One
of the joys of Twitter for me over the past few months has been getting
to know the very talented actress and artist Jayne Tunnicliffe. Jayne is
known for her work on the likes of Coronation Street, Phoenix Nights and
Happy Valley, but she also runs a thriving business as a very creative
artist. I love her work so much that I now own one of her prints myself.
Jayne
has recently started creating prints of some of our favourite Carry On
actors and being a fan herself, you can see the love and attention to
detail that's gone into them. I can't wait to receive my Amanda Barrie
print, pictured above, which sees the actress in full on Coronation
Street Alma mode.
Other
crackers include prints of Joan Sims, June Whitfield, Charles Hawtrey,
Hattie Jacques, Sid James and one of Jayne's mentors, the ultra talented
Bob Monkhouse. Each print is signed and numbered in a limited edition
run of 100 prints. They are available in two different sizes,
professionally printed onto 230gm heavyweight high quality matte photo
paper. Here are some of my favourites:
More sad news today for fans of the best of British film and television comedy. The veteran actor George A Cooper has very sadly passed away at the grand old age of 93. George was possibly best known for his regular role as caretaker Mr Griffiths in the long running BBC children's television series Grange Hill. However he enjoyed a career dating back until the 1940s and was still acting regularly until the mid 1990s. Although George was never in a Carry On, he did work for Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas on another big screen comedy adventure. In 1972 George A Cooper took on a main supporting role in the classic film version of the Sid James sitcom Bless This House. As slavedriver cafe owner Mr Wilson, George shares several scenes with the likes of Robin Askwith, Wendy Richard and Carol Hawkins before engaging in some pure farce when a food fight breaks out between himself, Sid and Terry Scott! Wonderful stuff. Born in Leeds in March 1925, George appeared in countless films during his career including the role of a Farmer in the Frankie Howerd comedy Jumping For Joy in 1956 and a small role in the Peggy Mount classic Sailor Beware! the same year. He was in A Night To Remember, the Kenneth More Titanic drama, played Doug Savage in Hell is a City (1960) and appeared as Mr Fitzpatrick in Tom Jones in 1963, in a cast which also featured Rosalind Knight and Patsy Rowlands. Another brief but memorable comedy role came opposite Harry H Corbett in the 1964 film The Bargee. George played a canal official. Later films included Ferry Cross the Mersey as Mr Lumsden, the Landlord in Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Blacket in The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (both 1970).
George A Cooper had played Geoffrey Fisher, the stern father of Billy Liar in the original West End stage version of the play in 1960 and also featured in a television version in the early 1970s. However it was the small screen which beckoned for most of George's career. As well as his regular role in Grange Hill, Cooper also enjoyed success in none other than Coronation Street. He played the character of Willie Piggott on and off between 1964 and 1971. Piggott owned a butcher's shop on Rosamund Street and was quite an unscrupulous character by all accounts. Over his 24 appearances, Piggott tried to bribe Ken Barlow, tussled with Len Fairclough and took a shine to Elsie Tanner! Cooper also played a role in the Corrie comedy spinoff Pardon The Expression in 1966, working with Betty Driver and Arthur Lowe. Like many actors of his generation, George A Cooper appeared in pretty much all the classic television dramas and comedy shows of the era. There were one off parts in Danger Man, The Avengers, The Saint, Z Cars, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Dixon of Dock Green and Public Eye. Always with an eye for comedy, George also grabbed memorable supporting roles in a host of classic sitcoms. He worked with Sid James on Bless This House, Terry Scott and June Whitfield in Terry and June, Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques in Sykes as well as Rising Damp and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
George A Cooper pretty much retired from acting in 1995. He played Griffiths in Grange Hill for seven years until 1992 and made final appearances on television in Heartbeat in 1993 and Casualty two years later. He was married to Anne Shirley Jones from 1955 until her death in 2000. George passed away on 16 November, in Petersfield, Hampshire at the age of 93. He is survived by his son, Adam. You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram
It's hard to believe it but the wonderful Amanda Barrie celebrates her 83rd birthday today. The ever-youthful star of stage and screen was born Shirley Anne Broadbent on 14 September 1935 in Ashton Under Lyne. Amanda is a real fans favourite, starring in two early Carry On films in the 1960s. She first of all played the supporting role of Glam Cab driver Anthea in Carry On Cabby before following this up with a starring role as Cleo in the classic Carry On Cleo in 1964. Sadly Amanda did not return the Carry On team for further adventures as her agent sent her off for a season at the Bristol Old Vic instead! Amanda was a natural in the Carry Ons, working beautifully with the likes of Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor. Other film appearances at the time included A Pair of Briefs (with Joan Sims), Doctor in Distress (with Dennis Price) and I've Gotta Horse (with Billy Fury). On stage, Amanda played leading ladies in a host of West End productions including She Loves Me, Cabaret, Hobson's Choice, Absurd Person Singular, Stepping Out and Private Lives.
