Elsie Kelly was born in Dovecot, Liverpool on the 7th of June 1936 and trained at the Elliott-Clarke School of Dance and Drama in Liverpool where she also taught as a singing teacher, as well as helping students prepare for audition. Elsie went on to become its head of theatre studies for several years. She said in 2018, "When I was a little girl I always begged to be taken to the cinema to see musicals. I really wanted to be in one and loved stars like Mario Lanza and movies like 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', 'Carousel' and 'Oklahoma!' I’ve always felt the pull of musicals and played a few parts but I wanted desperately to direct them. In recent years I’ve done 'Annie', 'Oliver' and my next project is directing 'Sweeney Todd'."
Her first TV appearance was in the popular television soap opera 'Crossroads' in 1986 in a regular role as cleaner and gossip Mrs Tardebigge, a role which lasted until the series' demise in 1988. After her spell there she also appeared as a lady in the street in one episode of the BBC comedy series 'Bread' (1988). After a lengthy gap from television work she appeared in the film 'Intimate Relations' in 1996 and then returned to television to play Joan, the cook in the television adaptation of 'The Famous Five' (1996-97) for 25 episodes. This was followed by the part of Mrs Humphries in 'The Ghost Hunter' (2000) and Florrie in 21 episodes of 'Harry and the Wrinklies' (2000-2002). Following an appearance on 'The Peter Serafinowicz Show' (2008) she played a lovely old lady in an episode of the E4 drama 'Skins' (2009) and then as Dorothy Ferguson in the first episode of BBC drama 'Occupation' (2009). In 2011 she appeared in 2 episodes of 'Coronation Street' as Mrs. Hargreaves, an elderly customer of Audrey's Salon who passed away while under the hairdryer. However her most recognised role came in the ITV comedy series 'Benidorm' (2007-2018) playing the character Noreen Maltby, although it wasn't supposed to be.
Elsie explains, "I thought I had a very very funny scene at the end of the first series, which was, she was so often asleep, she’d fallen asleep on the lilo and was floating around the pool here for two days and nights and nobody had missed her. So she was dead. That was the idea, initially, and it was very funny. I thought, oh well, a few weeks in Spain will be great fun." One episode became six series and, the Wirral based actress reveals, it was the rapport with her on-screen son, played by the St Helens comedian Johnny Vegas, which saved her. "The writer who had the original idea said ‘No, I’m going to have to change it’ because he felt there was a real relationship starting between them, so I got a reprieve." So for Elsie, an annual stint in the sun has been an unexpected gift after a long career spanning five decades and countless TV, film and theatre roles In series 10, Kelly also played Noreen's identical twin sister Doreen in a dual role. Having done Series 1-5, as mother and son, Noreen and Geoff (aka The Oracle), Elsie missed Series 6 when her husband underwent major heart surgery at Broadgreen Hospital. Having recovered, the programme makers asked her to go back and she didn’t hesitate, appearing in four of the seven episodes, which halved her filming and meant she could be at home more. She said, "A full series takes 14 weeks, which is a big commitment, and I have a little grandson, Elliott, who is six, who I love to spend time with. So I went out for a fortnight, came back for a week to finish off 'Guys and Dolls', then went back for another five."
Since 1973, Elsie has been the permanent director of Birkenhead Operatic Society, overseeing more than 80 musicals. When she’s not filming with Benidorm, her days are spent auditioning and working on productions, many staged at the Liverpool Empire, Liverpool Royal Court, the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton and the Gladstone Theatre, Port Sunlight.
Elsie stepped down when BOST's production of 'Hello Dolly' ended at the Liverpool Empire in May 2019. Having directed her first show 'Oliver!' with the group in 1974, Elsie has gone on to direct more than 90 shows and concerts with the society including 'Annie', '42nd Street', 'Oliver', 'The Sound of Music', 'The Full Monty', 'Hello Dolly', 'Crazy For You', 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', and 'Jekyll and Hyde'. She has also directed professional pantomimes across the North West, working with entertainers including Les Dawson, Windsor Davis, Melvyn Hayes and Norman Vaughan.
Con O'Neill, star of 'Happy Valley' said of her, "Nearly 40 years ago this woman changed my life. She believed in me and allowed me to believe that I could be. Tonight she directed her final production of 'Hello Dolly' for @BOSTmusicals at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. Elsie Kelly I salute you. A great teacher a beautiful human being."
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2023/08/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-tony.html
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