Biography

The New Zealand-born character actress Vivienne Martin was best known for her comedy roles. She began on the London stage in 1955. Between 1960 and 1963, she played the ill-fated Nancy, a member of Fagin's gang and victim of Bill Sikes, in Oliver! at London's New Theatre. After headlining in several unsuccessful musical comedy West End productions during the mid 60's, Martin decided to refocus her career on radio and television. She had lengthy tenures on the radio sitcoms King Street Junior and It Sticks Out Half a Mile (a sequel to TV's Dad's Army (1968), with John Le Mesurier and Ian Lavender reprising their original roles as, respectively, Wilson and Pike).

Martin made her screen debut as the delinquent Arabella, daughter of bookie Clarence Fritton (Alastair Sim) in the classic screwball comedy Les belles de Saint-Trinian (1954). In an early BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (1958), she portrayed the self-absorbed and perpetually annoying younger sister Lydia Bennet. By the late 60s, Martin's recurring roles were mostly in sitcoms: comedies with a domestic setting like Sam and Janet (1967) and Keep It in the Family (1971), the school farce Please Sir! (1968) (as teacher Miss Petting), High & Dry (1985) (a television adaptation of It Sticks Out Half a Mile, with Martin, as bank secretary Miss Baxter, reprising her earlier role) and As Time Goes By (1992) (secretary Gwen Flack). She also appeared as diverse characters in sketches of The Dick Emery Show (1963).

She married London-born actor John Burgess in 1976, but they later divorced.

Martin died in early 2023 of natural causes.

- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis