Whatever Happened To ... Patricia Franklin?

I have been running an occasional blog series looking at some of the lesser known supporting actors who graced so many Carry On films over the years. I think it is time to focus on some of these terrific British character actors and attempt to find out a bit more about them.

Today I have decided to look into the career of an actress who appeared in five Carry Ons during the late 1960s and 1970s: Patricia Franklin. Patricia made her first cameo in Carry On Camping back in late 1968. She popped up for a scene with Derek Francis and Charles Hawtrey as a heavily pregnant young woman who lived on a farm. Unfortunately misunderstandings follow which result in poor Terry Scott being shot in the backside. Moving on...

Patricia's next appearance came in Carry On Loving, released in 1970. Another cameo, she features in a hilarious scene as part of a couple who visit Kenneth Williams' Percival Snooper for marriage guidance. Patricia forms a great double act with Bill Maynard in this scene. We next see Patricia in Carry On Girls in 1973. This is probably her most substantial role in the series, playing June Whitfield's right-hand woman Rosemary. Together they take on Sid's Councillor Fiddler when he plans to bring a beauty contest to the dreary seaside resort of Fircombe. The line "Rosemary! Get the candle!" is the punchline in a wonderful bra burning sequence featuring the glorious Patsy Rowlands.

Patricia Franklin next played Jack Douglas' wife in Carry on Behind. She joins Liz Fraser at a health farm only to turn up at the campsite towards the end of the film to find Jack and Windsor Davies in a compromising position in their caravan with a scantily clad Carol Hawkins and Sherrie Hewson! Patricia returned to Carry On the following year for her last appearance in the series, in a very brief role as the canteen cook in the dreadful Carry On England.

So what else has Patricia Franklin done in her acting career? Well Carry On Camping was her first screen credit. Patricia has gone on to appear in the film version of Bless This House as well as a wide range of television series such as The Sweeney, Silent Witness, Hazell and several different roles in The Bill. Most recently she has appeared in Black Books and all three of Edgar Wright's films - Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and The World's End. 

Patricia Franklin was born in London in 1942 and continues to act as well as appearing at film conventions. She is married to Australian dramatist Frank Hatherley and together they have a daughter, the guitarist Charlotte Hatherley.

Patricia will be appearing at the London Film Convention on 25 July. 

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