Ellis Powell
Ellis Powell (1904-1963) was an actress in the BBC radio series Mrs Dale's Diary. She also appeared in TV comedy Hugh and I. She was most famous for playing "Mrs. Dale" starting in the late 1940s. However, in the early 1960s, the BBC decided to revamp the show, recasting the leading roles and moving the Dale family to a new town and thus giving the show a new supporting cast, too. Jessie Matthews took over the role of Mrs. Dale. Ellis Powell, whose marriage to actor Ralph Truman had foundered, took the rejection very badly and her drinking (rumored to be part of the reason she was replaced) got worse. She did a little television work, but died, still only in her fifties, in 1963 [1]. It has been suggested that the The Killing of Sister George was based on this event.
