Hilda Braid
{{short description|British actress (1929–2007)}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Hilda Braid
| image = Nanna Moon EE.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Braid as Nana Moon in EastEnders
| birth_name = Hilda Braid
| birth_date ={{birth date|df=yes|1929|3|3}}
| birth_place = Northfleet, Kent, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2007|11|6|1929|3|3}}
| death_place = Brighton, Sussex, England
| resting_place = Woodvale Crematorium, Brighton
| occupation = Actress
| years active = 1948–2005
| spouse = {{marriage|Brian Badcoe||1992|end=his death}}
| children = 2
}}
Hilda Braid (3 March 1929 – 6 November 2007) was an English actress who had a long career on British television. She became well known in her later years for playing Victoria "Nana" Moon on the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.
Early life
Braid was born in Northfleet, Kent.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/08/db0802.xml|title=Obituary – Hilda Braid|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=8 November 2007}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} She trained as an actress and dancer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, having won a scholarship to train there. At RADA, she won the Lord Lurgan Award.
Career
After graduating from RADA, Braid did rep and was cast in West End theatre productions, including parts in The Waltz of the Toreadors from 1956 to 1957, and Pickwick from 1963 to 1964. Later, she was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in productions of Richard II in 1974,[http://www.rscshakespeare.co.uk/kingRichardII.html The Life and Death of King Richard II], The RSC Shakespeare and King John in 1974 to 1975.[http://www.rscshakespeare.co.uk/kingJohn.html The Life and Death of King John], The RSC Shakespeare Braid made her television debut in the police drama No Hiding Place, playing Alice Flinders in an episode that aired on 14 October 1960.{{cite news|url=http://broken-tv.blogspot.com/2007/11/hilda-braid-1929-2007.html|title=Hilda Braid 1929–2007|publisher=BrokenTV|date=8 November 2007}} In 1963, she appeared in Suspense. In the 1960s and 1970s, she also appeared in Crossroads, Softly, Softly, Catweazle, Z-Cars, Play for Today, The Onedin Line, The Crezz, Emmerdale, and Man About the House.
Braid's first major role came in middle-age and was that of Florence Johnson in the late 1970s British sitcom Citizen Smith. Around this time, she also appeared in In Loving Memory, Robin's Nest, and On Giant's Shoulders. She later had recurring roles in other sitcoms, including L For Lester (1982), The Bright Side (1985), The 10 Percenters (1994–1996), and Gogglewatch (1997–1998). TV appearances during the 1980s and 1990s included Oliver Twist, Brookside, One Foot in the Grave, Goodnight Sweetheart, Dangerfield, The Bill, Midsomer Murders, ChuckleVision, My Family, and Casualty. She also briefly appeared alongside Al Murray in the sitcom Time Gentlemen Please in the early 2000s. Her film roles were few, but she appeared in the film version of For the Love of Ada (1972), the cult horror film Killer's Moon (1978), The Wildcats of St Trinian's (1980), and 101 Dalmatians (1996).
In 2002, by then in her early 70s, Braid took up the role by which she would be best known, that of Nana Moon in EastEnders. Nana's grandson Alfie was played by Shane Richie, and following Ritchie's announcement that he was to leave the soap, her character was also written out, with the programme's makers saying it would be "unrealistic" for Nana to stay without Alfie. In Eastenders, her character Nana developed an aortic aneurysm, and before her death, wished to visit the grave of her husband (who had died during World War II) in France. The Normandy-set episode with Alfie and Nana won a British Soap Award for "Best Single Episode" in 2006.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2825929.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524074144/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2825929.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 May 2011|title=Obituary – Hilda Braid|work=The Times|date=8 November 2007 | location=London}} Braid left the soap, with Nana's death on 16 December 2005.
