Shirley Stelfox
Nude

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but that doesn’t mean a female fox needs to be young to prove she’s still a vixen. This especially rings true when it comes to Shirley Stelfox. Back when she was an ingénue, the late British actress studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts with Edward Fox. (Apparently foxes stick together.) Through the years, Ms. Stelfox could be seen on the small screen in several series, including dramas (S.W.A.L.K., Three Seven Eleven), comedies (Bootle Saddles, Keeping Up Appearances), crime shows (Inspector Morse, The Bill), and soap operas (Coronation Street, Brookside, EastEnders). The boob tube babe also played Carol May on Making Out (1989-1991), Jean on Common As Muck (1994-1997), and Mrs. Nolan on Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married (1999-2000). But she’s best known in her homeland for embodying busybody Edna Birch on the long-running soap Emmerdale (2000-2015). So where, you may ask, does the star’s skin come in? The answer is in 1984 — the year and the movie. Even though Shirley was already in her forties, she took the part of a prostitute in the British dystopian flick Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) based on George Orwell’s prophetic novel about Big Brother and the Thought Police. During a skintillating scene, Ms. Stelfox lifts her skirt and flashes her fur to John Hurt. Now, that’s what we call a totalitarian turn on! Whether on film (Personal Services), on stage (Uncle Vanya), or on TV (Knights of God), Shirley was somebody to see. RIP.