Railway Children and
Genevieve star Dinah Sheridan dies at 92

The actress Dinah Sheridan, who starred in The Railway Children, has died.

Sheridan, 92, who also starred in Genevieve and later became a popular television sitcom star, died peacefully at her home in Northwood, Middlesex, surrounded by her family, said her agent, Gareth Owen.

The actress, the mother of actress Jenny Hanley and Sir Jeremy Hanley, former chairman of the Conservative Party, was considered the quintessential English rose because of her elegance and quiet beauty.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She was born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg in Hampstead, north London, in 1920 to a Russian father and German mother who were photographers to the Royal Family.

Her first stage role came at the tender age of 12 and she subsequently went on tour as Wendy in Peter Pan which starred Charles Laughton as Captain Hook.

Sheridan’s film break came at 
16 and she appeared in such 
films as Irish And Proud of It (1938) until her momentum was interrupted by the Second World War.

In 1942 she married actor Jimmy Hanley and had three children, although one died at birth.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One daughter, Jenny, followed in her parents’ footsteps and became a noted actress and was also one of the presenters of popular children’s TV show Magpie during the 1970s.

The couple appeared together 
in titles such as Salute John Citizen (1942), 29 Acacia Avenue 
(1945) and The Huggetts Abroad (1949).

Sheridan’s career peaked with the sparkling London to Brighton car rally comedy Genevieve (1953), co-starring John Gregson, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall.

But she remained loved by viewers, switching effortlessly between film and television with a starring role in popular 1980s TV sitcom Don’t Wait Up, co-starring Nigel Havers and Tony Britton, as well as roles in others including Lovejoy, and Dr Who, and Yorkshire TV series Just Us, written by Kay Mellor, in 1992.

Related topics: