Lily Butterfield. Madge Bishop lookalike. Where's Harold then?
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress who played w:c:emmerdale:Lily Butterfield from 2006 to 2009. Anne is famous for playing w:c:emmerdale:Madge Bishop in Aussie soap w:c:emmerdale:Neighbours.
Biography[]
Born 30th December 1942 in Melbourne, Australia. Her grandparents were Irish immigrants to Australia.
Due to her affinity with Ireland, and her Irish ancestry, Anne relocated to Galway, Ireland in 1992.
Pre Emmerdale[]
Anne Charleston as matriarch, Madge Bishop in Neighbours.
Anne's many television appearances include: Night of the Ding-Dong (1961); Burst of Summer (1961); two characters in two episodes of Consider Your Verdict (1961, 1964); Everyman (1964); The Tower (1965); several characters in several episodes of the Australian crime series, Homicide (twice in 1965; twice in 1966; 1967; three in 1969; 1971; 1972; 1973); Otherwise Engaged (1965); Love and War (1967); a two-part story of Australian spy series, Hunter (1968); Contrabandits (1968); The Long Arm (1970); Number '96 (1972); Bellbird (1972); two characters in two episodes of Matlock Police (1972; 1973); several characters in several episidoes of Division 4 (1970; twice in 1971; 1972; twice in 1974).
Anne played several recurring characters in Prisoner: Cell Block H. First as Lorraine Watkins in several episodes (1979); a police woman in three episodes (1983); and then a more regular role of Deidre Kean (1984).
Anne is most famous for her role as feisty Madge Bishop (also known as Madge Mitchell and Madge Ramsay) in the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 1986 to 1992. Anne's initial departure was due to her emigrating to Ireland. Anne's character Madge thought she had lost her husband Harold Bishop when he was washed out to sea in 1991 so Madge left for Brisbane in 1992. However, she was persuaded to return to the show in 1996 when it was revealed that Harold had been picked up by a sea trawler, survived and had amnesia. Madge was written as more of a gullible soft character. Disappointed in the change of direction for her character, Anne left in 2001.
Anne as Madge in Neighbours.
Further television appearances continued The Dame Edna Experience (1989); A Bit of Fry and Laurie (1995); as Dossa Bailey, one half of the titular characters in the made by Granada Australia for BBC comedy series, Dossa and Joe (2002).
Anne would continue working in Britain, appearing as regular character, Betty Waddell in the second attempt of the revival of soap, Crossroads (2003).
Emmerdale[]
After being cast as Edna Birch's estranged sister, Lily Butterfield for three episodes, Anne's first taping day was on 25th September 2006. The character's first televised appearance was on 3rd November 2006 (episode 4508) until 6th November 2006 (episode 4510).
Anne would reappear as Lily on 18th October 2007 (episode 4809), continuing for four months until 22nd January 2008 (episode 4892/4893). She would then return several months later on 7th March 2008 (episode 4932) until the character was written out and left the village on 3rd August 2009 (episode 5363).
After Emmerdale[]
More television appearance included: Holby City (2011); Justin's House (2007); an episode of the Prisoner Cell Block H remake, Wentworth (2013); Doctors (2013).
To help celebrate the soap's 30th Anniversary, Anne returned to Neighbours as Harold's hallucinatory image of Madge for several episodes in 2015.
Whether Anne has expressed a return to Emmerdale is unknown but it seems unlikely as her character Lily's sister Edna died in 2015 after actress Shirley Stelfox died.
Sources[]
Galvin, Ciara. 16 October 2012. The Mayo News. 'Interview Anne Charleston on Neighbours, Steel Magnolias and life in the west'. http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16342:interview-anne-charleston-on-neighbours-steel-magnolias-and-life-in-the-west&catid=52:going-out&Itemid=146 Accessed: 6 December 2015.
IMDb - Anne Charleston. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153188/ Accessed: 6 December 2015.