Guest Blog: Fenella and Me

I'm really pleased that Amber, a huge fan of the late, great Fenella Fielding got in touch with me. She wanted to write something about her meetings with Fenella and how much the star of Carry On Screaming meant to her. It's a delightful read.

My name is Amber, I'm 14 and I come from the UK. I also have Autism.

I got into the Carry On films in June of last year (I was 13), I can still remember the one I first watched, which was Carry On Abroad!

My idol is Fenella Fielding. I found out about her through Carry On Screaming. I loved her voice, her looks, how gentle she was. I then started collecting photos and all films she was in on DVD. You would expect a 13 year old back then to be into someone like Justin Bieber or a singer like him. She just seemed to grab my attention instantly. I created a fan group for her on Facebook, 'The Fenella Fielding OBE Appreciation Group', who would've known that the creator was a 13 year old girl?!

When I found out she was coming to Liverpool in November to perform her memoirs at the Unity Theatre, my heart skipped a beat. I live in Cheshire so it made an ideal occasion. I persuaded my mum to get me tickets and we go and see her.

On the night we went to meet her, I felt so nervous, my heart was racing, I was sweating... only on the train to Liverpool! I can remember nearly everything about that night, me shaking in Pizza Express eating my tea because I was incredibly nervous, walking to the theatre after that. But it was all worth the wait, I waited 3 months to meet her, and that moment had finally arrived.

Watching her perform her memoirs up on that stage was mesmerising. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was more nervous to meet her than see her perform! When I went up to meet her afterwards, I nearly cried. It was probably the best moment of my entire life. I hugged her and I gave her all my gifts I made for her, she even gave me a box of eyelashes signed by her as a gift!

I missed her very much after that, and I hoped that I would meet her again. For Christmas last year I even got a signed photo and bookmark from her (Thanks to my mum and Simon McKay). In March of this year, I found out she was due to appear at What A 60th Carry On (an event being held on the 3rd June in Ealing to celebrate 60 years of the Carry Ons) with a few other stars like Jacki Piper, Anita Harris and at his first ever Carry On event, Billy Cornelius aka Oddbod Jr!

My dad took me to this event. On the train down to London I was super excited to meet Fenella again and get my book signed, when we got into the Drayton Court, Fenella and Simon were walking out of the bar as I was walking in! My heart nearly stopped it was so sudden!! I introduced them both to my dad and I had a quick selfie with Fenella before heading downstairs. This event was one of my most favourite ones I've been to this year. I met a lot of people I knew from the Carry On films community, they recognised me from the Fenella fanclub! I got my book signed by both Fenella and Simon. Unfortunately I was in a rush to meet the other stars so I never managed to get another photo with her. As Fenella once said 'Quality not quantity!'

I hoped to meet her again in the future, but little did I know, that was the final time I would ever meet her in person.

When the news broke that she had a severe stroke just over 2 months from when I last met her, I was so disheartened. I just hoped she would recover for days and days. She never recovered.

I remember talking to my online friends and an alert came up on my phone. Fenella's account tweeted a tweet with the caption 'Ms Fielding RIP' with a link to a Wix Shoutout, sadly breaking the news that she died that afternoon. I was in tears for nearly 3 days. I felt as someone had ripped a hole in my heart. My world fell apart, I grieved so badly, even at school.

Even though we met twice, Fenella was like a grandma to me. She made a load of people smile and laugh over the years. I'm glad to have been a part of her fan club. It's been just over a month since she died, and even though I miss her, I think of the happy memories I had meeting her.

RIP Fenella Fielding, thank you for making me smile, and fly high up there!

Thanks for reading this blog post and thank you Graeme for this opportunity!

You can join the Fenella Fielding appreciation group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/522349838142390/?ref=br_rs

My Twitter: @ AmberDoesItAll

My Instagram: @ amberthefangirl

My YouTube: Amber The Fangirl

My first time meeting Fenella: https://youtu.be/fR_5gh4S0fY

My second time meeting Fenella: https://youtu.be/Hp-FYNPxP6s

My tribute to Fenella after her death: https://youtu.be/nwpUNjF5JwQ

I'd like to thank Amber for taking the time to write such a lovely, personal blog on her heroine, Fenella Fielding. If you would like to write a guest blog for me, please send me an email to carryonfan15@gmail.com or contact me via Twitter.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carry On Faces in Different Places: No Kidding

Here we go with another in my series of blogs looking at some of the cream of British comedy film making from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Although this blog is all about the Carry Ons, believe it or not, there were some other joyous comedy films made away from Peter Rogers Productions. However, given the quality of the actors Peter employed to make his series, it's no wonder that most of them popped up elsewhere.

