Carol MacReady

Mavoureen Carol McCready, better known by her stage name Carol MacReady, is an English actress. She has been working in the profession since 1961. She is known for the role of Mrs Dribelle in the series Bodger and Badger.

MacReady has often been cast as matronly, authority and mother figures, such as Mrs Atkins in Danger: Marmalade at Work, Madge in Victoria Wood's play The Library, Susan Speed in Waiting For God, Mrs Daws in The Darling Buds of May, Elizabeth in The Ghostbusters of East Finchley, Agnes Wilford in 102 Dalmatians (2000), Olga in My Family and Ethel in Doc Martin.

One of her earlier notable roles was in the Play for Today story Schmoedipus (1974) written by Dennis Potter. In 1996, MacReady was memorably cast as Mrs Tinker, the paranoid mother of Alice Tinker in The Vicar of Dibley episode "The Christmas Lunch Incident". She later appeared as Mrs Norcliffe in Gentleman Jack and Irene Hickson in two episodes of Strike.

On stage, MacReady has appeared in several productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Love in a Wood as Mrs Joiner, Bartholomlew Fair as Ursula and Roberto Zucco as Madam. She has also featured in several plays at the National Theatre, including The Mandate as Tamara and Tales From the Vienna Woods as First Aunt.

MacReady was born in Bridport, Dorset, in 1939. She married the actor James Laurenson in 1970. The marriage produced one child. The couple divorced in 1997.