Diana Dors, the blonde bombshell of the 'fifties and 'sixties, whose publicity-seeking exploits and extravagant and glamorous life style did much to brighten a rather austere and repressive Britain, need no introduction. In fact, in the era of the sex-symbols, we were proud to have one who could match the best any other country could offer. She was, as the press said of her, "Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe".
Peter Fluck, Diana and Mary Fluck
The Diana behind the image was only allowed to come to the fore when age inevitable began to bury that sylph-like figure underneath more matronly proportions. She became a character actress of considerable talent and then a personality seen frequently on television and heard on the radio. But it was her regular spot on TVam which enchanted millions. On TVam Diana was famous for her 'Slim-in' with the Dors Dozen, openly flaunting those extra stones. In 'Open Dors', an Agony Aunt slot which followed, she answered viewers problems with a vision and depth that could only have come from living a life to the full. Above all, we knew she really cared. She possessed an unforgettable warmth and sincerity in her eyes and winning smile. Few knew these disguised the agony and trauma of a cancerous tumour which she was trying valiantly and courageously to overcome. When Diana died we all felt we had lost a friend, a member of the family. At Diana's funeral at the Sacred Heart Church in Sunningdale Berkshire on May 11 1984, Father Theodore Fontanari read one of the countless letters and postcards of tribute that had come flooding in. It said.
"I am without faith. I know that something is missing in my life. Like millions I loved our dear Diana, not as a sex goddess, film star, but as a genuine person who one could feel would befriend you. My heart is saddened. Without her lovely being, our world is much poorer. I will now search for what she had found".
Diana Mary was born on 23 October 1931 at The Haven Nursing Home, Kent Road, Swindon, Wiltshire to Mary and Peter Fluck. Mary had taken nearly a week to give birth and had almost died as a result. Diana was born black in the face, thrown aside for dead as doctors battled to save her mother, and was revived by a nurse in another room. The result of this near-suffocation as she fought for survival had been life long claustrophobia. Mary recovering from giving birth so late in life, realised that she at last had her own little girl and that child was going to have everything, and do everything, she herself had dreamed of. 'Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes' were only some of the beautiful thing she wanted for her precious daughter, Diana.
Diana was always the best dressed tot in the neighbourhood, and nothing she wanted was too much. Birthdays were always celebrated with parties, often at hired halls, dancing classes was a must, and as Mary was a great cinema fan, took Diana aged 3 to see her first film. There began Diana's love of films. Sitting there in the dark with her mother, they were transported to a world far away from Swindon; to glamorous Hollywood homes and nightclubs where people wore beautiful clothes, swam in luxurious pools and sang, danced or acted their way across lavish sets.
When it was time for Diana to attend school, at great expense and against her father's wishes, she was sent to a small private school, Selwood House, run by two prim spinster sisters, Miss Daisy and Miss Ruth. Considering where Diana's interests lay, it was not surprising that, instead of concentrating on maths - Di's weak point - she would sit writing the names of film star's down the margin in her text book where she should have been adding up figures. Her father raged over school reports, but Diana was always defended by her mother who said something one day that would be the understatement of the decade: "what does it matter, just so long as she knows how to count up the few pounds she'll earn at the end of the week".