Of course we all know her best these days for her long stint playing the wonderful Alma in Coronation Street. Amanda first appeared in the Street in guest spots as the cafe owner in 1981 and 1982 before returning on a permanent basis from late 1988. She would play the role until the character's death from cancer in June 2001. Alma featured in some memorable storylines which included marrying Mike Baldwin, being kidnapped by Don Brennan and being romanced by Ken Barlow. She also had wonderfully strong female friendships with the likes of Audrey, Gail and Hayley. Fourteen years after her last appearance she is still much-missed by fans. Amanda has gone on to appear in the likes of Doctors, Bad Girls, Holby City and most recently Benidorm with her former Corrie co-star Sherrie Hewson. Amanda has also become a regular on the pantomime circuit. Amanda married her longterm partner Hilary Bonner at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2014. Whatever she is up to today, I hope Amanda has a terrific birthday!
You can read Glenda Young's blog post about Amanda's autobiography here
You can read my interview with Amanda from earlier this year here
You can read about my meeting with Amanda at the London Film Convention here
Today we wish the actor Johnny Briggs a very happy birthday! Johnny, best known as wheeler dealer Cockney factory boss Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street, turns 83 today. Johnny Briggs is best known for his thirty year stint in the Manchester soap, starring as Mike between 1976 and 2006. During that time his character was probably most associated with his ongoing feud with Ken Barlow and his many, many wives! One of his longest running on-screen relationships was with the actress Amanda Barrie, who played Alma Sedgewick for over twenty years. Of course Amanda also starred in Carry On Cabby and Cleo amongst countless other things. And Johnny himself is not without Carry On links. He first appeared in the series in 1968 in the small role of a soldier who is shot in the sporran in the climatic moments of Carry On Up The Khyber. Following another brief role in the film of Bless This House in 1972, Briggs returned for two further Carry Ons - as a painter in Carry On Behind and finally as Captain Melly's driver in Carry On England in 1976, the same year he started in Corrie. Johnny also played Norman in the Carry On Laughing episode 'The Case of the Coughing Parrot' in 1975 for ATV. Johnny's other film roles include a medical student in Doctor in Distress (1963 - which also featured Amanda Barrie); The Leather Boys; the Norman Wisdom films A Stitch in Time and The Bulldog Breed (which also saw a certain William Roache play a small role). Briggs was also in Cosh Boy; HMS Defiant and the Morecambe and Wise film The Intelligence Men. On the small screen Johnny has popped up in everything from Crossroads, The Saint and No Hiding Place to Holby City and Miss Marple.
Whatever Johnny is up to today, I hope he has a very happy birthday! And you can read more about Johnny Briggs here.
I'm delighted to blog an interview with the wonderful actress, singer, classic car enthusiast and cake maker extraordinaire, Kathy Jones. Kathy played Tricia Hopkins in Coronation Street, first appearing back in September 1973 and staying in the role until June 1976. Following her success in Corrie, Kathy went on to star in several popular television series for Granada as well as appearing in countless theatre productions. She even recorded an album at the famous Abbey Road Studios.
