Diana Magdalene Roloff, known professionally as Diana Darvey, was a British actress, singer and dancer, best known for her appearances on The Benny Hill Show.
14 Facts About Diana Darvey
1.
2.
The daughter of a former Windmill Girl, Pamela Cooper, Diana was raised and educated in Bristol.
3.
Diana Darvey's 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.
4.
In 1962, aged 17, Diana Darvey made her first stage appearance as a pantomime dancer in Bath, and a year later, became a Butlin's Redcoat.
5.
Diana Darvey then became part of a London ballet troupe which travelled Sweden, Germany, and Spain.
6.
Diana Darvey made her first appearance on The Benny Hill Show on 7 February 1974, and became an instant hit with fans.
7.
Diana Darvey's self-designed, often gravity-defying costumes became as famous as her show-stopping performances.
8.
Diana Darvey was known for the "Continental Cabaret" sketch which she performed with Hill and regular sidekick Jackie Wright, and which featured a gag involving the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".
9.
Diana Darvey participated in other sketches, including as Hill's girlfriend in a gender-reverse parody of the 1956 film Baby Doll, repeating a sketch that Hill had performed in 1965 with Elaine Taylor.
10.
In total, Diana Darvey appeared on the show five times, the last being on 26 January 1977.
11.
Diana Darvey parlayed her popularity from The Benny Hill Show to appearances on the game show Quick on the Draw and the sitcom.
12.
In 1995, Diana Darvey married for a second time, to Ralph Barker.
13.
Diana Darvey died on 11 April 2000, ten days before her 55th birthday.
14.
Diana Darvey fell down the stairs in her home, and although it was not a serious fall it created a linear fracture in the left femur just below her pelvis.