Personal life and death
During her later years on EastEnders, Braid was having problems remembering her lines. Her departure from EastEnders proved to be the end of her acting career. She died on 6 November 2007 at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, Sussex.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7081599.stm|title=EastEnders' Nana Moon star dies|publisher=BBC|date=6 November 2007}} She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease shortly after her departure from EastEnders, and subsequently moved into a nursing home in Hove. Braid was married to Brian Badcoe, an actor who died in 1992, and was survived by their son and daughter.{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article3138340.ece|title=Obituary – Hilda Braid|first=Anthony|last=Hayward|work=The Independent|date=8 November 2007|location=London|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211115912/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article3138340.ece|archivedate=11 December 2007|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,2206961,00.html|title=Obituary – Hilda Braid|first=Gavin|last=Gaughan|work=The Guardian|date=8 November 2007 | location=London}} Her funeral service took place on 25 November 2007 at Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7112114.stm|title=EastEnders co-star mourns 'Nana'|publisher=BBC|date=25 November 2007}}
Selected Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1959
| Maria | TV film, for schools |
| 1970
| Scrooge | Party Guest | Uncredited |
| 1972
| Mrs. Armitage | |
| 1978
| Mrs. May | |
| 1980
| The Wildcats of St Trinian's | Miss Summers | |
| rowspan="2"|1996
| Kiss and Tell | Gloria Sumner | TV film |
| 101 Dalmatians
| Woman on Park Bench | |
| rowspan="2"|1997
| Woman in deckchair | |
| Cold Enough for Snow
| Customer at the Dry Cleaners | TV film |
| 1998
| Romeo Thinks Again | Mrs. Sudberry | Short |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1960
|Alice Flickers |Episode: "Point of Release" |
| 1963
|Maisie |Story: "The Honest Man" |
| 1965–1966
|Mrs. Harbottle |16 episodes |
| 1966
|Joan Fielding |Story: "A Fair Swap" |
| 1967
|June Parker |Episode: "On the Side of the Law" |
| rowspan="2" |1969
|Vi Conroy |Episode Rough Trade |
| Parkin's Patch
|Mrs. Durrant |Episode: "Dead or Alive?" |
| rowspan="3" |1970
|Barbara |Episode: "The Siege of Cocklaws" |
| Z-Cars
|Norah Wardle |Episode: "For Old Time's Sake!" (2 parts) |
| Catweazel
|Aunty Flo |Episode: "The Tricky Lantern" |
| rowspan="3" |1971
|Major's wife |Story: "Alma Mater" |
| The Onedin Line
|Mrs. Simmons |Episode: "The High Place" |
| The Expert
|Flora Walsh |Episode: "True Confession" |
| 1972
|Mrs. White |Episode: "Evidence of Character" |
| 1975
|Madge |Episode: "Legs Eleven" |
| rowspan="2" |1976
|Mrs. Hollins |Episode: "The Party's Over" |
| The Crezz
|Molly Smith |Episode: "Gone to the Dogs" |
| 1977
|P. Morphett |3 episodes |
| 1977–1980
| Mrs Florence Johnson |30 episodes |
| 1978
|Mrs. Bristow |Episode: "Party Mood" |
| rowspan="2" |1979
|Sister Page |TV Film |
| In Loving Memory
|Gladys Unsworth |Episode: "The Legacy" |
| 1980
|Abby |Episode: "The Elixir of Life" |
| 1982
|Mrs. Davies |6 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 1984
| Molly Partridge |6 episodes |
| Juliet Bravo
|Soroptomist Chairwoman |Episode: "Ducks in a Row" |
| 1985
|Mrs. Bedwin |3 episodes |
| 1987
|Mrs. Adler |Episode: "Some You Win Some You Lose" |
| rowspan="4" |1990
|Renee Roper |Episode: "Dancers in Mourning - Part 1" |
| In Sickness and in Health
|Companion |Episode: "Bus" |
| You Rang, M'Lord?
|Flo Kendall |Episode: "Royal Flush" |
| Casualty
|Agnes Hartley |Episode: "Say It with Flowers" |
| 1990–1991
|Miss McGuigan |2 episodes |
| 1992
|Mrs Skimpson |Episode: "Beware of the Trickster on the Roof" |
| 1994
| Enid |7 episodes |
| 1995
| Marie |Episode: "Something Blue" |
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| Lloyds Bank Channel 4 Film Challenge | Sarah |Story: "Cold Season" |
| Dangerfield
| Mrs Blythe |Episode: "Games" |
| 1996–1998
|Googlewatch |Gran |15 episodes |
| 1998
|Mrs. Bourne |Episode: "S.A.D." |
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| Doreen Beavis | Episode: "Dead Man's Eleven" |
| Bodger and Badger
| Miss Piper |2 episodes |
| 2000
| Old Woman |2 episodes |
| rowspan="4" | 2001
| Aunt Kate |Episode: "Death and Ben Take a Holiday" |
| The Bill
|Mrs. Flowers |Episode: "Liquid City" |
| Doctors
| Sylvie Connors |Episode: "Old Wives Tales" |
| ChuckleVision
| Mrs Halibut |Episode: "Lost and Floundering" |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| Bank customer |Episode: "The Killing House" |
| Casualty
| Winnie Howard |Episode: "Nobody's Perfect" |
| 2002–2005
|rowspan="2"| Nana Moon | 211 episodes |
| 2003
| Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do | Television special |
3References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0103996}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braid, Hilda}}
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Category:English film actresses
Category:English soap opera actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English television actresses
Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England
Category:Deaths from dementia in England