I first got to know Kathy through my work on the brilliant Coronation Street Blog and above all her other achievements, she's just one of the nicest ladies you could wish to meet. She's also fond of a bit of a good old Carry On...
- First of all, I'd love to know how you got started in the business?
My
first stage appearance was at the age of four. I was a shy girl, in the
middle of a family of six children, my sister Carol was ten years older
than me, then David and Robert, me, followed by Peter and Stewart. I
was the only one to go on stage, I didn't sing at home, I never sang at
family gatherings either. My father was a concert secretary at
Coppenhall Working Men's Club in Crewe, the artist he had booked failed
to appear, so the entertainment that night was a free and easy, anyone
who wanted to sing could go on stage and the pianist would accompany
them, out of the blue I went onto the stage in my party frock and a
purple cardigan some one had knitted for me, and sang My Old Man Said
Follow The Van. I'd heard someone sing it before. My mum and dad were a
little stunned I think, but saw potential, and it carried on from there,
I was semi professional from the age of eight touring WMC's most
weekends in Stoke-on-Trent mainly.
- I'd love to hear what it was like to work at Granada back in the late 60s and 70s. It was such a legendary place at the time.
Producer
Johnny Hamp at Granada had a new talent show starting, my mother found
out about it and I auditioned for it. It was called First timers, I won
best female vocalist and I was thirteen. I was a frequent visiting
performer in various guises at Granada from then on.
It was a wonderful place to work there in the late sixties and seventies.
In those days you could sneak into a studio via the sound proof doors
and watch whatever was being recorded. Or a favourite place was the
canteen, everyone came in there eventually, it was in the tea queue that
I first saw Jack and Annie Walker from the Rovers, Doris Speed and
Arthur Leslie, but at the time it was Jack and Annie to me. In the
seventies Laurence Olivier held the door open for me in the corridor. He
was on his way to recording in studio 12 with Natalie Wood, I'd just
finished recording an episode of Songbook in studio 6. I think I closed
my mouth after my jaw dropped.
When
I was eighteen Muriel Young another fabulous producer at Granada wanted
me to pilot two children's programmes, one was a disaster after a
hamster bit me, it was a how to look after your pet show, the other was a
singing show called A Handful of Songs. That show ran for years.
-
When you joined Coronation Street many of the iconic characters and
actors were still very active in the show. Of all the people you worked
with during your time there who were you closest to on and/off screen?
When I
was in the Street I became great friends with Peter Adamson. He had opened a
club near Stockport called Sobers, Peter asked if I would sing at the opening
night and I went with my parents, in fact my father was a little miffed as he
hadn't realised that there wasn't any alcoholic drink in that club,
at all! He fancied a pint, but had a pint of non-alcoholic beer instead. Peter
and I worked together quite a lot, we did a summer season of Sunday nights in
Morecambe, with Stephen Hancock on piano, Peter organised all of the shows,
sang and told a few jokes, and introduced guest artists, one was a comedy
sketch with Graham Haberfield dressed as a tramp.
Peter was
a kind man, he was a very attentive husband to his wife who was quite poorly
when I was there. Some days I'd travel in by train, on one occasion there was
an incident that needed the police to be involved, Peter was the first person
to come to my aid.When he found out I was leaving he arranged a meal out for four of us, Robert
me himself and Bryan Mosley who kept us entertained all night with amazing
jokes and tales. He was another very kind man.
- Your Coronation
Street family was made up of Richard Davies, Kathy Staff and Jessie
Evans. What are your memories of working with these actors?