So far I've looked at the wonderful 1959 crime caper Too Many Crooks , the 1954 domestic comedy starring Dirk Bogarde, For Better For Worse , the big screen spin off Please Sir! and the wonderful Up Pompeii and the brilliant John Gregson and Diana Dors vehicle, Value for Money. 
  
More recently I blogged about the Sid James and Kenneth Connor comedy horror What A Carve Up! and the the Gordon Jackson drama, Floodtide. 

I've also looked at the Carry On links with the wonderful film I'm All Right Jack

Recently I blogged about the Billy Fury and Amanda Barrie musical film I've Gotta Horse , the classic 1954 school comedy The Belles of St Trinian's and the 1959 romantic comedy from the Betty Box and Ralph Thomas stable, Upstairs and Downstairs. You can also check out my blog on the 1956 drama Lost. 

Today I am going to write about the 1960 British comedy, No Kidding. 

What's it about?

David and Catherine Robinson move into a rundown country house. After a number of failed ventures, they are looking to build a solid business. They strike upon the idea of setting up a summer home for the children of the wealthy. They attract a number of customers, and hire a matron and a cook, and immediately fall foul of a local councillor who does not believe they should be allowed to look after children.

The families arrive and drop off their children. They range from polite, scared and helpful to wild, spoilt, rebellious children led by an American brother and sister, and an English fantasist girl, who tries to insist that she has been maltreated by her in fact kindly family.

As the children grow increasingly ill-disciplined, the staff and owners battle to keep them under control. The father advocates a tough approach while his wife beliefs that the children's freedom should be allowed to flourish. They are undermined by an increasingly drunken cook, and the wild antics of the children.

When the children's families come to collect them, they refuse to come down - wishing they could stay. They insist that in future they are treated better by their parents, to which the parents agree. The children depart. The Robinsons, realising that they have now got financial security, decide to fulfil their dream of having more children of their own.

Who's in it?

The film stars Carry On favourite Leslie Phillips as David Robinson while Geraldine McEwan (who would much later star on television as Miss Marple) plays his wife Catherine. Also appearing in the film are Julia Lockwood as Fenella, Noel Purcell as Tandy and Cyril Raymond as Colonel Matthews.

Carry On Faces?

No Kidding was co-written by Norman Hudis, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers, so of course there are plenty of familiar Carry On names in the cast. Leslie Phillips takes the starring role and at the time Leslie had made his first three Carry On appearances in Nurse, Teacher and Constable. Carry On Nurse and Constable cameo actress Irene Handl plays irate local councillor Mrs Spicer while the Matron and cook the Robinson couple hire are played by June Jago and Joan Hickson respectively. June played a nurse in Carry On Regardless and Sister in Doctor six years later. Joan meanwhile co-starred in five Carry Ons - Nurse, Constable, Regardless, Loving and Girls.

Cyril Raymond, best known for playing Celia Johnson's husband in Brief Encounter, went on to play a cameo as an Army Officer in Carry On Regardless. American actor Alan Gifford meanwhile played the Commissioner in 1965's Carry On Cowboy. In No Kidding Alan plays Edgar Treadgold. 

Also look out for Carry On favourite Esma Cannon who plays a district nurse. Esma of course appeared in Carry On Constable, Regardless, Cruising and Cabby. Other Carry On semi-regulars to appear in No Kidding are Brian Oulton as the Vicar, Eric Pohlmann as King and Brian Rawlinson as Will. And Sydney Tafler crops up as Mr Rockbottom! Sydney was also about to pop in for scene with Charles Hawtrey in Carry On Regardless. And a regular face in the first seven Carry Ons, actor Cyril Chamberlain plays a cafe proprietor. 

Did you know?

Well known actress Francesca Annis plays the role of Priscilla in this film. Francesca began acting as a teenager after training at the Corona Academy alongside the likes of Richard O'Sullivan, Larry Dann and Judy Geeson. Annis had even played a school girl in Carry On Teacher, the year before No Kidding went into production.

