Diana Darvey
| Diana Darvey | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Diana Magdalene Roloff 21 April 1945 Cheadle, Cheshire (present-day Cheadle, Greater Manchester), England, UK |
| Died | 11 April 2000 (aged 54) Redhill, Surrey, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, dancer |
| Spouse(s) | Terry Gittings (divorced) Ralph Barker (m. 1995-2000; her death) |
Diana Magdalene Roloff (21 April 1945 – 11 April 2000), known professionally as Diana Darvey, was an English actress, singer and dancer, best known for her appearances on The Benny Hill Show.
The daughter of a former Windmill Girl, Pamela Cooper, Diana was raised and educated in Bristol. Her father died when she was just two and, when she first entered show business, she adopted the surname "Davey" from her mother's second husband (the "r" was added years later).
In 1962, aged 17, Darvey made her first stage appearance as a pantomime dancer in Bath, and a year later, became a Butlin's Redcoat. She then became part of a London ballet troupe which travelled Sweden, Germany, and Spain. After the tour ended, Darvey settled in Spain, where she became a popular revista performer under famed Spanish impresario Colsada. Then for the next several years she appeared in musical theatre productions in and around Spain. It was during one such performance, in Madrid in the early 1970s, that she was "discovered" again, this time by Benny Hill.
Darvey made her first appearance on The Benny Hill Show on 7 February 1974, and became an instant hit with fans. Her self-designed, often gravity-defying costumes became as famous as her show-stopping performances. While she sang such Continental music standards as "Sway", "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás", and "Perfidia" on the show, perhaps her most famous number was a four-song medley fronted by "It's Nice to Go Trav'lin'" (which Frank Sinatra recorded on his 1957 album Come Fly with Me), and also featuring a rendition of Maurice Chevalier's "Valentine".
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