Joan Sims

Joan Sims (born Irene Joan Marion Sims on 9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By. Joan Sims was born in 1930, the daughter of the station master of Laindon railway station in Laindon, Essex. Sims' early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she was certainly interested in pursuing show business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions locally, during her teens. In 1946, Sims first applied to RADA, but her audition was unsuccessful. Her first audition included a rendition...