Elizabeth Power
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Power is a British
actress. Power began her career in repertory theatre and went on to appear in several West End
musicals
. However, she best known for her work on British television, in particular her role as Christine Hewitt
in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders
(1992–1993). She has since gone on to feature in various stage productions. She is the former wife of television personality, Michael Aspel
.
, East Sussex
. She began singing and dancing lessons at the age of four, prompted by her mother, who was very keen for her to perform. However, at the age of 14, Power concluded "that she wasn't physically suited to be a dancer", so she decided to take up acting on the advice of her teacher. Power auditioned for a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA) at the age of 17, and was accepted. She has commented "I just glided into it so I was still naive…Rada was good and I realised there was more than just going on stage and being clapped." Power graduated from RADA in 1966.
in 1959. After leaving RADA in 1966, she worked for 18 months at the Belgrade Theatre
, Coventry
. She had various roles in repertory
theatre during her early career, and has since commented: "I got lots of jobs in rep, learning my craft and playing totally unsuitable roles—old ladies and the sort of stuff you did in those days."
Power went on to appear in various West End musicals. In 1969 she played the leading role, Lucy, in Two Cities, a British musical about the Charles Dickens
story A Tale of Two Cities
, which played at the Palace Theatre, London
. She later toured in a production of The Pajama Game
, and in 1972 she played Avonia Bunn in the Julian Slade musical, Trelawny, which was based on the Pinero
play Trelawny of the Wells. The show opened at the Bristol Old Vic, then transferred to Sadler's Wells Theatre
and later the Prince of Wales Theatre
, with Power staying for its entire run. In 1974 she was cast in the revue
Cole, built around the songs of Cole Porter
, which played at the Mermaid Theatre
. The following year she appeared in So Who Needs Marriage?, a musical written by Monty Norman
, which toured for a few weeks in May 1975. So Who Needs Marriage? ended uo being Power's "swansong" in musicals. She has since commented that the musicals of the late 1960s and early 1970s were not the sort of shows that suited her vocal talents: "The musicals were mainly American imports. If you didn't have that big chesty voice, there was no place for you…"
Power switched to television acting in the 1970s. One of her first television roles was in the BBC science fiction
series Doctor Who and the Silurians
in 1970. She went on to appear in the BBC drama series Softly Softly
(1973); The Magician's Heart (BBC, 1973); Lillie
(ITV, 1978); Hazell (1978); a regular role as Celia Travers in Crown Court
(ITV, 1978–1982); Juliet Bravo
(BBC, 1981), and Prince Regent (BBC, 1979).
Power's most notable television role has been her portrayal of Christine Hewitt
in the BBC soap opera
EastEnders
. Power was offered the role by one of the programme's producers, Leonard Lewis
, for whom she'd worked with previously on Juliet Bravo and Softly, Softly. She has commented "I got a call out of the blue asking if I could go up to the BBC at Elstree to meet him. Mrs Hewitt was going to be in five episodes and I thought, 'wonderful'." Mrs Hewitt made her first appearance on-screen in February 1992, as a lonely divorcee who employed the long running character, Arthur Fowler
(Bill Treacher
), to tend to her garden—used as a plot device to rebuild Arthur's relationship with his son Mark Fowler
(Todd Carty
), while they worked together on Christine's garden. Power filmed her scenes for the five episodes and thought that would be the end of it; however, she was subsequently contacted by Leonard Lewis and asked to reprise the role. Power commented "It was all I could do to stop myself screeching down the phone. They didn't tell me which direction the story was going to take. I got on so well with [Bill Treacher] from the word go. We really liked each other." Mrs Hewitt was reintroduced in a storyline that saw her become Arthur Fowler's mistress
, but when the affair ended Power left the series, making her final appearance on-screen in October 1993.
Power has subsequently appeared in the horror film Tale of the Mummy
(1998), a role that reunited her with actor Bill Treacher on-screen as husband and wife. Power and Treacher were offered the parts by director Russell Mulcahy
, who was an "avid fan" of them in EastEnders. Power has commented "[Russell Mulcahy] was in Hollywood but used to get friends to video the Arthur and Mrs Hewitt scenes. So he thought it would be a good idea to get us together again. He thought it would be a great joke. We played a caretaker and his wife." Power has also appeared twice in the BBC medical soap Doctors
(2001; 2004), but she has been most active in theatre rather than television post EastEnders. She appeared in Alan Bennett
's Habeas Corpus
at Farnham
in 1993, and in 2001 she starred in Richard Harris
' award-winning comedy Stepping Out
, as a stern piano teacher, Mrs Fraser. She lent her skills to the International Festival of Musical Theatre in Cardiff
in 2002, and starred in Trevor Baxter
's adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray
, which toured the UK in 2003.
