Here is Patricia Rowlands' biography:
Patricia Amy Rowlands was born on January 19, 1931, in Palmer's Green, north London. She was educated at the Covent of the Sacred Heart in Whetstone. Her parents encouraged her to take elocution lessons to improve her employment prospects.
Her elocution tutor recognized her acting potential and encouraged her to apply to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she won a scholarship at the age of 15, coming top in the whole of England.
Patricia's first professional appearance was in the chorus for the touring version of "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1950, featuring Lionel Blair. She made her West End debut in 1958 as Doris Hare's granddaughter in "Valmouth," Sandy Wilson's musical about a spa town where the aged residents enjoy a prolonged sex life.
She went on to combine serious drama with her work at the Players' Theatre in London, where traditional music hall shows had nurtured the careers of so many comic actors. It was at the Players' Theatre that she first worked with Hattie Jacques and also met composer Malcolm Sircom. Patsy married Malcolm in 1962.
Patricia's early television appearances included "Tuppence in the Gods" (1960) and "The Actor" (1961) with later credits including "Love All" (1969),a deliciously witty performance in the television play "An Extra Bunch of Daffodils" (1969) and starring as Roy Kinnear's wife in the sitcom "Inside George Webley" (1968).
She appeared in nine "Carry On" films, usually as the dowdy, put-upon wife, from 1969 to 1975. Her last film in the series was "Carry on Behind" (1975).
She also starred in the sitcom "Bless This House" (1971) and "The Squirrels" (1974),set in the offices of a television rental company. Serious films included "Joseph Andrews" (1977) and "Tess" (1979),and on stage she was directed by Lindsay Anderson in "The Seagull" (1975) and "Shut Your Eyes And Think Of England" (1977) alongside Donald Sinden.
Her musicals included the West End premiere of Stephen Sondheim's "Into The Woods" (1990),"Me And My Girl" (1993),Sam Mendes' long-running revival of "Oliver!" (1994) at the London Palladium and a delightful performance as Mrs. Pearce in Cameron Mackintosh's revival of "My Fair Lady" (2001) at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Patsy completed three audio commentaries for the launch of the Carlton-distributed later "Carry On" DVDs in 2003, appearing alongside Jacki Piper, Valerie Leon, June Whitfield, Jack Douglas, and Larry Dann. From the second half of the nineties onward, she had also appeared in numerous television documentaries about her late "Carry On" co-stars Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, and Sidney James as well as Norman Wisdom.
Breast cancer was diagnosed while she was appearing as Mrs. Pearce in "My Fair Lady" at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She carried on without telling any of her fellow actors, and it was typical of the droll and hard-working actor that she still tried to convince her friends that she was about to "go back to the gym" and would soon be ready for work. She died at Martlets Hospice at the age of 74 and three days on January 22, 2005.
