Ryan made her first British television only appearance in an episode of Armchair Theatre playing Mrs Cornelius in the episode 'The Deaf Heart' (21st December 1958). 1959 was definitely a breakthrough year for Ryan with a flurry of television roles including two episodes of the ITV Play of the Week – 'A Dead Secret' (3rd March 1959) and 'A Man Involved' (8th December 1959). She also returned to Armchair Theatre for two episodes – 'Star in the Summer Night' (29th March 1959) and 'The Girl on the Beach' (24th May 1959). For the BBC Sunday Night Theatre series she made three appearances; 'The Exiles #4: Full Circle' (15th February 1959) as Hilda Binns, 'The Philadelphia Story' (14th June 1959) playing Margaret Lord[1] and 'The Potutukawa Tree' (18th October 1959) in the role of Mrs Atkinson. The same year she also had two roles in two films; playing a police woman in the comedy Upstairs and Downstairs (1959) and the more substantial role of Mrs Finch in the thriller Witness in the Dark (1959). Nicholas Palmer, who would later produce the series Beasts, supplied the script for Ryan’s final television production of the year, another single play, entitled A Man Involved (8th December 1959). On the stage Ryan appeared in The Shifting Heart, which had a pre-London tour in July 1959 taking in venues in Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham. The play dealt with the difficulties an immigrant Italian family experiences when they settle in a Melbourne suburb and are not accepted by their neighbours.
1960 would see Ryan continue to be cast in prestigious plays with her making five separate appearances in episodes of Armchair Theatre; 'Where I Live' (10th January 1960), 'A Night Out' (24th April 1960) written by Harold Pinter, 'Pig’s Ears with Flowers' (2nd October 1960), 'The Cake Baker' (6th November 1960) and 'The Stranger' (20th November 1960). The ITV Television Playhouse series episode 'A Holiday Abroad' (12th February 1960), written by John Bowen, saw Ryan cast as Sylvia Bates whilst the anthology series Armchair Mystery Theatre furnished her with the role of Maud in the episode 'Flag Fall' (26th June 1960). She also appeared in an episode of the long running drama series Probation Officer (25th April 1960) playing Ella Rhodes.
During February 1961 she appeared in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs at the Pembroke Theatre, Croydon followed by Time and Yellow Roses, which was headlined by Flora Robson. The play debuted in Aberdeen on 20th March 1961 and then toured in major cities including Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Oxford before arriving in the West End in early May. She also appeared in the film Hand in Hand (1961) and this was complimented with another television appearance in an ITV Play of the Week in the production 'Ivanov' (1st August 1961).
During February 1961 she appeared in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs at the Pembroke Theatre, Croydon followed by Time and Yellow Roses, which was headlined by Flora Robson. The play debuted in Aberdeen on 20th March 1961 and then toured in major cities including Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Oxford before arriving in the West End in early May. She also appeared in the film Hand in Hand (1961) and this was complimented with another television appearance in an ITV Play of the Week in the production 'Ivanov' (1st August 1961).
Ryan joined the National Theatre Company during 1965 with her debut role coming with a staging of the Brecht play Mother Courage and Her Children. Ryan played the eponymous mother. During September 1965 the National Theatre players toured Russia with productions of Othello and Hobson’s Choice with Ryan as part of the cast. Television work for the year included playing Mrs Sutton-Piper in the series Public Eye for the episode 'And a Very Fine Fiddle He Was' (13th March 1965). She also appeared as Janet Harford in the Thirty Minute Theatre instalment 'Family Christmas' (23rd December 1965).
