Fenella Fielding stars in new TV Series

I spotted this little snippet of news quite by accident the other day. It looks as if acting legend Fenella Fielding has recently been filming for a brand new television comedy series. Entitled  Conditions, the interweb confirms Fenella will be credited in several episodes of the series playing the role of Mother.

Created by Chas Burns, Conditions tells the story of a group of people who escape from a remote residential home. The series is billed as a comedy drama thriller which is quite a mix! 

Aside from that, I know very little about this intriguing new production. Apparently filming will be completed this year for a release in 2019 although I'm not sure which channel it will air on. No matter, any production featuring the gorgeous Fenella is surely worth a watch? 

It's been a big twelve months for the Carry On Screaming legend. Not only has she rather unbelievably celebrated her 90th birthday, Fenella has also released her incredible autobiography Do You Mind if I Smoke? both in hard copy and as an audio book. And Fenella continues to perform excerpts as only she could in her celebrated live shows. More information on all of that can be found on Fenella's official website here

And any further updates on this new television series will of course by reported here on the blog.

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Fenella Fielding returns for more Memoir Shows in 2018!

Fenella Fielding will reading from her fabulous memoirs in several more live shows all in the diary across the rest of the year. Having attended a couple of the shows earlier this year, I can tell you her performances are amazing.

Fenella Fielding is best known for her 1960s film appearances in classic comedies including ‘Carry On Screaming’, ‘Doctor in Clover’ and ‘Carry On Regardless’. She was the voice of the Blue Queen in ‘Dougal and the Blue Cat’ and the telephone operator and loudspeaker voice in ‘The Prisoner’. Her illustrious career in theatre includes the title roles in ‘Hedda Gabler’ and ‘Colette’. She’s fondly remembered for a number of appearances on the ‘Morecambe & Wise Show’ as well as playing The Vixen in ‘Uncle Jack’. 

They are very personal stories about innocence, early struggles, professional jealousies and intriguingly a chapter about London tarts and gangsters. The stories are witty, warm and beautifully observed scenes from an extraordinary life – expressing great warmth for the characters encountered… and all told in that unmistakable, ever alluring Fenella Fielding voice.

The performances will conclude with short Q&As with Fenella hosted by Simon McKay, co-author of the book and a personal friend of Fenella. 

Fenella will be performing on the following dates and venues:

Crazy Coqs, Piccadilly, London:

Saturday 2nd June, 2pm
Tuesday 10th July, 7pm
Tuesday 11th September, 7pm

Darlington Forum Music Centre:

Thursday 28th June, 7pm

Fenella will also be performing "Just a Little Murder" with Stephen Greif at The Tabard, Chiswick on Sunday 8th July at 3pm.

You can buy tickets for any of the shows and also purchase a signed copy of Fenella's memoirs via her website 

And you can read more about the publication of Fenella's book here

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram
 

Fenella Fielding returns for more Memoir Shows in 2018!

Fenella Fielding will be back at the Phoenix Artist Club in Central London for four more wonderful shows next year. Fenella will be reading more extracts from her delightful memoirs and having attended a couple of the shows earlier this year, I can tell you her performances are amazing.

Fenella Fielding is best known for her 1960s film appearances in classic comedies including ‘Carry On Screaming’, ‘Doctor in Clover’ and ‘Carry On Regardless’. She was the voice of the Blue Queen in ‘Dougal and the Blue Cat’ and the telephone operator and loudspeaker voice in ‘The Prisoner’. Her illustrious career in theatre includes the title roles in ‘Hedda Gabler’ and ‘Colette’. She’s fondly remembered for a number of appearances on the ‘Morecambe & Wise Show’ as well as playing The Vixen in ‘Uncle Jack’. Her most recent TV appearance was ‘Skins’ in 2012.

Fenella will be reading excerpts from her recently released audio book and hardback of memoirs ‘Do You Mind If I Smoke?’ They are very personal stories about innocence, early struggles, professional jealousies and intriguingly a chapter about London tarts and gangsters. The stories are witty, warm and beautifully observed scenes from an extraordinary life – expressing great warmth for the characters encountered… and all told in that unmistakable, ever alluring Fenella Fielding voice.

The afternoon will conclude with a short Q&A with Fenella hosted by Misty Moon guest MC Simon McKay, co-author of the book and a personal friend of Fenella. Afterwards, there’s a chance to meet Fenella and get a signed copy of the book.

Fenella will be performing at the Phoenix on Saturday 10th, 17th and 24th February and Saturday 3rd March. All shows start at 2.30pm and you can buy tickets here

You can also purchase a signed copy of Fenella's memoirs via her website 

And you can read more about the publication of Fenella's book here

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan on Facebook and on Instagram
 

Listen Again: Fenella Fielding on BBC Radio London

The brilliant Fenella Fielding was a guest on Jo Good's BBC Radio London show this afternoon to talk about her life, career and new memoir, Do You Mind If I Smoke? Fenella was on sparkling form as usual and talked about her long, diverse career as an actress, her origins in London and of course, her working relationship with a certain Kenneth Williams.

It was a real treat to hear Fenella on the radio and a highlight was Jo sharing a tale of her driving through London in her Mini while Miss Fielding delicately painted her nails! What an image that conjures up! I was also delighted that Jo read out my question for Fenella on her reasons for turning down Carry On Cleo. If you want to know more about that, it's in the book!

You can listen again to Fenella's interview with Jo online here: Jo Good on BBC Radio London - it will be available shortly after broadcast and Fenella appears with her friend and co-author Simon McKay just after 3pm.

