She became an actress because her mother had been stage struck so attended RADA and won a gold medal but despite that she was out of work for a year. An early success was as Ruby in Getting Married at St Martins Theatre in 1938, Probably best remembered for her role as Edna the Inebriated Woman for which she won the Television Actress of the ~Year Award in 1972. As a small child she was sent to an acting teacher who taught her to recite The Murder of Nancy Drew by Charles Dickens and used to recite it in childrens competitions and win prizes
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of British Empire) in the 1988 Queen's New Year Honours List for her services to drama.
Said in an interview with Radio Times, in 1988, that she had turned down a
cameo role in Doctor Who (1963).
Devoutly Roman Catholic, Patricia Hayes headed the Catholic Actors
Guild in Britain for a number of years.
Diminutive British comedy actress of stage, screen and radio. Well known for her portrayals of cockney characters. Often appeared as comic foil in BBC sketch shows and sitcoms on TV.
She attended Sacred Heart school in Wandsworth, London.