My friend Dyan Colclough, who has died aged 72, was a historian, teacher, and creative writer. Her book, Child Labor in the British Victorian Entertainment Industry (2016), made a significant contribution to the historiographies of both childhood and the theatre.

Also a powerful, moving and funny creative writer, Dyan completed many acutely observed short stories, monologues and scripts.

However, she came late to the world of academia. Born in Manchester, Dyan was the daughter of James Jackson, a mill worker. Her relationship with her mother was not easy, and Dyan had a challenging childhood, with the scantest education. She left school with no formal qualifications, and was employed as a shoe shop assistant.

A lover of dancing and soul music in particular, in 1969 Dyan met Tony Colclough, a car mechanic, at Mr Smith’s club in the city. They married in 1974.

While her children were growing up, Dyan took occasional work as a film and TV extra. Observations on set made her increasingly concerned about the welfare of child actors, and in the 1980s she decided to become a licensed chaperone to children working in television and film. She also undertook an access course enabling her to complete a history degree at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

In 1996, she received the Anthony Denning award to support her research into “the social, economic and life experiences of children employed in the British theatre, 1880-1939”. It supported trips to undertake archival work in London that would not otherwise have been possible. Help from the British Federation of Women Graduates enabled her to later complete her PhD on the historical significance of child entertainers (2008).

From 1999, Dyan worked as an associate history lecturer at MMU. Having been her tutor, I became her colleague, and Dyan proved herself to be a generous friend and an excellent lecturer who always gave students time.

Dyan’s empathy for others was demonstrated by the commitment she invested in uncovering and highlighting the voices, hopes and dreams of, as she wrote in the foreword to her book, “those many thousands of girls and boys who tapped, pirouetted, acted and sang their way” through British theatre history. It was a legacy of which she was justifiably proud.

Best friends throughout their marriage, Tony and Dyan shared a love of northern soul. He died last year. She is survived by her sons, Christian, Adam, Louis and Nathan.