The Mystery of Sally Douglas

Sally Douglas isn't perhaps an instantly recognisable Carry On name but she actually appeared in six 1960s Carry Ons. You might not know the name but you would probably recognise her face. She provided glamorous, mostly uncredited and often dialogue-free support in many classic films of the period.

Sally was born in 1941 and began her career as a model before graduating to small parts in the then thriving British film industry. She very rarely had much to do in the Carry Ons and her appearances must have felt quite restricting as she was clearly mainly employed for her looks. She first joined the team in Carry On Jack in 1963, playing one of the girls at Dirty Dicks. She then returned to Pinewood the following year to play one of Dr Crow's Amazon Guards in Carry On Spying. 

In Carry On Cleo, probably one of her most memorable scenes in the series saw Sally play "Anthony's Dusky Maiden". Sally shared a scene at the slave auction with Jim Dale and Kenneth Connor. Another prominent cameo came the following year when Sally played Kitikata in the scenes shot at Chobham Common which first introduced Big Heap (Charles Hawtrey) and Little Heap (Bernard Bresslaw) in Carry On Cowboy. The next year, 1966, saw Sally play the role of one of the girls captured by Odd Bod in Carry On Screaming!

Sally's final appearance in the series came in 1967 when she played one of the harem girls in the desert scenes out at Camber Sands in Carry On Follow That Camel. And sadly that was the last of Sally's associations with the Carry On team. She did go on to appear in a cavalcade of other popular films and television during her short career.

Other films included the role of a dancer in Doctor in Love (1960); another harem girl in The Pure Hell of St Trinians (1960); a hairdresser in In The Doghouse (1962); a girl in the Morecambe and Wise big screen adventure The Intelligence Men (1965); a Concubine in Genghis Khan (1965); a "glamorous girl" in an adaptation of the Agatha Christie story The Alphabet Murders (1965); a lady in the casino in another Morecambe and Wise film That Riviera Touch (1966) and her last film role, as Titta opposite Frankie Howerd in Up Pompeii (1970).

On television Sally Douglas featured in a wide range of different series during the 1960s. These included the role of a model in The Rag Trade (1962); Gwen in No Hiding Place (1963); Oleena in Brian Rix Presents: The Brides of March (1965); an episode of International Cabaret, hosted by Kenneth Williams (1966); Blodwen in an episode of Dad's Army (1969); two episodes of On the Buses, one in 1969 and one in 1970 and finally the role of Marlene in Doctor in the House in 1970.

After Sally's role in Up Pompeii in 1970, she disappeared from the limelight. I have no idea what happened to her career in television and film as by that point she would only have been around thirty years old. Did she perhaps marry, have children and retire? I'm afraid I don't know anymore other than she sadly died of cancer at the young age of 59 in September 
2001.

If anyone does know any more about Sally Douglas, please do get in touch. 


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