Frances Cuka (21 August 193616 February 2020) was an English actress, principally on television, whose career spanned over sixty years. In her later years, she was best known for playing Grandma Eleanor "Nellie" Buller in the sitcom Friday Night Dinner from 2011 to 2018.
Early life and career Cuka (pronounced Chewka) was born on 21 August 1936 in London, the only child of Letitia Alice Annie (née Francis), a tailor, and Joseph Cuka, a process engraver of Czech descent. The family subsequently moved to Hove. As a child, she appeared in BBC radio broadcasts as part of Children's Hour. She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Theatre roles After the Guildhall, she joined Theatre Workshop; there she performed in Macbeth and then in 1958 created the role of Jo in Shelagh Delaney's play A Taste of Honey, continuing in the role when the play moved to the West End and Broadway. Between runs of A Taste of Honey she appeared in several plays at the Royal Court Theatre, including Endgame and Live Like Pigs. In 1963 she played Becky Sharp in the musical Vanity Fair, alongside George Baker and Dame Sybil Thorndike.
Television Cuka then moved into television. Her subsequent television roles included the 1971 BBC miniseries adaption of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, Adam Adamant Lives, Hammer House of Horror (the episode "Charlie Boy"), The Champions and Minder. She also appeared as Doll Tearsheet in a BBC TV version of Henry IV, Part II. She had recurring roles in the soap operas Crossroads and Coronation Street. Her film roles have included Scrooge (1970) as Bob Cratchit's wife, and Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1972) as Catherine of Aragon.
Cuka was cast as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders when the character was first introduced in 1991. She had filmed several scenes of the character but they were scrapped; Jo Warne was then cast in the role.
From 2006 to 2009, she played the recurring role of a homeless woman called Mrs Bassey in the popular medical drama Casualty. Her final appearance was in September 2009, when her character died from severe burns after being involved in an explosion at a shopping centre.
In 2010, she played Lady Bracknell for Logos Theatre Company at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, in the unusual four-act version of The Importance of Being Earnest.
From March 2011, she appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, as Grandma Nelly Buller. She had to leave the show in 2018 due to illness, making a final cameo contribution in the series 5 episode "The Violin" (as a voice on the telephone).
Death Cuka died after suffering a stroke at her home in Hampstead, London on 16 February 2020, aged 83.
Selected Filmography Year Title Role Notes1961 Over the Odds Hilda Summers 1966Emergency Ward 10Dr. Lucy Newton4 episodes1967Adam Adamant Lives!Sandra VerrelEpisode: "A Sinister Sort of Service"1969The ChampionsAnna Maria MartesEpisode: "Get Me Out of Here!"1970 Scrooge Ethel Cratchit 1971Sense and SensibilityLucy Steele2 episodes1972 Henry VIII and his Six Wives Catherine of Aragon Hide and Seek Mrs. Dickie PretendersAlice2 episodes1974Within These WallsShirely ArmstrongEpisode: "Tea on St. Pancras Station"1979 Crown Court (TV series) Dorothy Ryan Henry IV, Part IIDoll TearsheetTV movie1980Hammer House of HorrorGwenEpisode: "Charlie Boy" The Watcher in the Woods Mary Fleming 1981TogetherMargaret Frisby2 episodes1987 Crossroads Mary Lancaster Guest role1988 The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank Mrs. Van Daan Television filmCivvyStreet Lil Sewell EastEnders spin-off episode1990 Mountains of the Moon Lady Houghton 1991Afraid of the DarkMrs. Dalton EastEnders Peggy Mitchell Unaired scenes1992MaigretAngela LouetteEpisode: "Maigret and the Mad Woman"The Ruth Rendell MysteriesLois KnoxEpisode: "The Speaker of Mandarin" (Part 1)1994MinderSister AngelicaEpisode: "The Immaculate Conception"1997 Snow White: A Tale of Terror Nannau WycliffeAngie KeneEpisode: "Close to Home"2000Trial & RetributionEva Wildelski2 episodes2001, 2003 The Bill Mrs. Jones; Sandra Fletcher 2 episodes2001, 2005, 2007 Doctors Lillie Goodwin; Maeve Richards; Martha Tanner 3 episodes2003 Swimming Pool Lady on the underground 2004 Rosemary & Thyme Barbara Boxer Episode: Swords into Ploughshares2005 Oliver Twist Mrs. Bedwin 2006–2009 Casualty Mrs. Bassey Recurring role, 7 episodes 2011–2018 Friday Night Dinner Grandma Eleanor "Nelly" Buller Supporting role, 12 episodes2012, 2014 Holby City Esther Levy 3 episodes 2014 Closer to the Moon Sarah
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