Home town says ‘happy 80th Kathy’

A WOULD-BE actress might be expected to dream of West End stardom. But Kathy Staff’s teenage ambition was to appear in Oldham.

She recounted her early hopes yesterday when her home town of Dukinfield held a meal to mark her 80th birthday.

The woman who became famous as broom-wielding battle-axe Nora Batty in “Last of the Summer Wine” said: “I had my name down to join the Oldham Repertory Theatre Club as soon as I left school, and at 16 I was accepted as a member.

“My cousin Fran and I used to go every week and for me the greatest star was Joan Heath. I never saw her give a bad performance and she really inspired me.

“I used to think that if I could ever play at Oldham Rep, I would have reached the height of my ambition. I’d know that I was really there — that I’d made it.”

And it was on a trip to an Oldham production that Kathy — real-name Minnie Higginbottom — decided on her stage name.

She took the name Katherine because she had always liked it, and Brant because it was the name of a shop passed by the bus.

The name changed again when Kathy married John Staff in 1951.

Since then she has appeared in television series such as “Coronation Street” and “Crossroads”, and alongside comedians such as Benny Hill, Les Dawson and Harry Worth. But she achieved her ambition of playing Oldham Rep in 1970, when she appeared in “The Corn is Green” and “Friends and Neighbours”.

The celebration, held at the Astley Arms, Chapel Hill, was arranged by Dukinfield District Assembly and its chairman, Councillor Brian Wild, said: “Despite her fame, Kathy has never forgotten her Dukinfield roots.

“We thought it was only right to honour her with a meal and a community service award.”

The guests included Roy Barraclough, a long-time friend of Kathy’s who appeared with her in a soap called “Castle Haven” in 1969.