My
family in the Street consisted of Jessie Evans as my grandmother Richard Davies as my
father and Kathy Staff as my mother. We were first introduced at a lunch at
Granada, thank goodness we all got along, I couldn't have wished for a
better family. I learned so much from all three. Kathy treated me like
one of her daughters, her real daughters were close to my agree anyway. Jessie had lots of time for us, Richard was a gentle soul who
Jessie really did boss around a bit like a real son, but he took it all
in good heart. He had some great stories too, we once travelled on a
Pullman train from Manchester to London. On the same train we met up
with Windsor Davies, the Welsh banter (and a small amount of gin) flowed
but I had to get off at Crewe. Richard said this Pullman doesn't stop at
Crewe. Windsor said it does now, even if we have to slow down and dangle
you out of the window, you're not going to miss your stop! Thankfully he
had a word in someone's ear and he got the train to stop for me. His
voice booming out of the window 'Cymru am byth Jonesie!'
- From your three years at Corrie, do you have a favourite storyline or a favourite moment off screen?
I
don't have a particular favourite moment, but a few memorable scenes.
Riding a tandem sticks in my mind for one. Helen and I are not very tall
and neither of us had ridden a tandem before, and it was a large
tandem, how we managed to ride it up hill without falling off I'll never
know. Health and safety! Ha!
- I
write a lot about British comedians and comedy actors from the 50s, 60s
and 70s. Do you have a favourite(s) from that era and if so, who and
why?
Ken
Dodd is still king of comedy. He spans all the decades. I've worked
with him in the past, at the age of twelve in Blackpool to
Stoke-on-Trent at Jollies when I was twenty eight. When you work with
Ken you don't have to work on stage for long, he takes over the whole
night, it's not a short act. I also had a week long run with Arthur
Askey in Thameside. He had that audience in fits of laughter every
night, and with no bad language or filthy jokes at all. Unlike some of
today's comedians.
-
I love the kind of character comedy actresses you used to get in the
50s, 60s and 70s. What was it about them, in your opinion, that made
them so special and do you have any particular favourites?
Thora
Hird - her timing was faultless in comedy roles and in her serious acting
roles. I remember watching one of her interviews on TV. in which she
said her father taught her so much. There was a scene where she was
required to be distressed and upset, he told her to get to the verge of
tears but be seen to hold them back, this allows the audience to cry.
Timing you see, it's everything in every role, in her black and white
films you can see her comic timing even there. She was still fabulous in
Last of the Summer Wine.
- Why do you think old films like the Carry Ons are still so popular in the 21st Century?
I
think the Carry Ons are still popular today because there is just no
political correctness gone mad in them. Just lighthearted harmless fun
with plenty of risqué innuendo. They weren't made to portray real life,
just a life full of fun. No one was murdered, and a happy ending was
guaranteed. They are there to make us laugh and we certainly need a
laugh these days.
-
Away from Coronation Street, you made many other series at Granada in
the 1970s. What was your favourite show to be a part of and why?
My
favourite programme I was involved with will always be A Handful of
Songs. Each week children from all over the country would send in their
paintings and drawings and request a song about them. They were
fantastic, on one or two of them we had to decide which way up they
should be, but most had a story on the back along with their name and
requested favourite nursery rhyme. We showed every painting that was
sent in. I left Handful in the capable hands of Keith Fields and Maria
Morgan, while I joined the Street. It's a shame there isn't anything
like this program today, not with me at the helm though, I fear some of
the old nursery rhymes may disappear.
- You went on to record an album at Abbey Road in 1974. What are your memories of that time?
I
recorded an Album at Abbey Road Studios in 1974 called A Handful of
Songs, Bob Barratt was the producer, I was just twenty and Bobs daughter
used to watch the TV show. One day at a lunch out with him and his
young daughter, (he said the canteen only served egg chips and beans,
little knowing that would have suited me!) but with me only being five
foot, she thought her father had brought a playmate along with him.
Again my parents and younger brothers came along with me to London, so
while I was working in the studio, they were sight seeing London. One
day my brother Peter stayed with me for the day, he was into music in a
big way, and to be taken to the Mecca of recording studios was
fantastic. He was shown around and we were taken to all the studios, in
fact I recorded most of the album in the actual Beatles studio. The Lady
Birds famous for backing vocals did the backing tracks for my album,
how cool was that! In the corridors there were Beatles photos
everywhere, fantastic. I met Andre Previn there he was recording in
another studio. I returned in 1976 to Abbey Road, this time for a Single
called Down our Street. Bob Barratt produced it again, we (Bob Robert
and me) went for a curry between sessions, he swears I sang better after
that curry.