No Kidding is based on Verily Anderson's 1958 memoir, Beware of the Children. Anderson also co-wrote the screenplay. 

This was the first film on which Alan Hume worked as Director of Photography. Having started in the business as a clapper loader in the early 1940s, Hume had worked his way up to Camera Operator by the time he made Carry On Sergeant in 1958. Alan would go on to work on the majority of the Carry On series, as well as several Bond and Star Wars blockbusters.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Thank you … and Carry On!

Today I have hit a rather significant milestone. After writing this love letter to the Carry On films for the past three years, my blog has just been visited one million times. To be quite honest with you I had no significant plan for the blog when I started writing in March 2015. It was just an instinctive thing, a creative outpouring for me.

The blog can be hard work at times as I have a busy life in the real world with all manner of things but it's a lovely way to get creative, interact with fellow fans and indulge a passion. Over the past three years I've had some unforgettable experiences thanks to the blog. I've made some amazing new friends and acquaintances, attended some memorable events and met some of my favourite Carry On actors. Not too bad for an ordinary bloke from the west of Scotland. 

I've had the great good fortune to interact with so many Carry On fans from all over the place, thanks to the blog and to the blog's following on Twitter. It's amazing and I'm so grateful to everyone who takes the time to tweet me, comment on something I've posted or reads one of my blogs. It means a lot. A massive thank you to the increasing number of you who have also written your own guest blogs for my site. Sharing your posts has been one of the joys of running the blog and i'm genuinely touched that so many of you have taken the time to write for me, sharing your passion for the very best of British comedy.

Without a doubt one of the highlights of blogging has been the numerous opportunities to meet and interview some lovely people connected with the Carry Ons. Over the years I've featured interviews with quite a wide range of well known faces: Valerie Leon, Jacki Piper, Robin Askwith, Amanda Barrie, Madeline Smith, Angela Douglas, Fenella Fielding, Julian Holloway, David Kernan, Elke Sommer, Christine Ozanne, Sally Geeson, Robert Ross, Robin Le Mesurier, Morris Bright, Josephine Bailey, Anita Harris, Patricia Franklin and Hugh Futcher. A huge thank you to all of them for being so kind and generous with their time. There are a few more people I'd really love to have a chat with but we'll wait and see what happens.

I've also had the great pleasure of featuring a wide variety of other actors, writers and assorted talents and it's been an honour to get to know the likes of Judy Matheson, Simon Sheridan, Craig Deeley, Judy Buxton, Stuart Ball, Andrew Lynford, Ty Jeffries, James Hogg, Sarah Miller Walters, Jayne Tunnicliffe, Steve Lilly, Greg Robertson, Odysseas from Art and Hue, Louise who runs the Joan Hickson tribute Twitter account, Jason Figgis, Francois Pascal, Ben Peyton, David Barry, Dr Laura Mayne, Tessa Le Bars, Mark Farrelly, Paul Taylor-Greaves, Jennie Linden, Stuart Morriss, Mark O'Connell, Patrick Purcell, Jack Lane, Georgy Jamieson, Derek Griffiths, Kathy Jones, John Hewer, Kaye Crawford and Julian Dutton. Phew - I didn't realise just how much I'd put myself about!

If your name's not there and it should be - apologies, but it was quite a trawl to bring them all together!

This sounds like a farewell, but it's not. I'll Carry On Blogging as long as I'm sitting up and taking notice…and as long as I've got something to say!

I checked my stats on Blogger before I wrote this and, despite a certain trepidation that the internet is part of the dark arts, I really did see its power. My words, twitterings and Carry On-love have been read everywhere from the United States and Canada, to Russia, Spain, Poland and Australia. I shall remember that next time I'm typing away on my laptop in my pyjamas! 

Thanks very much for being involved and for being a part of it all.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carrying On with … The Belles of St Trinian's!

I've recently written a great deal about some of the other great series of British comedy films, such as the Norman Wisdom comedies and the Doctor films, and how the Carry Ons made an impression in these lovely films. I've now decided to write about another legendary set of films, the St Trinian's films. Set in the fictional unruly all girls private school somewhere in England, the films followed their adventures and those of both the staff of the school, the law enforcers chasing after them and the education department who frequently despaired of what they got up to!

The films featured countless wonderful performances and will always be synonymous with a handful of timeless actors. So without further ado, let's look at the very first in the series, The Belles of St Trinian's from way back in 1954, a whopping 64 years ago.

