Nerys Hughes was born on 8 November 1941 in Rhyl, Denbighshire. Her parents, Myfi and Ted Kerfoot-Hughes, raised her as a Methodist, and she attended Howell's School in Denbigh, where she developed an early interest in drama. Welsh was her first language, and she has said that it was only in later life that she felt she had lost some of her fluency.
She trained at Rose Bruford College and in 1960 won the Carleton Hobbs Bursary, joining the BBC Radio Drama Company. Early stage work included productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the early 1960s, and she had one of her first notable television roles in Ken Loach's series 'Diary of a Young Man' in 1964.
Hughes is best known for playing Sandra Hutchinson alongside Polly James and Mollie Sugden in the hugely popular BBC sitcom 'The Liver Birds' (1969-1978, with a further series in 1996). She went on to take the title role of district nurse Megan Roberts in the BBC drama 'The District Nurse' (1984-1987), a series written especially for her, winning the Variety Club Television Actress of the Year Award for the part.
Later credits include the role of Todd in the Doctor Who story 'Kinda' (1982) and Brenda Williams in the Torchwood episode 'Something Borrowed' (2008), as well as a run as Glenda in the children's series 'The Queen's Nose' (1998-2000). She has been married to television cameraman Patrick Turley since 1972, and the couple have two children.
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Rhyl-born actress known for The Liver Birds and The District Nurse.
Nerys Hughes
Actress from Rhyl, North Wales
Born and raised in Rhyl, Denbighshire; Welsh was her first language, learned at home before she started school.
Hughes has continued to work in audio drama, returning to the Doctor Who universe through Big Finish Productions as the Fourth Doctor's companion Margaret Hopwood. In the theatre she has appeared in productions ranging from Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company to Dylan Thomas's 'Under Milk Wood' in 1995.
Career Highlights
Starred as Sandra Hutchinson in the BBC sitcom The Liver Birds (1969-1978, and 1996).
Won the Variety Club Television Actress of the Year Award for The District Nurse (1984-1987), a series written for her.
Appeared in Doctor Who ('Kinda', 1982) and Torchwood ('Something Borrowed', 2008).
ℹ️ Born 8 November 1941, Rhyl, Denbighshire, Wales.
Born and raised in Rhyl, Denbighshire; Welsh was her first language, learned at home before she started school.