Whatever Happened To … Linda Hooks?

The other day I published a blog on the actress Tricia Newby who appeared in the last two original Carry On films made in the late 1970s. Information on her is rather sketchy so I wanted to put together what I knew in the hope someone out there knows more. This has made me look further at some of the actors who cropped up in the later films in the series and probably one of the more recognisable is the actress Linda Hooks.

Linda first appeared in the Carry Ons in early 1974 when she played one of the "Birds of Paradise" troupe of girls who entertained the regulars so delightfully at The Old Cock Inn in Carry On Dick. Linda provided decorative support alongside Penny Irving, Eva Reuber- Staier and Laraine Humphrys. Appearing sporadically throughout the film the girls are kept in line by Joan Sims' gloriously bogus French Madame, Desiree. Obviously proving a hit with the team, Linda returned to work with them again the following year.

In 1975 Linda Hooks appeared in two episodes of the first series of Carry On Laughing. Produced by ATV, this series of half hours was the Carry On attempt to break into the ever popular world of television, with mixed results. Linda first appeared in "The Baron Outlook" as Rosie alongside Sid James, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Peter Butterworth. Linda returned as Nellie in the episode 'One in the Eye for Harold" opposite Jack Douglas and Kenneth Connor. Later that spring Linda had the cameo role as a nurse in Carry On Behind, in a scene which sees Kenneth Williams' Professor Crump brought into hospital. The scene also features a guest role for well-known actor George Layton.

Linda played her third and final role in a Carry On film in 1976 playing another nurse in Carry On England. Appearing in several short scenes alongside series favourite Julian Holloway, sadly this was the last time we saw Linda in Carry On. So what else do we know about Linda Hooks?

Born in Liverpool in 1952, Linda became known in the mid1970s primarily as a model and an actress. She first rose to fame in 1972 when she won the title of Miss International, a well known beauty contest of the era. Linda went on to compete in the Miss United Kingdom contest two years later, with less success. Branching out into acting, Linda appeared in a handful of other productions away from the Carry Ons. In 1975 she appeared in an episode of the Tim Brooke-Taylor and John Junkin series The Rough with the Smooth. She also played two small, uncredited roles in the series Space: 1999 between 1975 and 1976. And in The Sweeney episode Jack or Knave in 1978, Linda played the character of Ivy.

In the late 1970s Linda also became known for her role as a Hostess in the famous, enormously popular ITV game show, Sale of the Century. Hosted by Nicholas Parsons, Linda co-starred in over thirty episodes between 1975 and 1977. Linda's last credited role was as allegedly as a model in the television game show The New High Rollers in 1980. I'm not quite sure what Linda went on to do after that.

I hope, as with Tricia Newby, that Linda is still alive, well and happily living her life out there somewhere. I'd love to find out what she thinks of her association with the later Carry On films and her memories of working with the likes of Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams and Julian Holloway. If anyone knows anything more about Linda, do please drop me a line. 


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