What's it about?

The Sultan of Makyad wants to send his daughter Fatima to a school in England, and asks her governess Miss Anderson to recommend one: she recommends St Trinian's in the county of Barchester. This suits the sultan perfectly: as his racehorses are trained there, he will be able to visit Fatima and his horses at the same time.

At St Trinian's, Miss Holland the accountant, explains to headmistress Millicent Fritton that they need cash, not cheques. Then Fritton's twin brother, bookmaker Clarence, arrives with his previously expelled sixth form daughter Arabella. He gets his sister to re-enroll her so she can befriend Fatima and get information on Arab Boy, the Sultan's horse that will run in the upcoming Cheltenham Gold Cup against Blue Prince, the horse he and his associates have backed. Assistant headmistress/physics mistress Buckland enters the office to introduce Fatima and two other new girls to Fritton, and Fatima meets Arabella.

Fritton explains St Trinian's to the new girls: "At most schools, girls are sent out quite unprepared for a merciless world but, when our girls leave here, it is the merciless world which has to be prepared." Fritton takes the new girls to meet the staff: Miss Brimmer, arts and handicrafts mistress; Miss Wilson, maths mistress; Mlle. de St Emilion (Balbina Gutierrez) French mistress; Miss Drownder, geography mistress; Miss Gale, English literature mistress; Miss Waters the scripture and needlework mistress; and Miss Dawn.

Barchester Police Superintendent Kemp Bird in the hope of getting help to stop the crime wave that has occurred in his area since the new term started at St Trinian's, goes to London and meets the Ministry of Education official Manton Bassett. Bassett refuses to help: the two inspectors he has sent there have both disappeared. Kemp Bird arranges to send his girlfriend, Sgt. Ruby Gates, to St Trinian's, undercover, as games mistress Chloe Crawley.

Who's in it?

Belles sees a central performance of vigour and gusto from that wonderful actor Alastair Sim. Sim plays a dual role with skill and flair - both as headmistress of St Trinian's Miss Millicent Fritton and her rather conniving bookmaker brother Clarence. 

Also starring are the superb Joyce Grenfell as the soppy, love struck police sergeant Ruby Gates and the wonderful George Cole as Flash Harry.


Carry On faces?

Lots of actors who would go on to shine in the Carry Ons made appearances large and small in The Belles of St Trinian's. Four future Carry On actresses played St Trinian's teachers and  chief amongst them is future Carry On stalwart Joan Sims playing the seductive Miss Dawn. Carry On Nurse and Constable cameo player Irene Handl appears as geography mistress Miss Gale while Emmannuelle guest star Beryl Reid takes the role of Miss Wilson, the maths mistress. And the wonderful Scottish actress Renee Houston, who would go on to star in Carry On Cabby, Spying and Convenience, plays Miss Brimmer.

Carry On Spying star Richard Wattis makes his debut in the series as Education department bureaucrat Manton Bassett  while future Spying actor Eric Pohlmann plays The Sultan of Makyad. Eric also appeared in Carry On Regardless. And future Carry On leading man Sidney James takes on the small role of Benny.

But that's not all. According to the internet there are several other Carry On actors in small, uncredited roles as school girls in the film. Watch out for brief appearances from the likes of Shirley Eaton, Sandra Caron, Dilys Laye, Ann Way, Carol White and an early screen appearance from the legendary Dame Barbara Windsor.

Did you know? 

Ronald Searle, who of course provided the legendary animations for the film's titles, played a cameo role as a visiting parent in the film.

The film was the third most popular film at the British Box Office in 1954.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Five Reasons Why I Love … Nurse On Wheels

I have a massive soft spot for the 1963 gentle comedy, Nurse On Wheels. It's not that well known a film amongst the many titles in the Rogers and Thomas cannon and it's rarely shown these days, which is a tremendous pity. Nurse On Wheels was made towards the end of an eclectic period of film production for Peter and Gerald which swerved fairly evenly between official Carry On films and features which could quite easily have fitted in to the series but were kept somewhat apart.

Films like Nurse On Wheels, the story of a young district nurse who takes a new job in a colourful if quaint country village, often featured a host of recognisable Carry On faces as well as many familiar behind the scenes names such as Eric Rogers, Alan Hume and Norman Hudis. There are many reasons why I think this gentle, unfussy comedy should be celebrated and shown more often, but to begin with, here are five reasons why I love it.