For the BBC Play of the Month episode 'Defection! The Case of Colonel Petrov' (27th September 1966) she was cast as Dusya and attracted rave reviews for her work “Madge Ryan met the demands of the story with one of the long scenes of continuously sustained high-pitched emotion I have ever seen…As a performance it was beyond praise[3]” She also guest starred in an episode of The Saint – 'Build A Better Mousetrap' during 1966. During October and November 1966 she played the role of Nurse in Romeo and Juliet at the Bristol Old Vic. As part of the Bristol Old Vic rep company she toured North America with a trio of Shakespeare productions – Hamlet, Measure for Measure and Romeo and Juliet. They returned to the UK at the end of May 1967 before embarking on a tour of Europe and Israel under the sponsorship of the British Council. Also in the repertory were Barbara Leigh Hunt, Jane Asher and Frank Middlemass. During September 1967 Ryan took over from actress Mavis Villiers for a run of Philadelphia Here I Come. Villiers had created the part of Lizzy Sweeney in the original New York production and collapsed due to nervous exhaustion during the prior-to London run of the play.
Her first TV appearance for 1970 was in 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind' (28th February 1970), an episode of Thirty Minute Theatre. Ryan featured as Mrs Purgold, a clairvoyant. Next was an episode of the World War Two drama series Manhunt, appearing as Celestine Moussac, in the episode 'The Price of Resistance' (13th March 1970) and this was followed by a role in sitcom The Best Things In Life playing Miss Rossiter in the episode 'The Emigrant' (13th July 1970). Her final TV appearance was in an edition of Armchair Theatre came with the episode 'Say Goodnight to Your Grandma' (27th October 1970) written by Colin Welland. Her only film appearance for the year was in I Start Counting (1970).
Her second appearance in Paul Temple came with the third season episode 'Cue Murder!' (28th March 1971) playing the role of Rose Mason. She then guest starred as Connie in 'In Deep' (7th May 1971) for the series Budgie and another Public Eye episode 'Come into the Garden, Rose' (11th August 1971). Her notable stage roles included A Hearts and Minds Job at Hampstead Theatre during July 1971. The production was directed by Donald McWhinnie who would later cast Ryan in the Beasts episode 'What Big Eyes'.
Now Look Here (5th November – 17th December 1971) was a BBC sitcom starring Ronnie Corbett. Ryan appeared in all seven episodes of the first season in the role of Mother. Her only film role of the year was in Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971) playing Doctor Branom. More film work followed with the short The Man and The Snake (1972), Hitchcock’s thriller Frenzy (1972) and horror film Endless Night (1972). In the theatre she was cast in Traveller without Luggage at the Thorndike theatre, Leatherhead during September and October 1972. The cast included Jeremy Brett
December saw Ryan appear in a revival of Epitaph for George Dillon. Her last television appearance was in Zinotchka (16th December 1972), a short drama written by Melvyn Bragg from the story by Anton Chekhov transmitted on the BBC. Ryan appeared as Madame Sorin.
1973 would see Ryan make two separate appearances in the ITV Sunday Night Theatre series – 'The Regulars' (26th January 1973) and the science fiction drama 'A.D.A.M.' (8th April 1973). Her only film role for the year was as Della’s mother in the action drama Yellow Dog (1973). Don Leaver, the director of the Beasts episode 'The Dummy', cast Ryan in 'Burning Bush' (1974), an episode of The Protectors he oversaw. Ryan played the role of Mrs Apsimon. Her other television role was in Cakes and Ale, a three-part mini-series by the BBC as Mrs Barton Trafford.
Anne of Avonlea, the sequel to Anne of Green Gables (26th January 1975 onwards), was adapted as a six part series and featured Ryan in the role of Rachel Lynde. Ryan also appeared in a Crown Court case, 'Matron' transmitted from 22nd January 1975, undertaking the role of Bridget Behan. Further TV credits for the year took in 'Going, Going, Gone…Free?' (9th July 1975), a comedy pilot written by Carla Lane as part of the Comedy Playhouse series. Ryan could be seen as Mrs Dean in the cast. Moll Flanders (26th November 1975) was a feature length adaptation by the BBC. Ryan was in the cast playing Mrs Oliver. Her character Florence Raymount, from the Beasts episode 'What Big Eyes', was the next role on her resume. It’s worth noting that Ryan appeared alongside Patrick Magee in a stage production of The White Devil at the Old Vic during July 1976. Post-Beasts she appeared in episodes two, three and four (17th – 31st October 1976) of the BBC drama Katy playing Bridget. Her final role of the year was in episode of the medical soap opera Angels playing Mrs Dutton in the season three episode 'Somewhere To Go' (15th November 1976).
