Biography
Avis Bunnage (22 April 1923 – 4 October 1990) was an English actress of film, stage and television. She was born in Ardwick, Manchester, and attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School. She worked as a secretary and nursery teacher before making her first professional stage appearance at Chorlton Rep Theatre in 1947.
Bunnage was a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, where she created the role of Helen in A Taste of Honey. Her film roles include parts in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), The L-Shaped Room (1962), Tom Jones (1963), Gandhi (1982) and The Krays (1990), in which she played Helen. She appeared in television series including Rising Damp and In Loving Memory. She was married to Derek Orchard from 1966 until her death.
