Career
Doré was known for her bit-part roles in situation comedies and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in EastEnders (1988-1990). Doré began her career as a chorus girl in ENSA, before joining the wartime company of Phyllis Dixey at the Whitehall Theatre as a dancer. She turned to television acting in 1960 and subsequently had parts in many successful series, including Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor in the House, The Liver Birds, Terry and June, Tenko, Z-Cars, and Open All Hours.
Here, she played Mistress
Bender, who suffers from the early stages of Alzheimer"s disease. That year she was also cast in the British Broadcasting Corporation soap opera EastEnders, where she played Mo Butcher, the battleaxe mother of Mike Reid"s character, Frank Butcher.
During her time in the show, she once again received wide acclaim for her portrayal of an elderly lady"s descent into Alzheimer"s disease. The story—about the effect that Alzheimer"s has on the sufferer"s family—had to be curtailed when Doré decided to leave the programme in 1990.
The character was killed off at the end of 1992.
In 1997 she played Kath in Nil by Mouth. Other film credits include Tube Tales (1999), Weak at Denise (2001) and All or Nothing (2002). In later years she had parts in many television shows including: Love Hurts (1992), A Year in Provence (1993), Casualty (1993;1997), Men Behaving Badly (1997), Peak Practice (2000), Holby City (2001), Time Gentlemen Please (2000–2002), The Bill (2002;2003 & 2006), Eyes Down (2003–2004), Murder in Mind (2003), My Family (2004), Lilly Kinsey in All About George (2005), Hotel Babylon (2006) and Doctors (2006), among others
She played the role of Maeve in the Doctor Who episode "Fear Her" in June 2006.
In September 2006 she appeared in the BBC2 comedy sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look and in April 2007 she appeared in a guest star role opposite David Jason in Independent Television"s Diamond Geezer, playing the role of Violet. On 24 December 2008 she appeared in the Christmas special of Gavin & Stacey as Edna, Pete"s mother, once again playing a character affected by dementia.
In February 2009 she held a small role in an episode of the new series of Minder on Five. She also played Grace in the Easter movie Skellig.
In January 2010 she appeared as Nin Gallagher in Channel 4"s Shameless.
That same year she appeared in Mike Leigh"s film Another Year. In March 2011 she appeared in an episode of Midsomer Murders. Radio
Doré was also a radio actor and has appeared in a British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 4 Play of the day "Bringing Eddie Home" by John Peacock, based on a true story of the fight by Eastend couple Edna and Jack Wallace to get their son"s body brought home from Aden, and the ensuing fight for the rights of British service personnel.
The play also included other ex-EastEnders actors Bill Treacher, Tilly Vosburgh, Todd Carty and Joe Absolom.
In February and March 1998, she appeared in the British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 4 series Paradise Lost in Cyberspace.