Amongst her television roles in 1977 was Mrs Quillet in two episodes (22nd and 29th April 1977) of the third season of the comedy Beryl’s Lot and playing Mrs Vizzard in the Thames Television drama London Belongs To Me (6th September – 18th October 1977). She was also seen as Elizabeth in Play for Today drama 'One Day at a Time' (22nd November 1977). To start the next year Ryan appeared in the first season of All Creatures Great and Small playing Miss Harbottle in the episodes 'It Takes All Kinds' (22nd January 1978) and 'Calf Love' (29th January 1978). She also made a film appearance with the role of Beecham in the comedy crime caper Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe AKA Too Many Chefs (1978). Remaining roles for 1978 saw her as the recurring character Arabella Codsall in the BBC adaptation of A Horseman Riding By (24th September – 17th December 1978) and as Nanny in the juvenile horror anthology series Shadows episode 'Honeyann' (1st November 1978), written by Fay Weldon. Stage credits took in The Shadow Box at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge during March and April 1979. Also in the cast was Anthony Bate. December 1979 had Ryan playing Aunt Eller in a version of Oklahoma produced at Leicester’s Haymarket theatre before a run in London’s West End. Film appearances saw her as the character Rose Flood Porter in the remake of The Lady Vanishes (1979) and a small role as Violet Jessop in the TV movie SOS Titanic (1979).
After a break of a few years where she concentrated on her theatre roles Ryan returned to the screen to appear in a BBC version of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline (20th December 1982) as Mother in a cast that also featured Richard Johnson and Claire Bloom. 1983 would be her busiest on screen year for some time with a guest role in Bergerac – 'Prime Target' (30th January 1983) and the returning character of Lydia Crawford in the third season of the Wendy Craig starring drama series Nanny. She played the narrator for the one off drama Events in a Museum (25th November 1983) and played Mrs Todd, with Michael Gough portraying her husband, in the BBC Films comedy Heartattack Hotel (16th December 1983). Over the following six years Ryan worked solely in the theatre. She returned to the screen to appear in the Australian film drama Kokoda Crescent (1989) opposite Bill Kerr and Warren Mitchell. In 1990 she also popped up in the Australian / United Kingdom co-produced soap opera Families which was filmed in Australia and Cheshire for Granada. In 1992 she played Beattie in the Screenplay production 'The Countess Alice' (1992) and guest starred in 'One Step Forward' (24th October 1992), an episode of the long running medical drama Casualty.
During 1992 and 1993 she was a cast member of an acclaimed stage production of Euripide’s Medea. Diana Rigg undertook the title role. February and March 1993 saw her appear in a production of Oscar Wilde’s A Murder of No Importance at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. On television Ryan appeared in the comedy pilot The 10 Percenters (23rd February 1993) playing Gloria and in the cinema she had a small role as a woman walking her dog in the comedy film Splitting Heirs (1993). Her final screen role was as Lucy Lorrimer in 'Death in a White Tie' (16th May 1993), an episode of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries. Throughout her stage and screen career Ryan preferred to play challenging roles and was often cast as unsympathetic individuals or misfits / outcasts from normal society.
Ryan passed away the day after her 75 birthday on 9th January 1994 in London. Her obituary in The Independent said "what set her apart from the others was a certain, often powerful, independence of spirit and humour...It was a fulfilled career.[4]" There was a celebration of her life at St James Church, Piccadilly on 27th June 1994.
[1] The cast also included fellow Beasts cast member Elizabeth Sellers who
would later star in 'During Barty’s Party'
[2] “Mr Sharp Makes Fine Debut on First Night” by William Pearce, The Stage, Thursday 24th October, 1963
[3] “A Dramatic Re-Creation” by N Alice Frick, The Stage, Thursday 29th September 1966, page 12
[4] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-madge-ryan-1401217.html (accessed 26th February 2018)
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