Hilda Braid
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Hilda Braid (born 3 March 1932 in Northfleet, Kent) is a British actress known for her roles in the BBC comedy series Citizen Smith and as Nana Moon in EastEnders, also on the BBC.
[edit] Career
After training at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Braid appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company before breaking into television. Her first role was in 1963 in the anthology drama series Suspense. She also appeared as Winnie Plumtree in the ITV soap Crossroads and in another network soap, Emmerdale, as P. Morphett. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s she appeared in a number of guest roles on TV.
Braid's big break came in middle-age, however, when she was cast as Florence Johnson in Citizen Smith, a comedy starring Robert Lindsay about the leader of the 'Tooting Popular Front' Wolfie Smith. Braid played the mother of Wolfie's girlfriend, essentially as a middle-class mother whose conservative influences and attitudes were used to offset the revolutionary Wolfie's socialist ideals. After four series, Citizen Smith came to an end in 1980. Braid and Lindsay were reunited twenty years later, in an episode of Lindsay's other popular comedy My Family. Braid found work in more bit parts in TV plays, dramas and sitcoms plus another soap with a brief role as Molly Partridge in Brookside in 1984.
Her next most important role came when in 2002 she joined the London-based soap EastEnders as Victoria, 'Nana' Moon, the slightly dotty but sweet grandmother of the popular Alfie Moon (Shane Richie). She had played the role for three years when Richie announced he was leaving to pursue other projects. Unfortunately, this means the demise of the character of Nana, who has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness onscreen. Despite the critical reaction amongst some fans who contended that Nana did not have to leave because Alfie was going, EastEnders responded that it would be unrealistic to keep Nana on Albert Square because none of her family would be around. Braid's final scenes for EastEnders were shown 16 December 2005.
She may appear on the BBC 2 programme Extra's along with Matt Lucas, Katie Price and David Walliams since Ricky Gervais needs new characters.
On 17 February 2006 she appeared on The Friday Night Project.
It is rumoured that Hilda Braid plays the character known as "Old Woman" on the Steve Wright In The Afternoon show on BBC Radio 2.