and is a mother of two; her eldest son, Patrick, has cerebral palsy
. She married the British television personality, Michael Aspel
, in 1977. Their marriage ended in 1994 when it was revealed that Aspel was having an affair with production assistant, Irene Clark. Although they are separated, Power, who is a Catholic
, has said she will never divorce Aspel. She is a skilled dancer and piano player, and has used both skills on stage in various productions including Stepping Out.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actress. Power began her career in repertory theatre and went on to appear in several West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. However, she best known for her work on British television, in particular her role as Christine Hewitt
Christine Hewitt
Christine Hewitt is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Elizabeth Power. Introduced in 1992 as a lonely divorcée who became besotted with married Arthur Fowler while he tended her garden...
in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
(1992–1993). She has since gone on to feature in various stage productions. She is the former wife of television personality, Michael Aspel
Michael Aspel
Michael Terence Aspel, OBE is an English television presenter, known for his reserved demeanour and rich speaking voice. He has been a high-profile TV personality in the United Kingdom since the 1960s, presenting programmes such as Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life, Strange But...
.
Early life
Power was born in EastbourneEastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. She began singing and dancing lessons at the age of four, prompted by her mother, who was very keen for her to perform. However, at the age of 14, Power concluded "that she wasn't physically suited to be a dancer", so she decided to take up acting on the advice of her teacher. Power auditioned for a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
(RADA) at the age of 17, and was accepted. She has commented "I just glided into it so I was still naive…Rada was good and I realised there was more than just going on stage and being clapped." Power graduated from RADA in 1966.
Career
Power began her acting career on stage, appearing at a young age as Alison in a revival of the Slade-Reynolds Christmas musical, The Merry Gentleman, at the Bristol Old VicBristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
in 1959. After leaving RADA in 1966, she worked for 18 months at the Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. She had various roles in repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
theatre during her early career, and has since commented: "I got lots of jobs in rep, learning my craft and playing totally unsuitable roles—old ladies and the sort of stuff you did in those days."
Power went on to appear in various West End musicals. In 1969 she played the leading role, Lucy, in Two Cities, a British musical about the Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
story A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature....
, which played at the Palace Theatre, London
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
. She later toured in a production of The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
, and in 1972 she played Avonia Bunn in the Julian Slade musical, Trelawny, which was based on the Pinero
Piñero
Piñero is a 2001 biopic about the troubled life of Nuyorican poet and playwright Miguel Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt as the titular character. It was written and directed by the Cuban filmmaker, Leon Ichaso. It premiered at the Montreal Film Festival on 31 August 2001...
play Trelawny of the Wells. The show opened at the Bristol Old Vic, then transferred to Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
and later the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
, with Power staying for its entire run. In 1974 she was cast in the revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Cole, built around the songs of Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, which played at the Mermaid Theatre
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
. The following year she appeared in So Who Needs Marriage?, a musical written by Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
, which toured for a few weeks in May 1975. So Who Needs Marriage? ended uo being Power's "swansong" in musicals. She has since commented that the musicals of the late 1960s and early 1970s were not the sort of shows that suited her vocal talents: "The musicals were mainly American imports. If you didn't have that big chesty voice, there was no place for you…"
Power switched to television acting in the 1970s. One of her first television roles was in the BBC science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Doctor Who and the Silurians
Doctor Who and the Silurians
Doctor Who and the Silurians is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from January 31 to March 14, 1970. The story is the first appearance of a recurring family of Earth-dwelling reptiles...
in 1970. She went on to appear in the BBC drama series Softly Softly
Softly, Softly (TV series)
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern - supposedly in the Bristol and Chepstow area of the UK...
(1973); The Magician's Heart (BBC, 1973); Lillie
Lillie
Lillie is a British television serial made by London Weekend Television for ITV and broadcast in 1978.This period serial starred Francesca Annis in the title role of Lillie Langtry...
(ITV, 1978); Hazell (1978); a regular role as Celia Travers in Crown Court
Crown Court (TV series)
Crown Court was an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984....
(ITV, 1978–1982); Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo is a British television series, which ran on BBC1 between 1980 and 1985. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over control of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire.-Programme name:...
(BBC, 1981), and Prince Regent (BBC, 1979).
Power's most notable television role has been her portrayal of Christine Hewitt
Christine Hewitt
Christine Hewitt is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Elizabeth Power. Introduced in 1992 as a lonely divorcée who became besotted with married Arthur Fowler while he tended her garden...
in the BBC soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. Power was offered the role by one of the programme's producers, Leonard Lewis
Leonard Lewis
Leonard Jack Lewis was a British producer and director. He was most active in television. He was the Executive/Series Producer for BBC's EastEnders during the early 1990s, though he had success with many other television programmes for both the BBC and ITV...
