Barbara Rafferty

Scottish actress

Barbara Rafferty
Born
Barbara Ann Brown[1]

(1950-01-15) 15 January 1950 (age 74)
Clydebank, Scotland[1]
Years active1973–present
Spouse(s)Peter Rafferty (divorced)[1]
Sean Scanlan (widow)[2][3]
ChildrenAmy Rafferty, Bob Rafferty, Nick Rafferty[1][4]
Parent(s)David Brown, Betty Brown[5]

Barbara Rafferty (born 15 January 1950 in Clydebank), is a Scottish actress. She was credited as Barbara Ann Brown in her early acting career. She is known for her roles as Ella Cotter in the long-running BBC Two sitcom Rab C Nesbitt, then firstly as Shirley Henderson and currently as Bernie O'Hara in BBC Scotland soap opera River City. She playec Agnes Meldon in mystery series Hamish MacBeth and Grandma Mainland in the CBeebies comedy Katie Morag.

Career

Rafferty is best known for playing Ella Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt between 1990 and 1999, and then again from 2008 and 2011 when the show made a comeback (and again in 2014). Other notable television roles include playing pub landlady Agnes Meldrum in Hamish Macbeth and Alice MacAllister in The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star. She took over the role of Alice Taylor from Muriel Romanes in Take The High Road in 1988. Also, in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, Barbara Rafferty starred as Mrs. Garrigan.[6] Until 2009 she was appearing in the BBC Scotland soap River City as Shirley Henderson and since 2018 as Bernie O'Hara.[7]

Barbara's daughter, Amy Rafferty (born 1972),[1] is a singer, songwriter, and musician with the cult Glasgow music collective The Recovery Club.[4]

Her son, Bob Rafferty, fronts the well known Glasgow alternative rock band El Dog.[4]

In 2013 it was announced that Rafferty would join the cast of His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen Pantomime Cinderella with her friend Elaine C. Smith.[1]

She portrayed Grandma Mainland in the CBeebies TV series, Katie Morag. It started airing on 3 November 2013.

Filmography

Film
Title Year Role Notes
The Wicker Man
1973
Woman with baby
Credited as Barbara Ann Brown
The Slab Boys
1997
Mrs. McCann
The Acid House
1998
Dr. Callaghan
Segment: "The Acid House"
Women Talking Dirty
1999
Janine
The Last King of Scotland
2006
Mrs. Garrigan
Sir Billi the Vet
2006
Barbara the Jag
Voice
Perfect Sense
2011
Woman in car park
Fast Romance
2011
Mrs. Livingston
Sir Billi
2012
Barbara the Jag
Voice
The Legend of Barney Thomson
2015
Jean Monkrieff
Television
Title Year Role Notes
Tutti Frutti
1987
Woman in infirmary
Mini-series; Episode 3: "Gin a Body, Dig a Body"
Taggart
1988
Agnes Sweeney
Episode: "Double Jeopardy"
Take the High Road
1988–89
Alice Taylor
11 episodes
Your Cheatin' Heart
1990
Shirley
Series 1 - 5 episodes
Doctor Finlay
1994
Flora
Series 2, Episode 6 - "In Arcadia"
Go Now
1995
Madge Cameron
Television film
The Tales of Para Handy
1995
Madam Isis
Series 2, Episode 1 - "The Fortune Teller"
Hamish Macbeth
1995–97
Agnes Meldrum
Lead role; 3 series - 20 episodes
The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star
1998
Alice MacAllister
Series 1
Life Support"
1999
Margaret McGovern
Series 1 - 2 episodes
Tinsel Town
2000
Jacqueline Donnelly
Series 1, Episode 1
Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes
2001
Mrs. Kitson
Episode: "The White Knight Stratagem"
Rockface
2002–03
Alice Urquhart
Series 1 & 2 - 5 episodes
Captain Abercromby
2002–03
Bobweb, various (voice)
Lead role; 26 episodes
Heartbeat
2003
Pam Astbury
Series 13, Episode 6 - "The Holiday's Over"
Sea of Souls
2004
Rena
Series 1 - 3 episodes
River City
2006–08
Shirley Henderson
No Holds Bard
2009
Granny Braid
Television film
Garrow's Law
2009
Katherine Stanton
Series 1, Episode 3
Doctors
2009
Margaret Adams
Episode: "Once Upon a Time"
Doctors
2013
Beth Harris
Episode: "Saving Irene"
Rab C. Nesbitt
1990–2014
Ella Cotter
Lead role; 10 series - 51 episodes
The Sunny
2014
Mrs. Dolan
Television film
Katie Morag
2013–15
Grandma Mainland
Still Game
2016
Winnie Cranston
Episode: "Job"
River City
2018–present
Bernadette 'Bernie' O'Hara
The Scotts
2021–present
Moira Scott

Other appearances

  • California Sunshine as Jessica (2014; short film)
  • Missing as Rachel (2007; short film)
  • Autumn Leaves as Mrs. McBride (1997; short film)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Brian Beacom Senior Features Writer (4 November 2013). "An actress so much more than the sum of her parts". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  2. ^ Brian Beacom (18 April 2017). "Sean Scanlan star of Rab C Nesbitt and River City loses cancer fight". Evening Times. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Rab C Nesbitt actor dies at 68 : Other news 2017 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "Family Drama as Barbara Rafferty hits stage with her husband and son". Daily Record. Glasgow. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  5. ^ Brian Beacom Senior Features Writer (5 July 2016). "Betty Brown turned tragic early life into a success story by helping others". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  6. ^ Barbara Rafferty – IMDb
  7. ^ [1] Archived 3 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine

External links

  • River City official site
  • Barbara Rafferty at IMDb
  • River City, Shirley Henderson Character page


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