Profile of Violet Carson on Famous Like Me

Violet Carson, OBE (September 1, 1898 - December 26, 1983) was a British actress. She was born at Ancoats in Manchester.

She was best known for her role as the gruff moral voice of Coronation Street, Ena Sharples, a role she played from 1960 to 1980. For much of her 20 years on the programme, Ena's moralizing caused her to spar regularly with Elsie Tanner, played by Pat Phoenix. Long after her departure from the programme, Violet continued to be synonymous with the hairnet that Ena chose to don for almost every occasion. However, she had previously enjoyed a long career in entertainment, particularly noted as a singer and a pianist, and was in real life very different from Ena.

She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1965 due to the character's widespread popularity. In the United States, she guest-starred on many sitcoms but did little else, as the character of Ena was a very demanding job.

In the 1970s, Carson suffered a series of strokes and other ailments, and played Ena only sporadically throughout the decade. When she decided to leave the show in 1980, it was widely expected that she would be back after her illness. When it became evident that Carson was too ill to return to work, Ena's influence slowly left the Street, and all storyline turns involving the return of Miss Carson were to be scrapped. She lived in a bungalow in the Bispham district of Blackpool with her sister Nellie and refused to make any public appearances before she died. She is buried at Bispham Parish Church.

External link

Ena Sharples on lovemarks.com

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