- I've got to ask, what's your favourite Carry On film and why?
Carry On Up The Khyber is my favourite Carry On. Sid James and Joan Sims as
Sir and Lady Ruff-Diamond at their best I think. Sid's dirty laugh flows
through every Carry On, and Joan's perfect portrayal of every different
role she plays in all of her performances in the films. Up the Khyber
though is just full on fun and innuendos. Roy Castle's straight character
Captain Keene and Charles Hawtrey as Private Widdle of the Third Foot and
Mouth Regiment, priceless! Bernard Bresslaw as Bungdit Din, it's all
there. The Khasi, it just goes on.
In addition to a previous question, (not only Thora Hird) but Joan Sims
is my favourite actress from all of the Carry On films. With each
character she plays, and there have been many, she is thoroughly
convincing, be it the junior nurse, the PE teacher or a Madam.
I also thought she was wonderful as Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By,
Mrs Wembley in On the Up, 'just the one Mrs Wembley' is still quoted in
my house along with 'oh dear I seem to be a little plastered' from Up
the Khyber.
- Finally I've got to ask about your love of classic cars. How did all that come about?
I've
always loved cars. Especially sporty ones. When I first met Robert he
invited me to Oulton Park circuit, he had raced and won championships
there many times. Cars were in his blood. His grandfather had thirteen
Model T Ford taxis on Crewe Station. His drivers would take the troops
from the First World War from Crewe station to their barracks in Preese
Heath. So I sort of married into a car family. We love all sorts of
Classic Vintage and Veteran motoring. Of the veteran cars some of them
take a lot of gentle handling, almost all have no or little weather
protection, so if it rains, you get wet. Oh the joy when it hails, but
it's great to know that they are not just sitting in a museum.
I'd like to thank Kathy for giving this fabulous interview, it's been a joy. You can follow Kathy on Twitter @KathyJones_
Earlier this week I had the great pleasure of being in touch with the brilliant Jayne Bickerton. Jayne is quite simply multi-talented. As well as her work as a successful actress in the likes of Coronation Street, Jayne has had great success in comedy and as an artist. So read on for more on how Jayne got started in the business, her time in Coronation Street, her thoughts on comedy past and present and of course, how she came to know the legendary Bob Monkhouse...
First of all I'd love to know how you
got started in the business?
I saw an advert for Butlins redcoats
when I was 20 and became one at the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool. Three months
of learning to dance and getting a (very) rough impersonation act together. I’m
glad there is no footage! It got me on a stage though.
After leaving Butlins I started performing
‘punk poetry’ with a friend called Mandy Craig. We got our first break from
Barnsley poet Ian McMillan at a BBC radio show that was broadcast from the
Crescent Hotel Ilkley. We were so nervous but our comedy poems went down well
and we started from there.
I know you have done a great deal of
stand up comedy, something I've always thought must be pretty nerve-wracking.
How did you get into all that and what are your memories of it now?
The performance poetry led to
appearances on the James Whale TV Show and then Bob Says Opportunity Knocks.
From that we got management and lots of live dates supporting Phil Cool, Lonnie
Donegan, Jo Brand, Steve Coogan and many more. Our act was a bit hit and miss
depending on the crowd, but we learnt a lot about performing on stage.
Mandy then decided performing wasn’t for
her so I went solo and started doing less poetry and more one liners,
eventually adding a guitar and ultimately a ukulele (less to carry) and doing
comedy songs and one liners. My stage name was Mary Unfaithful and my act was a
slightly bizarre mix of 60s rock chick and music hall. I was influenced by
Victoria Wood but also Jasper Carrott, Phil Cool and the ‘folky’ side of the
comedy world.