The Joy of Esma

Esma Cannon, surely one of our finest comedy character people, was firmly a part of the Carry On cast by 1963 and about to film her fourth and final film with the team. Playing the mother of Juliet Mills' leading lady allowed Esma more screen time than usual and as ever, she doesn't disappoint. Esma is on fine form, twittering about all over the place and charming us from the first moment she appears. Ms Cannon was an actress of delicacy, of quality and a true one off and she enhanced every production she was a part of. As an added bonus, Esma works really well with Juliet Mills and they portray a very convincing mother and daughter pairing. Sadly, Esma would retire from acting the following year, which is just another reason to treasure this wonderful starring role from a true original.

A Dashing Leading Man

Although he never made a Carry On, he really wouldn't have been out of place as part of the team during their 1960s heyday. I'm talking about Ronald Lewis of course, the handsomely brooding leading man and matinee idol who rose to prominence in British cinema during the 1950s. He worked for Peter and Gerald twice and both times as the love interest to Juliet Mills. As well as playing Henry in Nurse On Wheels, the year before he starred as Bob White in Twice Round The Daffodils. You may also remember Lewis from the sparkling 1956 comedy film Sailor Beware, in which he played Shirley Eaton's fiancé, forever facing the wrath of Peggy Mount. Ronald was great in Nurse On Wheels, wearing the handsome hero role lightly and combining will they/won't they romantics with gentle comedy. The Welsh actor could easily have joined in the fun for Carry On Jack or Spying however Peter Rogers Productions opted for Bernard Cribbins and then Jim Dale instead. A shame I think, and Ronald's career perhaps did not work out as planned in the years ahead. I think he's great though and deserves to be remembered fondly.

Gentle Comedy 

Peter Rogers Productions are mainly remembered for their broad, cheeky and saucy farces and costume adventures, however in the early days things were a little different. Nurse On Wheels is light on sauce and that's not a bad thing. It's a family film, there's nothing offensive here. Just plenty of light, frothy and mostly very funny antics played out by a clutch of trusted, experienced and much loved comedy character actors. We say this an awful lot, which isn't a good thing when you actually think about it, but they really don't make them like this anymore!

A Cast of Class 

As well as the aforementioned leading lights Juliet Mills and Ronald Lewis, the cast of Nurse On Wheels is full to the brim not just with reliable Carry On favourites but basically, just the cream of character comedy people. Alongside Carry On regulars Joan Sims (who was originally cast as Joanna, only to be replaced by Mills) and Jim Dale, other familiar faces in the cast include the likes of Noel Purcell, Norman Rossington, Renee Houston, George Woodbridge, Joan Hickson, Raymond Huntley, Deryck Guyler and the legendary Athene Seyler. Athene in particular is a joy in this film and Joan Sims recalled the thrill of working with one of her heroines on film, having first met her in the stage production Breath of Spring several years before. As with all Peter Rogers films, Nurse On Wheels is beautifully, perfectly cast.

A Fitting Farewell for Norman

1963 was a big turning point for the Carry On films. May of that year saw the next Carry On go into production and there would be a new name in the credits - that of scriptwriter Talbot Rothwell. Talbot's script for Carry On Cabby would edge the series towards new, grittier ground and having been well received, he became a stalwart, writing for the series until 1974. Rothwell provided the scripts for many of the series' best loved and most successful titles but we mustn't forget the importance and the skill of Norman Hudis. He wrote the first six films and other associated titles such as Twice Round The Daffodils, Please Turn Over and of course, Nurse On Wheels. Although Norman had a go at a treatment for Carry On Spying the following year, this cosy comedy would prove to be his last credit for Peter Rogers. 

So those are a few reasons why I love Nurse On Wheels. If you haven't seen the film, track it down as it's definitely worth a watch.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Two Classic Carry Ons Coming Up on Film4!

