[2][3] Dorothy made her stage debut in 1908 at Folkestone in county Kent, aged six, when she played 'Little Willie' in East Lynne.

[4][5] She also played leading juvenile roles in provincial theatres in Nobody's Daughter, Within the Law, The House of Peril, The White Heather, Wanted a Husband and The Chinese Puzzle.

The third film Through the Flames was a drama in which 'Peggy' escapes from a burning house, set on fire by a murderous cousin, by climbing onto telegraph wires.

[11] In June 1913 Dorothy's father Ernest was recruited by the British & Colonial Kinematograph Company (B&C) to play Napoleon in the landmark film The Battle of Waterloo.

[12] Dorothy Batley acted in sixteen films produced by the British & Colonial Kinematograph Company (B&C), each of them directed by one or other of her parents and released from October 1913 to November 1914.

[16] In November 1913 the Picturegoer magazine featured Dorothy in a series of articles promoting female leads in films, in which she was described as "a 'star' actress".

Ethyle Batley, who directed most of her B&C films, described her daughter's competence as an actor, observing that she needed little rehearsal and could comprehend "the essential idea of a character in an amazingly short time".

In 1914 Dorothy's mother was put in charge of the company's Juvenile Department where she was made responsible for the selection and training of child actors.

[15] In August 1913 a mishap occurred during the filming of The Broken Chisel, directed by Charles Weston, on location at Broadstairs on the coast of Kent.

They were eventually rescued in a small boat in an exhausted condition, Ernest suffering form severe cuts and bruises and Dorothy from shock.

[17] A short time afterwards, during the filming of the unreleased At the Hour of Twelve, Dorothy's leg was injured when she was dropped from the window of a burning building.

[20][21] In October 1914 Ethyle and Dorothy Batley left B&C to join the Burlingham Standard production company, with Ernest following them there in January 1915.

[25] The final film in that period was the patriotic Boys of the Old Brigade, produced in July and August 1916, in which Dorothy was cast as a crippled child.

[31][32] Dorothy Batley made her London theatrical debut at the Prince's Theatre in December 1920 as 'Ela Delahay' in Charley's Aunt.

[6][33] Newall had been a popular British screen actor and director in the post-war years to the early 1920s, in a series of films playing opposite Ivy Duke (whom he married in November 1922).

[34] During the tour of South Africa with Newall's company Batley performed the female lead in the plays Just Married, When the Blue Hills Laughed and 77 Park Lane.

[6][33] After their return from South Africa, Guy Newall and Dorothy Batley were married in June 1930 in the Hampstead Registry Office in London.

One of the consequences of the legislation was the proliferation of inexpensive productions in order for distributors and exhibitors to conform to the legal requirements of the Act.

[34][39][40] From July 1941 Dorothy Batley appeared as 'Ella Spender' in Esther McCracken's Quiet Weekend, which had a successful run at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End.

[43][A] In November 1951 Batley was a cast-member in the Noël Coward's "light comedy", Relative Values, at London's Savoy Theatre.