Coral Atkins obituary

Actor whose career took second place to her vocation to help disturbed childrenThe actor Coral Atkins, who has died aged 80, found fame on television in the 1970s in A Family at War, which ran for 52 episodes and attracted audiences of more than 20 million. Her character, Sheila Ashton, was the downtrodden and neglected wife of a womanising RAF sergeant, David (played by Colin Campbell), and a heroine of the semi-autobiographical series created by John Finch.The ITV drama (1970-72) followed a lo