Gloria's Greats: Wendy Richard

Mon 13th Oct - 2:00PM

Gloria Hunniford speaks to the actress who hung up Pauline Fowler's pinny for the final time on Christmas Day. What will she reveal about her Albert Square exit?

Biography

Curious

Films

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Wendy Richard
born: 20-07-1943
birth place: Middlesbrough, England

Richard landed roles in the family comedy ‘Carry On…’ films, which starred Sid James, Terry Scott, Charles Hawtry and Barbara Windsor. She played the part of Kate in ‘Carry On Again Christmas’ (1970), was Miss Willing in ‘Carry On Matron’ (1972) and Ida Downs in ‘Carry On Girls’ (1973). She played the role of Anne Scott to rave reviews in Stephen Frears’ comedy crime caper ‘Gumshoe’ (1971) starring Albert Finney and with a musical score by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The following year, she was Carol in ‘Bless This House’ (1972), a comedy about 1970s English suburbia. She made a guest appearance as EastEnders’ Pauline Fowler in ‘Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time’ (1993), a one-off special for a children’s charity, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of Stuart McDonald’s ‘Dr Who’ sci-fi series.

As well as her film roles, Richard appeared extensively in episodes of television series, including ‘Please Sir!’ (1971), ‘On the Buses’ (1971), both the television series and the film of the same name, ‘Both Ends Meet’ (1972) and ‘Z Cars’ (1973). She appeared as Private Walker’s girlfriend, Shirley, in two episodes of ‘Dad’s Army’, in 1970 and 1973. She also had roles in ‘Not on Your Nellie’ (1974), ‘Hogg’s Back’ (1975) and ‘Spooner’s Patch’ (1979).

Theatre work is another notch in Richard’s belt and her first commercial stage experience was for a short two-week run in the early 1970s, as one of the delivery girls in ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’, which became the longest running comedy in British theatre history, playing from 1971 to 1987. In 1980, she toured for four months with the play ‘Blithe Spirit’, written by British playwright Noel Coward, which became one of the longest running plays, in any category, in British theatre. She described as “disastrous” her single run with ’Let’s Go Camping’ in 1983, due to the play’s poor attendance as well as to her being ill and unable to complete the tour. In a foray into pantomime, Richard toured with the production of ‘Cinderella’ during the Christmas seasons of 1983 and 1986/7, usually playing the role of Dandini, the prince’s valet and friend, but she has also played the Fairy Godmother.

Dipping once more into the world of music, Richard teamed up in 1986 with actor-singer Mike Berry to re-record her 1960’s single with Mike Sarne, ‘Come Outside’. In this version with Berry, Richard actually sung some of the verses. It was released in December on the WEA label but failed to repeat the song’s original success.

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