I gigged throughout the 90s and
appeared on BBC1’s The Stand Up Show, Bradley Walsh’s Big Stage on Channel 5,
and then on ‘Live From The Lilydrome’ with Lily Savage. I made a happy
friendship connection with Paul O’Grady and supported him (as Lily Savage) at a
few big theatres in the north of England. A real thrill and we’re still friends
to this day.
I was a fairly decent stand up with a
solid twenty five minute act, but was never a naturally outgoing performer who
could wing it with the crowd. I had to stick to my script and have a few heckle
retorts up my sleeve. Always wracked with nerves before a gig, which eventually
led to me moving into writing and acting in 2000. Luckily again I had made
friends with other comics on the circuit like Dave Spikey, Johnny Vegas, Neil
Fitzmaurice and Peter Kay and this led to me being cast in ‘That Peter Kay
Thing’ and ‘Phoenix Nights’ as well as writing material and the end credit
sketches on Peter’s commercially released video ‘Live At The Top Of The Tower’.
You can see me at the end comforting Sian from car share, who was playing an
upset girl who Peter had snubbed!
As this is for my Carry On blog, I've
got to ask you about Bob Monkhouse - how did you get to know Bob?
Mandy and I auditioned for Bob Says
Opportunity Knocks in 1988 in a hotel out on the motorway somewhere near Leeds.
We did our poetry and got recalled to a second audition in London, at which Bob
Monkhouse was present in the audience. After our performance we were sitting in
the canteen with my parents when Bob came over to our table and told us we had
made it through to the show. We walked out to his chauffeur driven car with
him, absolutely gobsmacked but delighted. On the show we actually came last to
a team of Sheffield schoolchildren ringing handbells. Hilarious. Thankfully by
next week’s phone vote we came second to a returning winner, a singer called
Matt Mudd. We also met impressionist Simon Cartwright on the same show, and just
this year I have written a script with Simon and also Mark Bickerton which will
hopefully get on TV soon. Can’t say any more than that just now! Watch this
space.
Bob was really lovely and kept in touch
by letter after our appearance on the show, right up until his illness in the
early noughties. We also went to see him in cabaret a few times and he was
always absolutely lovely to us, sending a bottle of fizz over to our table and
chatting to us in his dressing room afterwards. Even when I was appearing in and
writing on Lily Live in 2000 and 2001 Bob used to phone up Paul O Grady after
each show and congratulate us. He was so thoughtful and we were so proud to
have known him. I even have a self portrait that he drew on the back of an
envelope. Such a talented, erudite and charming man.
What are your thoughts on Bob's talents
as a comedian and an entertainer?
Bob had such awe inspiring talents as a
writer, both serious and comic; as a cartoonist he was immensely gifted, he
also had a brilliant memory and was a consummate quiz show host. As a live
performer he was second to none and it was always delightful being in a cabaret
audience watching the glint in his eye as he relished being a lot ruder than he
was on TV! He was a very slick and polished comedian, like his hero Bob Hope.
He was so kind to young upcoming
performers, and had endless patience and wisdom in abundance. I recommend that
people read his autobiography ‘Crying With Laughter’. It’s such a stunning
book, so well written and very eye opening if all you know of Bob is the so
called ‘smarmy’ quiz show host. I can understand how he had ‘Marmite’ appeal
for some people but really, to know him was to love him.
I write a lot about British comedians
and comedy actors from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Do you have a favourite(s) from
that era and if so, who and why?
I love Morecambe and Wise. They were TV
fixtures and part of my childhood. I just thought they were wonderful,
especially in the Eddie Braben era. I was a big fan of Peter Sellers as a
child. Clouseau, The Wrong Box, Only Two Can Play, The Party and There’s a Girl
In My Soup…far too many to mention. From the Carry Ons I love Kenneth Williams
and let’s not forget the comedy actresses. Irene Handl, Margaret Rutherford,
Joan Sims, Thora Hird and the fabulous Hylda Baker both as a comedy actress and
comedienne.
With my other blogging hat on
(Coronation Street Blog) I remember you fondly from your time in Corrie as
Yana, best friend to Cilla. What was it like to get the call to join the
Street?
