Hayes was born in Streatham, London, the daughter of George Frederick Hayes and Florence Alice Hayes. Her father was a clerk in the civil service and her mother was a schoolmistress. As a child, Hayes attended the Sacred Heart School in Hammersmith.
Career
She was featured in many radio and television comedy shows between 1940 and 1996, including Hancock's Half Hour, Ray's a Laugh, The Arthur Askey Show, The Benny Hill Show, Bootsie and Snudge, Hugh and I and Till Death Us Do Part. She played the part of Henry Bones in the BBC Children's Hour radio programmeNorman and Henry Bones – The Boy Detectives during the late 1940s. Hayes was cast in supporting roles for films including The Bargee, The NeverEnding Story, A Fish Called Wanda and was also featured as Fin Raziel in the Ron Howard film Willow. Her most substantial television appearance was in the title role of Edna, the Inebriate Woman for which she won a BAFTA award. She provided the character voice for comedy puppet performances for television and DVDs – e.g. Gran. She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1972 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews. In April 1975, Hayes was interviewed by Roy Plomley for Desert Island Discs. A sizeable, yet incomplete, extract is available to listen to and download via the programme's website on the BBC. In 1977, she appeared on the BBC's long running TV variety show The Good Old Days; she had been an early member of the Players' Theatre in London, an old time music hall club, from the 1950s onwards. In 1985, she starred in the title role of the TV play, Mrs Capper's Birthday, by Noël Coward.
Personal life
She was the mother of British actor Richard O'Callaghan by her marriage to the late Valentine Brooke, whom she divorced. She never remarried. She was formerly the head of the British Catholic Stage Guild, which her son, Richard, now chairs. She was awarded an OBE in 1988.
Death
Patricia Hayes died in September, 1998 in Puttenham, Surrey but she appeared posthumously in the 2002 film Crime and Punishment which had been filmed in 1993, but delayed because of a legal case. She is buried at Watts Cemetery, Compton, Surrey.
Television roles
Selected filmography
Broken Blossoms – Minor role
Went the Day Well? – Daisy
When We Are Married – Ruby Birtle
The Dummy Talks –
Hotel Reserve – Woman
Candles at Nine – Gewndolyn – Maid
Great Day – Mrs. Beadle
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – Phoebe