If you haven't got yourself a copy of Fenella's fantastic memoir you can buy a signed copy via Fenella's official website www.fenellafielding.com/  

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan on Facebook and on Instagram

Fabulous Fenella

 

I couldn't let Fenella Fielding's 90th birthday go by without writing a special Carry On Blogging post about the great lady. I just don't know where to start. For me, Fenella is one of the last survivors of the golden age of British cinema and entertainment. She has an effortless sense of style, bucket loads of charisma and is quite simply a true one off. 

While many actors would come to resent being known for one particular role, Fenella is always open and very affectionate when she remembers the filming of Carry On Screaming. Over fifty years on, it's still her best remembered work and I should think what she is most often asked about. Given that Fenella's career has taken in film, television, all kinds of theatre and radio, you may be surprised she is still so happy to talk about those six weeks filming at Pinewood with Kenneth, Joan and Bernard. Yet she is and this is to her eternal credit. Valeria in Carry On Screaming was and is an iconic role and her performance is one of the very best in the entire series of films.

 

Fenella's career has been and continues to be extraordinary. She has dabbled in most areas of the business, worked with the very best and mixed in some legendary circles. The fact she remains grounded, sweet and a pleasure to meet is to her own credit. She has a unique stage presence, sense of style and a humour which is at once laugh out loud funny, surprising and occasionally waspish. Like the very best in the business, she can exhort a wide range of emotions from her audience - one minute you are laughing along and the next she has you in the palm of her hand with something so moving you wouldn't believe. Who else could boast several Doctor films, a revue written by Peter Cook and starring Kenneth Williams, Greek tragedy, the Edinburgh Festival, film fun with Tony Curtis, radio high jinks with Joan Sims and television roles that range from Uncle Jack when I was a boy right through to Skins and who knows what else to come?

One of the greatest shames is that despite her breadth and depth of work, and the fact she is still going strong and delivering the goods in a schedule many younger performers would simply balk at, Fenella is never seen or spoken of in the same breath as contemporaries such as Maggie Smith or Judi Dench. Having had the good fortune of seeing her perform her memoir shows over the past year, she has every right to be right up there with these other formidable actresses.

 

I am lucky to have been in the presence of Fenella Fielding on several occasions. Well four and a half to be precise. The half came first, as it were. Several years ago, before I'd even dreamt of Carrying On Blogging, I was sitting on a packed, grubby Piccadilly Line tube train on my way towards Leicester Square. We stopped at Covent Garden station and there, sitting on the platform, looking as radiant and unmistakable as ever, was Fenella. She was quiet, composed and yet exuded her very own brand of star quality. I couldn't quite believe my eyes and long after that moment I wished I'd stepped off the train and gone over to say hello.

Fortunately I would get that chance in 2012 when I attended a special screening of Carry On Screaming, hosted by the Misty Moon Film Society in Ladywell, South London. After a screening of the film, Fenella took questions from the audience and read an excerpt from Frankenstein. Afterwards we had the chance to meet her and get her autograph and the whole experience was a sheer joy. A couple of years later we met again when I attended on of the London Film Convention dates at Central Hall Westminster. That day I was fortunate enough to meet and have a chat with both Jacki Piper and Fenella - two nicer ladies you could not wish to meet. 

And then most recently I have attended two of Fenella's wonderful memoir readings at The Phoenix Artist Club in the West End of London. Organised by Misty Moon and hosted by Simon McKay, they have lived long in my memory. Fenella's readings, in the intimate surroundings of the Phoenix, are surprising, hilarious, occasionally shocking and full of pathos. The memoirs have been released as an audio book and yesterday, in the run up to Fenella's significant birthday, as a hardback book (available from all good bookshops!) I thoroughly recommend the book to you and of course, do attend one of the shows at the Phoenix if you get the chance. I understand there will be more dates next year.

 

And since I started this blog in 2015, I have been lucky enough to interview Fenella. I will be reposting that interview today as part of this celebration of Fenella's life and work. 

I can't quite believe Fenella is now 90 years young. Much the same as June Whitfield, she belies her years and long may that continue. She can still keep an audience rapt thanks to her brilliant stage performances and entertains us all regularly up and down the country. Happy Birthday Fenella, and here's to many more.

 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan on Facebook and on Instagram
 

Carry On Signing: Fenella launches her Memoirs next week

 

If you are in London next week, there's great news if you are a Carry On fan, which no doubt you are in you are reading this blog! As you may already know, Fenella Fielding has been hard at work over the past few years preparing her hotly anticipated memoirs. Following a set of sell out shows at the Phoenix Artist Club and their release as an audio book, the memoirs are now being published in hard copy.

Fenella will be at Waterstones Covent Garden on Thursday 16th November at 5:30pm to sign copies of her memoirs 'Do You Mind If I Smoke?' (published that day).

The organisers are hoping to begin the evening with a short reading from Fenella but that is currently unconfirmed.

Fenella turns 90 the following day! So do come along, buy a book and wish her happy birthday.  

Fenella's memoirs, Do You Mind if I Smoke? is published by Peter Owen on 16th November. Ask your local bookshop to make sure they will be stocking it or order a signed copy from www.fenellafielding.com 

And here on Carry On Blogging, I'll have more on Fenella's memoirs next week, as well as a big of a blog exclusive, so watch out for that. And of course I'll be celebrating Fenella's big birthday with a special blog on 17th November.
 
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan on Facebook and on Instagram