---
name: "Rita May"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/rita-may"
roles: ["Actor","Writer"]
born: "9 May 1942"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:18:09.914536+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Rita May

Actor and writer. Born 9 May 1942 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor, Writer
- **Born:** 9 May 1942, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
- **Active:** 1970–1984
- **Works often with:** Barry Hines

## Biography

Rita May is an English actress, singer and writer. Born in Sheffield on 9 May 1942, she began her career performing as a singer on the working men's club circuit in South Yorkshire before moving into television.

She appeared as Mrs. Kemp in the 1984 BBC television film *Threads* and wrote the 1982 *Play for Today* episode *England's Green and Peasant Land*, in which she also acted. May is known for her long-running role as Mags in the children's drama series *Children's Ward* (1989–2000) and as Margaret in the sitcom *Trollied* (2011–2018). Other credits include *Early Doors*, *Ackley Bridge*, *Coronation Street* and films such as *In the Loop* (2009) and *Everybody's Talking About Jamie* (2021).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Threads* (1984), Fi1m 92, as Mrs. Kemp — [page](https://film.one/film/threads.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Play for Today* (1970), Writer

## Also known for

- *In the Loop* (2009), Mrs Michaelson — [page](https://film.one/film/in-the-loop.md)
- *Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974* (2009), Aunty Win
- *Everybody's Talking About Jamie* (2021), Mrs. Cardwell
- *Edge of Darkness* (1985), Tea Lady — [page](https://film.one/tv/edge-of-darkness.md)
- *Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators* (2018), Emilia Merchant
- *Last of the Summer Wine* (1973), Celia

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/rita-may