Coral Atkins

Coral Rosemary Atkins (13 September 1936 – 9 December 2016) was an English actress.

Atkins was born in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, England. She had an older sister Sylvia and a younger brother Peter, both also born in London. She was married to British actor Jeremy Young.

Her television credits include: Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Softly, Softly, The Avengers, Callan, The Sweeney, Survivors and Emmerdale.

Her most high-profile role is probably that of Sheila Ashton in the 1970s Second World War drama series A Family at War. It was during the production of this series that Atkins found her calling as a foster mother. Giving up her acting career, she opened her own foster home for abused and neglected children.

Her story was dramatised in the TV drama Seeing Red which starred Sarah Lancashire playing Atkins. She was also the subject of an edition of This Is Your Life in 1994. She died in West Berkshire on 9 December 2016, from cancer.