Paddie O'Neil

Paddie O'Neil (born Adalena Lillian Nail) was a British actress and singer. The daughter of circus and fairground performers, O'Neil spent her childhood travelling and performing at fairgrounds. While at stage school in London she was spotted and signed up by the BBC. She was a singer on the radio during the war years, and presented the variety show Navy Mixture. Paddie met the actor Alfred Marks while performing in Brighton, and they were married in 1952. They had two children. Also a writer of comedy material, Paddie was the first female writer-producer to be hired by Independent Television at its inception in 1954.