Val McLane is an English actress, scriptwriter, director and teacher.

She founded the Live Theatre Company

Live Theatre Company

The Live Theatre Company is a theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The company aims to attract new audiences for its accessible work as well as its friendly and informal theatre space....

 in Newcastle in 1973 with director Geoff Gillham http://www.northernpublishers.co.uk/authors/Val_McLane. She has appeared in numerous television roles, including When the Boat Comes In

When the Boat Comes In

When the Boat Comes In is a British television period-drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981.The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken town of Gallowshield in the North East of England in the 1920s.The memorable traditional...

, Behind the Bike Sheds and some Catherine Cookson

Catherine Cookson

Dame Catherine Cookson DBE was a British author. She became the United Kingdom's most widely read novelist, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers...

 adaptations for Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...

.

Her most notable role is probably as Norma, Dennis' (Tim Healy

Tim Healy (actor)

Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor. He is best known for playing Dennis Patterson in the television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He is married to the actress Denise Welch.-Career:...

) sister in the second series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven English migrant construction workers. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in Düsseldorf....

. In real life, Val is fellow AWP star Jimmy Nail

Jimmy Nail

James Bradford "Jimmy" Nail is an English singer-songwriter, actor, musician, film producer, film score composer and television writer....

's sister.

Stage roles include Florrie in Andy Capp

Andy Capp

Andy Capp is a British comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe , seen in The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Mirror newspapers since 5 August 1957. Originally a single-panel cartoon, Smyth later expanded it to four panels....

: The Musical at the Aldwych Theatre

Aldwych Theatre

The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...

. She usually appears in the biannual benefit concert Sunday for Sammy.

She appeared in the films Wish You Were Here

Wish You Were Here (1987 film)

Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British drama/comedy film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. The film was written and directed by David Leland. The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.-Plot:...

and Purely Belter

Purely Belter

Purely Belter is a 2000 British comedy drama film directed by Mark Herman about two teenagers trying to get money, by any means necessary, in order to get season tickets for home games played by the FA Premier League football team Newcastle United.It is based on the novel The Season Ticket by...

.

She has edited The Prison Plays by Tom Hadaway

Tom Hadaway

Tom Hadaway was born in North Shields in North East England. It was in the north-east that he began writing plays based on his experiences and observations of the region...

 and released Women in My Past: A Dramatic Monologue, an audio book of dramatic monologue in prose, poetry and song.

She was Drama Leader at the University of Sunderland

University of Sunderland

The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....

. She retired from this post in 2008.

External links