She was born Edith Mabel Mills in Wandsworth, London. She had intended to be a concert pianist and organist, before she became a dancer, subsequently becoming an international exhibition dancer. However, she was forced to retire from professional dancing after breaking a leg. Instead, she turned her hand to songwriting and penned the two popular tunes "Boomps-a-Daisy" and "Home, Sweet Home Again", among others. Some time later, Mills returned to the work of cabaret and revues, and it was while she was on her way to entertain the troops during the Second World War that she was involved in a serious car accident, which left her hospitalised for the next three years. Mills is best remembered for being the partner of the puppet "Muffin", in the successful BBC Televisionchildren's seriesMuffin the Mule between 1946 and 1955. She wrote the songs and the music, while puppeteer Ann Hogarth wrote the scripts. She made her TV debut in June 1946, when she first appeared with Muffin the Mule, who used to clip-clop around on top of a piano, whilst Mills played a tune. She wrote several Muffin the Mule songbooks and an adventure tale about him, as well as making records. Later, Mills and Muffin were joined in the BBC's For the Children spot by Prudence the Kitten, Mr Peregrine the Penguin, Sally the Sea-Lion and Louise the Lamb and Oswald the Ostrich Morris and Doris the field mice. Although all of the puppets captured the hearts of millions of young viewers, it was Muffin who gained the most attention. The press commented how he had fired children's imaginations. Mills's last TV appearance was on 2 January 1955. She died eight days later, after an operation. She had suffered a heart attack. Her younger brotherJohn Mills became a successful actor. She was the aunt of Hayley Mills and Juliet Mills. Annette Mills was married twice, with a daughter, Molly Blake, by her first husband, Henry McClenaghan; her second marriage, to Robert Sielle, ended in divorce. Molly was a successful illustrator and produced many of the illustrations in the popular series of children's books of Muffin the Mule stories. Molly's daughter - and Mills's granddaughter - is the actressSusie Blake.
Veganism
Annette Mills became a life member of the in 1952; "How warmly welcome is Annette Mills to the company of the vegans! Her famous television acts with Muffin the Mule need no introduction. But the tireless work she has done for so long in the cause of humane diet and treatment of animals is, we may be sure, equally dear to her heart. Her fellowship with us should certainly bring us all much joy."