I actually appeared in Corrie in 2001
as a ‘temporary florist’ who had to prevent Peter Barlow from trying to get
into the flat of Lucy, the florist he eventually married bigamously (he was
also married to barmaid Shelley).
Walking into the green room for the
first time was very intimidating but I was immediately made welcome by
everyone, but especially Helen Worth who was so lovely to me that day. She
could see I was petrified!
Three years later I got to audition for
the part of Yana Lumb, Cilla Brown’s best friend. I got recalled and happily
got the part. It was meant to be one episode in October 2004 but the character
went down so well with the writers that they kept writing me in and I think I
did about 52 episodes over three years in total. Cilla and Yana were a typical
Corrie comedy double act and we thoroughly enjoyed all their shenanigans! Wendi
Peters and I are still friends to this day and we still enjoy getting up to
mischief. We just dress better (I hope)
Do you have a favourite memory of your
time playing Yana?
The wedding episodes with Status Quo
were great fun.I always enjoyed scenes
in the chippy, and of course the time I had to sit in a bath of mushy peas with
Les Battersby. Hard to forget! Also off screen I got to meet George Michael
when he did a private tour of the street and you have to treasure memories like
that.
Do you still watch Coronation Street
now and would you ever go back?
I catch it occasionally, and sometimes
don’t know who characters are, but it’s lovely to still see friends like Sue
Nicholls, Andy Whyment, Alan Halsall, Jenni McAlpine and Sam Aston still going
strong. Of course I would go back! I loved my time on the show, it was the best
job ever.
I know you have many strings to your
bow and you're a very creative person. Can you tell me a bit more about your
work as an artist and a designer? I believe Paul O'Grady has a house full of
your work!
I have a BA Hons in art and design and
it’s something I’ve done all my life really. Paul O Grady is a great supporter
of artists and craftspeople and yes he has paintings I did of Diana Dors, Bet
Lynch and Tara King of The Avengers, as well as Bill and Ben puppets, a faux
hare head and a doll of Lily Savage (and Buster) as the statue of Liberty. He
has mad taste, thankfully! I don’t paint so much these days although I still
sell prints of my Coronation Street and Mad Men paintings (as well as lots of
pop stars too) Suranne Jones and Kate Ford both have paintings of mine too.
These days I have a business called Crafted Creatures which is fauxidermy
animal sculptures in fabric. I love animals, I’m good at sewing and I like
upcycling things like fabric so it’s a combination of likes!
I've got to ask, what's your favourite
Carry On film and why?
As a child I would’ve probably said
Carry On Screaming as I liked Fenella Fielding and Oddjob, but as I’ve got
older probably ‘Carry On At Your Convenience’ or ‘Carry On Matron’
Finally, what's up next for you?
Hopefully the script I’ve just written
with Mark Bickerton and Simon Cartwright will get commissioned and we’ve also
written ourselves parts in it (if they’ll have us!) because why not? I’m also
about to write another script with Mark Bickerton which is a biopic of a
British entertainment icon of yesteryear. I can say no more! I will be in an episode of 'Moving On' directed by Corrie's
Reece Dinsdale and starring Sue Johnston and Paula Wilcox. I also have a
cameo role in a film called 'Funny Cow' starring Maxine Peake, which will be released next year.
You can find out more about Jayne's career by taking a look at her showreel:
On Sunday during Robin Askwith's fabulous Twitter take over, a video was posted showing a young Robin in an advert for paint. I think it was from the very early 1970s. Anyway one of the actresses in the advert was none other than Noel Dyson. Noel had a long career in films and television with several notable roles so I thought I would put together a blog about her life and work.
