Gonks Go Beat. On television he was a regular panellist on What’s My Line.

      He died in 1967, aged fifty-eight, after committing suicide.

      DEVEREAUX, ED

      Roles: Sergeant Russell in Sergeant, Alec Lawrence in Nurse, Mr Panting in Regardless, Young Officer in Cruising and Hook in Jack

      Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1925, Ed Devereaux’s greatest screen success was playing Matt Hammond, a park ranger in the television series, Skippy, about a pet kangaroo, which sold around the world.

      Prior to this success, he was a regular face in British films during the 1950s and ’60s, appearing in such pictures as The Captain’s Table, Watch Your Stern, Man in the Moon, Very Important Person, The Bargee and Money Movers. He was also regularly seen on television.

      After leaving school he undertook a succession of jobs, including taxi-driving, before breaking into radio and films in Australia. He moved to England in the early 1950s and began appearing on the stage. An accomplished singer, he had starring roles in musicals such as Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Damn Yankees, Pyjama Game as well as Variety and cabaret acts.

      He returned Down Under in 1964 but contined appearing on British screens, including an appearance in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous.

      He