Born in Blackpool in 1921, Boddington's first worked as an assistant electrician for
Tyrone Guthrie at the
Old Vic in 1941. Later she worked with
Orson Welles on his production of
Othello in 1951. Boddington formed a strong working relationship with Laurence Olivier. Her lifelong bond with Olivier was essentially one of camaraderie, epitomized by the fact that they had once taken refuge together under a table one rehearsal during the war, when surprised by an air raid. According to
Simon Callow something of those days characterised their relationship. She was dubbed "Marshal Boddington" by the young actors at the National (such as
Michael Gambon and
Derek Jacobi) during the 1960s, bluffly organising and rallying her troops. She stayed at the
National Theatre, until her retirement in 1987. Boddington was the first stage manager to receive the MBE for services to the theatre. ==Family life==