Marilyn Monroe was an American actress and singer. Famous for playing comedic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s and was emblematic of the era's changing attitudes towards sexuality, she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, but her films grossed $200 million by the time of her death in 1962. More than half a century she continues to be a major popular culture icon. Monroe was raised in Los Angeles, she spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage and married at age 16. She was working in a factory as part of the war effort during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career; the work led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Columbia Pictures. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, in the dramas Clash by Night and Don't Bother to Knock.

She faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photos before she became a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films. By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars; the same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and on the cover of the first issue of Playboy. She played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but she was disappointed when she was typecast and underpaid by the studio, she was suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch, one of the biggest box office successes of her career. When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954, she began studying method acting at the Actors Studio. In late 1955, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave a larger salary, her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl.

She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her work in Some Like It Hot, a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits. Monroe's troubled private life received much attention, she struggled with addiction and anxiety. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller were publicized, both ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her home in Los Angeles, her death was ruled a probable suicide, although several conspiracy theories have been proposed in the decades following her death. Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson at the Los Angeles County Hospital on June 1, 1926, her mother, Gladys Pearl Baker, was from a poor Midwestern family who had migrated to California at the turn of the century. At the age of 15, Gladys married John Newton Baker, an abusive man nine years her senior, had two children by him and Berniece, she filed for divorce and sole custody in 1923, but Baker kidnapped the children soon after and moved with them to his native Kentucky.

Monroe was not told that she had a sister until she was 12, met her for the first time as an adult. Following the divorce, Gladys worked as a film negative cutter at Consolidated Film Industries. In 1924, she married Martin Edward Mortensen, but they separated only some months and divorced in 1928. Monroe's father is unknown and she most used Baker as her surname. Although Gladys was mentally and financially unprepared for a child, Monroe's early childhood was stable and happy. Gladys placed her daughter with evangelical Christian foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender in the rural town of Hawthorne, she began visiting her daughter on weekends. In the summer of 1933, Gladys bought a small house in Hollywood with a loan from the Home Owners' Loan Corporation and moved seven-year-old Monroe in with her, they shared the house with actors George and Maude Atkinson and their daughter, Nellie. In January 1934, Gladys was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. After several months in a rest home, she was committed to the Metropolitan State Hospital.

She spent the rest of her life in and out of hospitals and was in contact with Monroe. Monroe became a ward of the state, her mother's friend, Grace Goddard, took responsibility over her and her mother's affairs. In the next four years, Monroe's living situation changed often. For the first 16 months, she continued living with the Atkinsons, was sexually abused during this time. Always a shy girl, she now developed a stutter and became withdrawn. In the summer of 1935, she stayed with Grace and her husband Erwin "Doc" Goddard and two other families, in September, Grace placed her in the Los Angeles Orphans Home; the orphanage was "a model institution" and was described in positive terms by her peers, but Monroe felt abandoned. Encouraged by the orphanage staff who thought that Monroe would be happier living in a family, Grace became her legal guardian in 1936, but did not take her out

Damaris Hayman is an English character actress cast in upper class or eccentric roles. Hayman was born in Kensington, London and educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College. After repertory work in the theatre, she made her film début in The Belles of St Trinian's in an uncredited role as a sixth former. Apart from scores of small parts, Hayman appeared in the Doctor Who serial The Dæmons as Miss Hawthorne, the self-proclaimed White Witch of the village Devil's End. Doctor Who, the Television Companion described her character as, "very memorable," and praised Hayman as being "perfectly cast in the role, her engaging performance adding much to the story". Hayman has appeared in such comedies as Steptoe and Son, Love Thy Neighbour, The Young Ones, One Foot In The Grave and Sez Les, she worked with Ronnie Barker, appearing in one episode of Clarence. She appeared in The Liver Birds in the 1986 Duty Free Christmas special. After appearing in a sketch in Tony Hancock's last British TV series in 1967, she became a close friend of the comedian in the remaining year of his life.

She appeared in the six-part straight-to-dvd drama White Witch of Devil's End which began production in 2012. The Belles of St. Trinian's - Visiting Parent Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog - Black-haired woman Only Two Can Play - Lady Committee Member West 11 - Guide with School Party Bitter Harvest - Neighbour in Flat Smokescreen - Mrs. Roper's Nurse Bunny Lake Is Missing - Daphne The Magnificent Six and 1/2: The Ski Wheelers Mutiny on the Buses - Mrs. Jenkins Anoop and the Elephant - Miss Flint Love Thy Neighbour - Woman on Bus Paganini Strikes Again - Miss Lanyard Man About the House - Old Lady Confessions of a Driving Instructor - Tweedy Golfing Lady The Pink Panther Strikes Again - Fiona Full Circle - Miss Pinner The Missionary - Lady Quimby Damaris Hayman on IMDb

Ashton Gate railway station was a railway station serving the Ashton Gate area of Bristol, which included Ashton Gate football ground, the home ground of Bristol City F. C.. It was located on the Portishead Railway. Recent proposals have been made for the station to reopen as part of the MetroWest project to improve rail transport in the Greater Bristol area; the railway through Ashton Gate was opened on 18 April 1867 by the Bristol and Portishead Pier and Railway Company, when services began on their line from the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Portishead Junction to a pier on the Severn Estuary at Portishead. The line was built as 7 ft broad-gauge, was single track; the line was relaid as 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in standard gauge between 24 and 27 January 1880, in 1883 the line was double-tracked. Ashton Gate station was built after local football team Bristol City were promoted to the Football League First Division the top tier of English football; the station was opened to serve their home ground, Ashton Gate Stadium, situated nearby.

The station opened for supporters on 15 September 1906, to the general public on 1 October that year. In 1914 it was temporarily renamed "Exhibition Station" for the Bristol International Exhibition; the station was 8 miles 75 chains from the line's terminus at Portishead, 2 miles 79 chains from Bristol Temple Meads and 121 miles 30 chains from the Great Western Railway's terminus at London Paddington. The station closed due to economies during the First World War, it passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was closed by the British Railways Board in 1964 briefly reopened for traffic to the football ground until 1977, temporarily re-opened in May 1984 to serve Mission England, a series of evangelical rallies by Billy Graham at the football ground; the Portishead Branch Line is to be reopened as part of the MetroWest scheme, a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area. The scheme was given the go-ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal, whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government.

A consultation on the plans was held between 22 June and 3 August 2015 to gather views from the community and stakeholders before moving on to detailed designs. The detailed proposals will be subject to a second consultation. Due to the additional capital costs, the line will not be electrified, however the design will include passive provision for future electrification; the line through Ashton Gate would be increased to double track. Network Rail stated that it was not feasible to reopen Ashton Gate during the initial stage of the project, but that the scheme will be future-proofed to allow the construction of a station at a date. Trains along the reopened line will operate between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads, with two trains per hour in each direction. Services would call at Pill and Parson Street, with aspirations to call at Bedminster and Ashton Gate. Trains could be extended on to the Severn Beach Line; the trains used will be diesel multiple units three carriages long. The line will be operated as part of the Greater Western passenger franchise.

Great Western Railway, a subsidiary of FirstGroup operate the Greater Western franchise, however their contract expires in early 2019, before services to Portishead are due to start. In May 2016, it was reported that Bristol City Council did not consider there was a business case for the station's reopening due to its low predicted annual patronage of 67,000 excluding Bristol City matches. Butt, R. V. J.. The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt and stopping place and present. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. Jowett, Alan. Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas. Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687. Notes to references: Media related to Ashton Gate railway station at Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the station