, for whom she'd worked with previously on Juliet Bravo and Softly, Softly. She has commented "I got a call out of the blue asking if I could go up to the BBC at Elstree to meet him. Mrs Hewitt was going to be in five episodes and I thought, 'wonderful'." Mrs Hewitt made her first appearance on-screen in February 1992, as a lonely divorcee who employed the long running character, Arthur Fowler
Arthur Fowler
Arthur George Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Bill Treacher.The father of the Fowler family, Arthur was essentially a good man, but he made some foolish choices and he always ended up paying dearly for them, also being bossed to the brink of insanity by...
(Bill Treacher
Bill Treacher
Bill Treacher is an English actor. Most famous for playing Arthur Fowler on the BBC soap opera EastEnders, for 11 years, from 1985-1996.-Early life:Treacher grew up in the East End of London...
), to tend to her garden—used as a plot device to rebuild Arthur's relationship with his son Mark Fowler
Mark Fowler
Mark Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark was an original regular character in the series starting February 1985 but became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made...
(Todd Carty
Todd Carty
Todd Carty is an Irish actor and director, who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage work has varied from pantomime to serious drama, as well as radio plays, voiceovers, commercials, narrations, and films...
), while they worked together on Christine's garden. Power filmed her scenes for the five episodes and thought that would be the end of it; however, she was subsequently contacted by Leonard Lewis and asked to reprise the role. Power commented "It was all I could do to stop myself screeching down the phone. They didn't tell me which direction the story was going to take. I got on so well with [Bill Treacher] from the word go. We really liked each other." Mrs Hewitt was reintroduced in a storyline that saw her become Arthur Fowler's mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
, but when the affair ended Power left the series, making her final appearance on-screen in October 1993.
Power has subsequently appeared in the horror film Tale of the Mummy
Tale of the Mummy
Tale of the Mummy is a 1998 British-American horror film, directed by Russell Mulcahy, starring Jason Scott Lee, Jack Davenport, Louise Lombard and Christopher Lee.-Plot:...
(1998), a role that reunited her with actor Bill Treacher on-screen as husband and wife. Power and Treacher were offered the parts by director Russell Mulcahy
Russell Mulcahy
Russell Mulcahy is an Australian film director. His work is easily recognized by his use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights.- Music videos :...
, who was an "avid fan" of them in EastEnders. Power has commented "[Russell Mulcahy] was in Hollywood but used to get friends to video the Arthur and Mrs Hewitt scenes. So he thought it would be a good idea to get us together again. He thought it would be a great joke. We played a caretaker and his wife." Power has also appeared twice in the BBC medical soap Doctors
Doctors (BBC Soap Opera)
Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
(2001; 2004), but she has been most active in theatre rather than television post EastEnders. She appeared in Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
's Habeas Corpus
Habeas Corpus (play)
Habeas Corpus is a comedy stage play by the English author Alan Bennett. It was first performed at the Lyric Theatre in London on 10 May 1973, with Alec Guinness and Margaret Courtenay in the lead roles....
at Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
in 1993, and in 2001 she starred in Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
' award-winning comedy Stepping Out
Stepping Out (play)
Stepping Out is a play written by Richard Harris in 1984. It was produced in the West End, London, where it received the Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award, and on Broadway, New York.-Plot:...
, as a stern piano teacher, Mrs Fraser. She lent her skills to the International Festival of Musical Theatre in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
in 2002, and starred in Trevor Baxter
Trevor Baxter
Trevor Baxter is a British actor and playwright.He is perhaps best remembered for his appearance in the 1977 Doctor Who serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang as Professor George Litefoot. He reprised his role of Professor Litefoot in an episode of audio series, Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles:...
's adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
, which toured the UK in 2003.
Personal life
Power lives in SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and is a mother of two; her eldest son, Patrick, has cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
. She married the British television personality, Michael Aspel
Michael Aspel
Michael Terence Aspel, OBE is an English television presenter, known for his reserved demeanour and rich speaking voice. He has been a high-profile TV personality in the United Kingdom since the 1960s, presenting programmes such as Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life, Strange But...
, in 1977. Their marriage ended in 1994 when it was revealed that Aspel was having an affair with production assistant, Irene Clark. Although they are separated, Power, who is a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, has said she will never divorce Aspel. She is a skilled dancer and piano player, and has used both skills on stage in various productions including Stepping Out.