Morag Siller
# Morag Siller

Morag Siller (1 November 1969 – 15 April 2016) was a Scottish actress, voice artist, and radio personality.

Siller died of breast cancer aged 46.

## Biography

### Early life and education

Siller was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was adopted at the age of three with her twin brother. While in school, she initially wanted to be a pianist but realised she would probably never be able to do it as a profession. Her attention then turned to becoming a policewoman but discovered she couldn’t apply as she was an inch shy of the department's height requirement of 5'4".

During her school years, she had appeared in plays, but only as an excuse to get out of classes. She attended the Edinburgh Acting School part-time, until she moved to London at the age of 18. She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School followed by a postgraduate degree at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. While still in school, she landed a small part in the David Puttnam film Memphis Belle.

### Acting career

Since 1992 Siller has performed in films, West End theatre, television, and radio. She has also appeared in numerous television commercials and pop videos, including Morrissey, Holly Johnson, Thompson Twins and Comic Relief. In 2000 she fulfilled an ambition by writing and co-directing a comedy sketch show, The Brushed Forward Arrangement.

She created semi-regular roles on television, such as Flora Kilwillie in Monarch of the Glen, Marilyn Dingle in Emmerdale and Leona in Casualty, (for which she won AOL's award for Best Dramatic Performance in a Television Series in 2000). She performed in two musicals, Les Misérables and Mamma Mia!. She also played Karen alongside Maureen Lipman and Anne Reid in the ITV comedy drama, Ladies of Letters.

### Personal life

In May 2005 Morag married her long term partner, classical musician Tim Nicholson. The couple lived in Cheshire, England. She had no children.

## Credits

### Theatre

| Role | Production | Director | Venue |
| - | - | - | - |
| Voltemand | Hamlet | Lyndsey Turner | Barbican Centre |
| Puttana | 'Tis Pity She's A Whore | Michael Longhurst | Shakespeare's Globe |
| Mrs Plumb | Pastoral | Steve Marmion | Soho Theatre |
| Unknown | After Black Roses | Chris Wright | Royal Exchange |
| Woman / Nurse Porter | Orpheus Descending | Sarah Frankcom | Royal Exchange |
| Rosie | Mamma Mia! | Phyllida Lloyd | No.1 / International Tour |
| Pope Joan/Janine/Mrs Kidd | Top Girls | | Library, Manchester |
| Various | The Brushed Forward Arrangement | Morag Siller | Hen & Chickens Theatre / London |
| Luce/Courtesan | A Comedy of Errors | Ian Brown | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds |
| Simpson | Tons of Money | | Bristol Old Vic, Bristol |
| Ensemble & Madame Thenadiere | Les Misérables | | No 1 Tour & West End, London |
| Barge Woman & Narrator | The Wind in the Willows | | Sheffield Crucible, Sheffield |
| Audrey | Blue Remembered Hills | | Sheffield Crucible, Sheffield |
| Elvira Swainscott | Elvis Is Alive & She's Beautiful | | Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh |
| Jude Kelly | Mail Order Bride | | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds |
| Princess Zizi | Chatsky | Jonathan Kent | Almeida Theatre and UK Tour |
| Kylie | Taking Liberties | Jack Shepherd/Sara Sugarman | Hackney Empire, London |
| Doreen | A Talk in the Park | | Kings Head, London |
| Anita | West Side Story | | Edinburgh Theatre, Edinburgh |
| Jan | Grease | | Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh |
| Glinda The Good Witch | The Wizard of Oz | | Netherbow Theatre, Edinburgh |
| Mrs Lovett | Sweeney Todd | | Churchill Theatre, London |
| Eve | Fear of Water | | Orange Tree, London |

### TV

| Role | Production | Production Company |
| - | - | - |
| Dr Ferguson | Marchlands | ITV Studios |
| Karen | Ladies of letters | Tiger Aspect |
| Mrs Kilbraith | Jinx | BBC TV |
| Margery Bloom | Doctors | BBC TV |
| Tanya Bryant | Ghost Squad | Company Pictures |
| Prostitute | Robert Louis Stevenson | BBC Scotland |
| Marilyn Dingle | Emmerdale | Yorkshire TV |
| Mrs. Rust | Swiss Toni II | Tiger Aspect |
| Wendy | Grease Monkeys | BBC TV |
| Brenda | Doctors | BBC TV |
| Barbara | Night and Day | Granada TV |
| Leona | Casualty | BBC TV |
| Nurse Penny Lambirth | Fields of Gold | BBC TV |
| Sister Dolores | Peak Practice | Carlton TV |
| DIY Saleswoman | Los Dos Bros | Talkback |
| Flora Kilwillie | Monarch of the Glen | BBC Scotland |
| Leila | Masie Raine | Fair Game Films |
| Driving Instructor | The Man | BBC TV/Crucial Films |
| Karen Kennedy | The Bill | Thames |
| Maggie | Education Film | BBC TV |
| Flossy | Candy Floss | BBC Scotland |
| Nancy | Trial and Retribution | LWT |
| Susan Makepeace | Hetty Wainthrop Investigates | BBC TV |
| Sharon | Life and Death | LWT |
| Homeless Mum | O Mary This London | BBC TV |
| Waitress | A View to a Thrill | BBC Scotland |

### Film

| Role | Production | Director |
| - | - | - |
| Jessie | Summer Solstice | Giles Foster |
| Whore | Stanley/The Libertine | Lawrence Dunmore |
| Lisa Gibbons | Dreams | Michael Hilyn |
| Sarah | Secret Society | Imogen Kimmel |
| Mary Lee | House of Mirth | Terence Davies |
| Baitdigger & Claudia | The Hurting | Kaprice Kea |
| Gloria | Exploding into Life | Simon Gascoigne |
| Farm Girl/Jitterbugger | Memphis Belle | Michael Caton-Jones / David Puttnam |
