Long-running saga of Nyree the showstopper

Well, Timson and Fellows really do and there are plenty of other pitch-perfect moments in Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor. Liza Sadovy's delicious Maria alone is worth every cent - and then there's the biggest drawcard of them all.

She bursts into that ritzy Cleveland hotel suite at the end of Act One, a shimmering vision in ice-blue and silver, and the magic happens all over again: Nyree Dawn Porter, transformed this time into a dizzy opera buff with wicked designs.

''You want to hit her on the head one minute, then hug her the next. Shelley Winters would do Julia beautifully. It's a real stretchy part; a lovely antidote to playing suffering women,'' enthuses the actress who captured the imagination of millions and continues to haunt.

She is warm, funny, enormously good-natured, and it's all very disconcerting. Where is Irene, ultimate fantasy of myriad males who yearned as hopelessly as Soames for a chance to conquer that cool, elusive beauty? Nyree Dawn Porter, unforgettable star of BBC-2's 26-episode adaptation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, has had to live with that question for half her life and you would imagine she is sick to death of it. On the contrary.

''When I got my OBE [in 1970], it was for services to television and I have no illusions about my great good fortune in being chosen for such an exceptional production.

''Huw Weldon, Donald Wilson and David Attenborough were the people who said: yes, we'll do it - incredibly brave and daring.

''I have a great affection for Irene and interestingly, she got her biggest response in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia. It was her struggle for freedom that inspired them, a Russian once explained to me.

''Funny that. To me Irene was the woman who had been violated when she was growing up, then was raped by her husband.

''Probably I was the right actress to play Irene, though I've never doubted my own right to freedom. Maybe that's because I was born in New Zealand and have been educated by life.'' It has served her some tough lessons. ''My parents separated when I was very young,'' says the Napier-born actress whose two marriages both ended - one through death, the other in divorce.

Her mother taught her how to draw faces, if not the culinary arts - ''she can't cook to save her life; my sister and I had to do it all'' - and two others have shaped the woman who is so unlike Irene Forsyte.

''I had the blessing of a fantastic uncle, Cecil Millard. He was a butcher by profession and by inclination, a lay preacher and philosopher. I think in another lifetime he sat around Plato's circle. He was also incredibly handsome.'' Eighteen years ago, the other great blessing arrived: daughter Natalya Francesca Halstead - ''Tassy for short'' - who plans to follow in her mother's footsteps.

At least she won't have to commit fraud, says Nyree Dawn Porter with a smile.

''I only fully realised what I'd perpetrated when a friend showed me one of those name-your-baby books and there it was: 'Nyree - name of a famous TV actress'.

''It's completely made-up. My parents called me Ngaire - a fine New Zealand name - but you can imagine how that would have gone down in the acting business. Stiff-necked Antipodean that I was, I decided to keep it, but spell it phonetically.'' Its power at the box office remains potent and Nyree Dawn Porter is still in almost constant demand, especially for television and on the West End.

Ellen in The Dragon Variation at the Duke of York's Theatre, Mary in Murder in Mind at the Strand, the title role in Anastasia at the Cambridge - the parts keep rolling in. Including the one no one can forget.

''Two years ago, I played Irene again, this time on stage for a national tour. The Manchester critics nominated me for Best Actress, so I guess it did well. The penalty I'm paying now is that I'm right for Irene in middle-age and older.

''I've worked without a stop since September last year, but finally I've bought a house I love thanks to Tassy, who found it in Wimbledon. In future, I hope to be able to relax more and do less commercial things.'' Lend Me a Tenor is no strain at all, Nyree Dawn Porter hastens to add. ''It broke all records in Kuala Lumpur, has a sensational director, some amazing young talents and makes me laugh out loud.'' Nyree Dawn Porter. . . in demand. Photo: David Thorpe

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