Kelly began her acting career in the late 1960s. She played Edie Burgess in the
ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 1971 and went on to portray various roles in several televised drama series including
The Bill,
Boon,
Spender, and
Where the Heart Is, as well as the television film
Cider with Rosie among others. In 1993, Kelly joined the cast of the
BBC soap opera
EastEnders as
Nellie Ellis, the interfering relative of
Pauline Fowler, portraying the role until 1998, before returning briefly in 2000 for the funeral of
Ethel Skinner (
Gretchen Franklin). After leaving
EastEnders, Kelly appeared in the
ITV soap opera
Emmerdale as Edith Weatherall in 2002, as well as appearing in episodes of
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries,
Steel River Blues and
Heartbeat. Her final acting role was in
The Royal in 2007. ==Personal life and death==