Gladys Ambrose (28 December 1930, Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire " 4 July 1998, Knowsley Village, Merseyside) was an English actress of film and television, best known for her role as the gossipy Julia Brogan on the long-running soap opera, Brookside, which she played from 1985 until just before her death from cancer in July 1998 at the age of 67.