Helen Atkinson-Wood
Encyclopedia
Helen Atkinson-Wood is an English
actress and comedian
born in Cheadle Hulme
, Stockport
, Cheshire
.
Atkinson-Wood studied fine art
at the Ruskin School, Oxford University, where she performed with Rowan Atkinson
. She also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival, where she met Ben Elton
.
Atkinson-Wood was a regular presenter of Central Television's controversial O.T.T.
, but is probably best known for her role as Mrs. Miggins in Blackadder the Third
(co-written by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis
) and had a cameo in the 1984 Young Ones
episode "Nasty". During the same period, she was the only woman on comedy programme Radio Active, where she played Anna Daptor and other roles, and also participated in the televisual equivalent of Radio Active, KYTV. She also appeared in the final episode of Joking Apart
as a morning television presenter. In 2007, she guest-starred in the Doctor Who
audio play I.D.. She also played the role of Sybil Ramkin in a BBC radio adaptation of Guards! Guards!
by Terry Pratchett
.
She has been a regular presenter for the Channel 4
series Collector's Lot. She has also made guest appearances on programmes such as Call My Bluff
. She was a guest in episode 9 of the C series of QI
, answering a question deemed impossible by host Stephen Fry
by correctly naming a chemical reaction equation as an explosion in custard, earning 200 points. Craig Ferguson
wrote in his book American on Purpose
that he and Helen Atkinson-Wood were in a romantic relationship that lasted five years. He acknowledges that she changed his life "beyond recognition" by improving his health and his career.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
born in Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Stockport and southeast of the city of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley on the Cheshire Plain, and the drift consists mostly of boulder clay, sands and gravels...
, Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
.
Atkinson-Wood studied fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
at the Ruskin School, Oxford University, where she performed with Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
. She also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
Festival, where she met Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
.
Atkinson-Wood was a regular presenter of Central Television's controversial O.T.T.
O.T.T.
O.T.T. was a late-night adult version of the anarchic ATV children's show Tiswas, but made by its ITV franchise successor Central Television. It was broadcast at 11.00pm on Saturday nights for one series in 1982. O.T.T. was created and presented by Chris Tarrant, and also starred ex-Tiswasians John...
, but is probably best known for her role as Mrs. Miggins in Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
(co-written by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
) and had a cameo in the 1984 Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
episode "Nasty". During the same period, she was the only woman on comedy programme Radio Active, where she played Anna Daptor and other roles, and also participated in the televisual equivalent of Radio Active, KYTV. She also appeared in the final episode of Joking Apart
Joking Apart
Joking Apart is a BBC television sitcom written by Steven Moffat about the rise and fall of a relationship. It juxtaposes a couple, Mark and Becky , who fall in love and marry, before getting separated and finally divorced...
as a morning television presenter. In 2007, she guest-starred in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
audio play I.D.. She also played the role of Sybil Ramkin in a BBC radio adaptation of Guards! Guards!
Guards! Guards!
Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1989. It is the first novel about the City Watch. The first Discworld computer game borrowed heavily from Guards! Guards! in terms of plot.-Plot:...
by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
.
She has been a regular presenter for the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
series Collector's Lot. She has also made guest appearances on programmes such as Call My Bluff
Call My Bluff (US game show)
Call My Bluff was a short-lived American game show from Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions that aired on NBC daytime from March 29 to September 24, 1965. Bill Leyden was emcee, with Johnny Olson and Wayne Howell as announcers....
. She was a guest in episode 9 of the C series of QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
, answering a question deemed impossible by host Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
by correctly naming a chemical reaction equation as an explosion in custard, earning 200 points. Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson is a Scottish American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS...
wrote in his book American on Purpose
American on Purpose
American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot is a memoir written by entertainer Craig Ferguson.The book details various experiences over several decades in Ferguson's life from his days in Scotland through his migration to the United States; the rise of his performing...
that he and Helen Atkinson-Wood were in a romantic relationship that lasted five years. He acknowledges that she changed his life "beyond recognition" by improving his health and his career.