Once again Film4 are delivering the goods. Two wonderful black and white Carry On films from the Norman Hudis era are being shown on the channel over the next seven days and here are the details: 

Carry On Teacher - Thursday 18 October, 17.00

Another favourite of mine from the early Norman Hudis era of the series, Carry On Teacher blends the best elements of Ealing comedy and St Trinian's to make one of the most innocent of all the Carry Ons. A group of children rebel during an official visit from some school inspectors in the hope they can prevent their beloved headmaster from leaving to take up a new job. Gerald Thomas coaxes some lovely performances from the child actors in the cast, principally from leads Richard O'Sullivan and Carol White. Ted Ray makes his only Carry On appearance as the headmaster William Wakefield and forms a superb double act with his longtime radio co-star Kenneth Connor as bumbling science master Gregory Adams. Rosalind Knight grabs a larger role in Teacher, following her cameo in Nurse, this time playing severe school inspector Felicity Wheeler while the likes of Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams are also along for the fun as the gaggle of accident prone, squabbling teachers. 

Further reading:  Carry On Blogging Interview: Josephine Bailey
Carry On Blogging: Whatever Happened to the Saboteurs?

 Carry On Regardless (1961) - Sunday 21 October, 16.50.

Although writer Norman Hudis is on record as saying this was his least favourite of all the Carry Ons he wrote, I love Regardless. It's the most episodic film of the entire series, basically made up of a series of sketches held together by the central comic force of Sid James as the owner of the Helping Hands Agency. Helping Hands employs a rag bag of diverse workers willing to undertake (almost) anything. This premise gives Hudis a huge amount of scope and the results, in the hands of a cosy bunch of lovable Carry On eccentrics, is just brilliant. It also features the biggest supporting cast of superb British comedy actors even seen. Everyone from Fenella Fielding and Stanley Unwin to Molly Weir, Jerry Desmonde and Joan Hickson appear, mostly fleetingly. Sid is assisted by the likes of Esma Cannon, Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims, Bill Owen and a debuting Liz Fraser.

Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Why I love Carry On Regardless
Carry On Blogging: My Favourite scene - Carry On Regardless


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Joe, Kenneth and Mrs Edna Welthorpe

This Friday I am attending a very special event at London's Postal Museum. As part of the Bloomsbury Festival, I managed to grab a couple of tickets for Yours Faithfully Edna Welthorpe (Mrs) - Joe Orton's Prank Letters. 

I've been a fan of the late playwright Joe Orton since I first discovered him through Kenneth Williams' diaries. Kenneth and Joe were friends in the mid 1960s and although they shared some common attributes they were in many ways complete opposites. Both gay and from working class backgrounds, while Kenneth's private life was monk-like and the modern swinging sixties world around him both excited and repulsed him, Joe went for it and enjoyed being the glamorous toast of London. Joe became hugely famous thanks to two notorious plays - Loot and Entertaining Mr Sloane. Both plays shocked and intrigued contemporary audiences and have endured, becoming classics of their kind still often performed today.

Kenneth and Joe first met when Williams was cast in the first version of Joe's play Loot. Although the production was a disaster, the friendship endured and the pair even enjoyed trips abroad to more liberal environments. Having read both diaries and taken in these two famous, iconic men and their opinions of each other, we really can view them from a unique perspective. Kenneth was deeply shocked and affected by Joe's untimely death at the hands of Kenneth Halliwell in August 1967. It's worth reading his diary from around this time although it's pretty sober stuff. 

Joe was well known for producing deliciously camp, funny prank letters under the name of Mrs Edna Welthorpe and Kenneth was a regular receiver of these missives. The event on Friday will celebrate this aspect of Joe's creative outpouring in the company of several experts and Joe's sister, Leonie Orton. There will also be some new Edna letters, written by some well known comedy writers of today and a screening of a brand new animation on Edna, voiced by Alison Steadman. I'm particularly keen to hear what Leonie has to say as I've recently read her deeply touching, affecting and sometimes (darkly) hilarious memoir, I Had it in Me. I believe Joe would have loved the double meaning of this title. The memoir is as much about Leonie's own journey through life as it is about Joe and her thoughts about his life, his career and his untimely passing. 

I thoroughly recommend it to you and you can find it here

And you can read more about Kenneth and Joe in my blog from last year here 

And if you want more, here's a video of Kenneth Williams discussing Joe from the BBC Arena documentary A Genius Like Us: A Portrait of Joe Orton from 1982:

And finally, here's Leonie talking about her brother back in 2012:

I can't wait for Friday night to hear more about the brilliant Joe Orton, his life and work.

More on the Bloomsbury Festival can be found here: bloomsburyfestival.org.uk

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram