Diane Holland

Diane Holland (28 February 1930 – 24 January 2009) was a British actress best known for playing Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves in Hi-de-Hi! from 1980-88.

Diane Holland
Diane Holland in Hi-de-Hi!
Born
June Diane Neeltje

(1930-02-28)28 February 1930
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[1]
Died24 January 2009(2009-01-24) (aged 78)
Godstone, Surrey, England
OccupationActress
Years active1966–2001
RelativesGilda and Jimmy Perry
(sister and brother-in-law)

Early life

Born in Melbourne, Australia as June Diane Neeltje, she was raised in England, where she would live for the remainder of her life. She was partly Dutch – the Holland in her professional name represented her ancestry. On arrival in Britain, the family was hampered by her father's ill-health, the after-effects of having been gassed in the trenches during World War 1.[2]

Career

She trained as a dancer before being given the part of Yvonne Stewart-Hargreaves in Hi-de-Hi! (1980) by her brother-in-law, Jimmy Perry. Perry, who co-wrote Hi-de-hi!, married Holland's sister Gilda, and saw Holland's talent. She also played the recurring role of Sarah Maynard in Crossroads from 1964–70.[1] At the peak of Hi-de-Hi! in the 1980s, Holland received a letter from British troops in the Falklands and it "just snowballed", with her becoming a Forces' sweetheart.[3]

Following the end of Hi-de-Hi! in 1990 she appeared in Central Television's comedy The Upper Hand. In 1992–93, she played the notoriously outrageous female magistrate, Celia Littlewood, in Grace and Favour, the sequel to Are You Being Served.

One of her last appearances included The Nutcracker in Covent Garden. She also appeared in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em as a maternity hospital receptionist.[4]

Death

Holland lived in Godstone, in the county of Surrey, where she died on 24 January 2009 at the age of 78 after contracting bronchial pneumonia. Her body was buried in the graveyard of St. Nicholas' Church in Godstone.[5] She never married or had children. The news of her death was not made public until more than three weeks later. She was survived by her younger sister, Mrs. Gilda Neeltje Perry, a former actress.[6]

gollark: I support the PPPSJEP's goals!
gollark: `404 not found`
gollark: Wow, TJ09 really broke something now!
gollark: But then how will they punish people arbitrarily for "breaking the rules"?
gollark: They really should actually document the rules they arbitrarily make up somewhere central.

References
  1. Obituary, Independent.co.uk; accessed 25 October 2016.
  2. Obituary for Diane Holland, theguardian.com; accessed 27 July 2018.
  3. "Obituary: Diane Holland: actress on television show Hi-de-Hi!", timesonline.co.uk; accessed 25 October 2016.
  4. "Some Mothers Do 'ave 'em". The Radio Times (2615). 20 December 1973. p. 51. ISSN 0033-8060. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  5. Entry for Holland in Findagrave website (2019). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33905906/diane-holland
  6. "Hi-De-Hi!'s Yvonne dies aged 78", BBC.co.uk; accessed 25 October 2016.
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