Dolly Bellfield

Dolly Bellfield (played by Thelma Barlow), born 8th April (the year has not yet been revealed) to Enid, was canteen worker for HWD Components.

Childhood and Pre-Canteen Life
As a child, Dolly started off as a dainty, delicate child according to her mother before rapidly gaining weight. This is likely the basis for her obsession with diet and weighing herself constantly at work. Her obesity was likely to have carried on throughout her earlier life as Jean’s sister Peggy once remarked she remembered her being huge when they met at the Cafe Bonbon. Dolly appears to have worked at the Cafe Bonbon for sometime as she regales her colleagues with many stories from her time there. It would appear that the Cafe Bonbon was a high-end tea room with some very eclectic customers.

Dolly earned her City and Guilds qualification in catering, evidenced by the fact she knew of and was experienced in silver service. This was once mocked by the temporary head of the canteen Nicola Bodeux, saying it was old fashioned.

At some point, Dolly married Bob Bellfield, whose catchphrase "What say?" and whose selective hearing constantly annoyed her. They had a son together, Stephen who lived with a marine biologist named Marcus. It is strongly implied - though not outright stated - that her son is gay. Dolly is not entirely comfortable with her son’s sexual orientation and she has wishes for grandchildren though she is resigned to the fact she is unlikely to have them.

Personality
Dolly had something of a sharp tongue and often had a cutting rejoinder for any remark she didn’t care for. She also had a fairly rigid view of the world, reinforced by opinions expressed in the right-wing newspaper the Daily Mail. She could be something of a snob but was not any sort of social climber. Rather it is likely her own insecurities caused her to react and lash out when she feels threatened. She was however, fiercely defensive of her colleagues whenever an outsider appear to challenge them.

Dolly was usually seen with Jean and together they formed a bizarre friendship in which they were the best of friends yet they constantly bickered. Outside of this friendship, Dolly was a loyal, loving and enjoyable worker who was friends with all of the Canteen staff. She constantly moaned about the state of the society and normally blamed this on Tony Blair. (See Running jokes) She showed a slight dislike towards Philippa Moorcroft, who Dolly preferred to see wearing glasses, as they diminished Phillipa's nostrils.

In the Canteen
Dolly lived a normal and peaceful life throughout her employment within the company. She tended to work from breakfast preparation through to lunchtime as she was seldom seen working the afternoon shift. she quit with Jean when Nicola Bodeux tried to impose a more rigid way of working with changes that did not go down well with the customers (as well as insulting Tony). She and Jean reinstated themselves later on when Bren was left to cover an entire nightshift on her own. When the canteen closed, Dolly took the opportunity to retire with her husband to Mobberley.