Of course to feature here there must be a Carry On connection. Noel appeared in three films in the late 1950s and early 1960s for producer Peter Rogers and director Gerald Thomas. Her first entry into the world of Rogers and Thomas film comedy came in 1959 when she was cast as Mrs Brent in the wonderful Please Turn Over, which starred Ted Ray, Jean Kent, Leslie Phillips and Joan Sims. Obviously spotting her talents for eye-catching character cameos, Noel was quickly cast in a small supporting role in Carry On Constable, the fourth film in the famous British film comedy series, which went into production towards the end of 1959. Dyson played a rather flustered lady who seeks the help of P.C Charles Hawtrey after she has lost her pussy. Ahem. This ends with Hawtrey shooting to the top of a church tower on the end of a bell rope.
Four years later Noel Dyson returned to Pinewood Studios to film another brief Carry On cameo, this time as a district nurse in Carry On Cabby. Noel's scenes see her help Jim Dale's pregnant wife who finds herself giving birth in the back of Sid James' taxi cab. This leads to some wonderfully comedic scenes between Dale, Sid and Charles Hawtrey. The following year Noel worked with Sid James again in an episode of his television comedy drama series, Taxi! Sadly Noel didn't appear in another Carry On, however as the Sixties dawned, her career was about to step up a gear.
On screen from the late 1940s, with her first recorded credit as Mrs Read in a television play of The Guinea Pig, there were many small parts in programmes such as Dick and the Duchess and Private Investigator before being cast in the role of Ida Barlow in a fledging Northern drama serial called Coronation Street. The programme, only expected to run to thirteen episodes through December 1960 and into January 1961, proved an instant hit among viewers although it was originally panned by critics. As original character Ida Barlow, wife of postman Frank and mother to Ken and David, Ida was a kind, gentle woman who took pride in her home and wanted the best for her sons. The first episode went out live at Granada Studios in Manchester on 9th December 1960 and soon made stars of the likes of Doris Speed (Annie Walker), Pat Phoenix (Elsie Tanner) and Violet Carson (Ena Sharples).
By the time she appeared in Coronation Street, Noel Dyson was based in London with her husband and family. Having not thought the series would become a regular fixture in the television schedules, Noel decided she could not continue to spend so much time away from her home and when her contract came up for renewal in 1961, she refused to sign it. Dyson's character was killed off in September 1961 after Ida was hit by a bus whilst out shopping. Although rarely if ever mentioned these days on screen, Dyson's character and her legacy continues as her screen son Ken (William Roache) is still in the programme 57 years on. Following her departure from Coronation Street, Noel continued to appear on the small screen in one off roles for the rest of the decade. Roles in The Wednesday Play, Play of the Week, Dixon of Dock Green, Z Cars and The Likely Lads all followed as well as a supporting role in the 1966 Norman Wisdom comedy film, Press For Time. Comedy became her full-time occupation in 1968 when Noel took on the role of Nanny in the Thames Television sitcom, Father Dear Father. The series, which starred Patrick Cargill, ran until 1973 and spawned a big screen spin off.
Noel's other ongoing role in a television comedy series was as Aileen Potter in Potter, a BBC sitcom starring a post-Dad's Army and fellow Corrie original Arthur Lowe as Redvers Potter, a busybody retired sweet manufacturer. Noel was cast as the long suffering wife of Arthur's character. The series ran from 1979 until 1983 and was written by Roy Clarke. Although Lowe passed away in April 1982, the series continued for one final series with Robin Bailey playing Potter. During the 1980s Noel continued to pop up in a variety of television series such as London's Burning, Me and My Girl, Bergerac and Casualty. Her last credited appearance was a role in the long-running ITV drama series Heartbeat, broadcast after her death in 1995. Elsie Noel Dyson was born into a wealthy Manchester family on 23rd December 1916. She was given the middle name of Noel as she was born so close to Christmas. Educated at the famous Roedean School in Sussex, a spell at a finishing school in Paris was followed by RADA. Noel graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1938 and initially worked in repertory theatre before the Second World War saw her career go on hold. She signed up to be a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse) and didn't resume her stage career until the conflict came to an end. Noel Dyson was married twice, first to Kenneth Edwards and latterly to Harry Judge. Noel died on 29 June 1995 after suffering from cancer. She was 78 years old.
