Here is the biography of Daphne Oxenford:
Daphne Margaret du Grivel Oxenford was born on October 31, 1919, in Barnet, north London, to an accountant. She trained at the Embassy School of Acting and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama. During World War II, she worked briefly in a bank and as a censor, but eventually joined ENSA entertaining troops and broadcasting for radio after VE-Day.
After the war, Oxenford appeared in various stage productions, including revues at the Lyric and Globe Theatres, and television shows such as Oranges and Lemons and Tuppence Coloured. Her first radio engagement was in Let's Join In! for schools radio in 1947, followed by her television debut in Oranges and Lemons in 1949.
Oxenford's most notable role was as the regular storyteller on the BBC's Listen With Mother, where she read stories to pre-school children across the country from 1950 to 1971. She also appeared on television, including early episodes of Coronation Street, where she played Esther Hayes from 1960 to 1963.
In addition to her radio and television work, Oxenford continued to develop her stage career, appearing in productions at the Library Theatre, Manchester, and the Royal Exchange, Manchester. She also made regular television appearances with her friend Joyce Grenfell in the comedienne's sketch show Joyce Grenfell Requests The Pleasure.
Oxenford was married to David Marshall in 1951 and they lived in Altrincham, Cheshire, until 2001, when they moved to Essex. After her husband's death in 2003, she moved to the actors' retirement home at Denville Hall, Northwood, where she continued to do occasional television jobs until her death at the age of 93.
