Career
Prominent in soap opera and comedy her best-known roles are in the sitcoms On the Buses and The Rag Trade. She has also made recurring appearances in soap opera EastEnders from 1996 on a recurriing basis. Early in her career, Anna Karen worked as a striptease dancer at London"s Panama Club.
She has appeared in many films and television programmes, including the British Broadcasting Corporation sitcom Wild, Wild Women, between 1968 and 1969.
That same year she played a schoolgirl in the bikini-flying scene in the film Carry On Camping (even though she was 32 years old). In both these roles she acted with Barbara Windsor (herself a 31-year-old "schoolgirl" in the film).
Karen is best remembered for her role in the LWT sitcom On the Buses (1969-1973). She also appeared in the film spin-offs, On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972), and Holiday on the Buses (1973).
From 1977 to 1978, Karen reprised the role of Olive in the LWT revival of the sitcom The Rag Trade created by the same writers.
Her other film credits included roles in The Sandwich Manitoba (1966), Poor Cow (1967), Carry On Loving (1970) and What"s Up Nurse! (1977). In 1996, Karen played a supporting role in the film Beautiful Thing, as a neighbour of the main characters, Ste and Jamie. A year later, Karen reunited with Barbara Windsor, this time in the British Broadcasting Corporation soap opera EastEnders.
Karen plays Sal Martin, the sister of Windsor"s Peggy Mitchell.
In 2006, Anna Karen used her experience as a striptease dancer to act as a judge in the final edition of Channel 4"s reality television documentary Faking lieutenant In 2008, Karen was a guest on the Channel 4"s Sunday Night Project, again with Barbara Windsor.
Karen has also been a regular in pantomimes over the years, and played the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella at the Millfield Theatre, in Edmonton, London at Christmas 2008.