Kathy Staff Kathy Staff Kathy Staff (born Minnie Higginbottom; 12 July 1928 – 13 December 2008) was an English actress, well known for her work on British television. She is most famous for her portrayal of Nora Batty on the longest running sitcom in the world, "Last of the Summer Wine". Born in Dukinfield, Cheshire, Staff was best known for her role as one of the main characters, Nora Batty, in the long-running BBC sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine". She played Nora Batty from the pilot episode in 1973 (though in the pilot and first series, she was referred to as
The Weekenders (TV pilot) Big Night Out". Reeves co-wrote the show with Mortimer under his real name, Jim Moir, which is also the name given to his character. The show was produced as a pilot for Channel 4's "Bunch of Five" season - the network's own version of the BBC's "Comedy Playhouse", in which new sitcom ideas were tried out. Out of the five pilots that were broadcast, only one - a Frank Skinner sitcom entitled "Blue Heaven" - was made into a full series. The show co-starred several comedians and actors who were unknown at the time, but had worked with Reeves and