Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
Encyclopedia
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is the London Agent for the secret organisation International Rescue in the hit television series Thunderbirds
. The character was created and voiced by Sylvia Anderson
in the original series, and portrayed on film
by Sophia Myles
.
, an exclusive girls' boarding school
where she excelled in many subjects and became very popular among her peers; she was later elected head girl. Upon leaving Roedean, Lady Penelope went to a finishing school
in Switzerland where she became a skilled skiier and linguist, being able to speak French, German and Italian as well as a native.
and also a fashion icon. But, after completing her education in Buckinghamshire
she rejected the aristocracy's endless round of social engagements and became a secret agent. It was while working as the chief operative of the Federal Agents Bureau that Lady Penelope first met Jeff Tracy
, the founder of International Rescue, and she immediately accepted his invitation to become their London Agent.
and celebrity and has appeared on the cover of Chic magazine. Her clothes are specially created for her by top fashion designers like Elaine Wickfern and François Lemaire, who named a revolutionary new fabric "Penelon" after her. She wears an exclusive perfume called "Soupçon de Péril", mixed for her by Jacques Verre. Whenever Lady Penelope is in Paris she always drinks Pernod. Lady Penelope takes tea almost religiously and can communicate with International Rescue via her Regency tea pot.
called FAB1 painted in her trademark tone of pink. FAB 1 has lots of features to assist Lady Penelope's work such as machine guns in the grill, bulletproof glass, water skis for travel on water and radar-assisted steering. FAB 1 is mostly driven by Parker
. Lady Penelope also owns FAB 2, a sleek private yacht; FAB 3, a prize winning racehorse; and Seabird, a 40 feet (12.2 m) ocean-going cruiser. There have been several Seabirds as they are frequently destroyed in use.
at Foxleyheath in Gloucestershire
, England is the seat of the Creighton-Ward dynasty. The first Creighton-Ward Mansion was built on the site of a Norman Castle by the first Lord Creighton-Ward after he was knighted by Elizabeth I, who was a regular visitor. The current Creighton-Ward Mansion was built by Lord Cuthbert Creighton-Ward in 1730 after he burned down the previous house during a gunpowder experiment. Lord Cuthbert asked architect Colen Campbell
to design the iconic Palladian edifice, which has been designated a Grade One listed building by the World Heritage Organization. When Lady Penelope became a secret agent she renovated the historic building to better suit her secret lifestyle by installing a satellite antenna, a number of two-way video communication consoles for contacting International Rescue and a safe with state-of-the-art alarm system and CCTV. There is a forensic laboratory where the old servants' quarters were. Also there is an underground river with a boat beneath the estate, and if Lady Penelope thinks that the house is under surveillance or she is in danger, she can meet Parker at a nearby village without anyone knowing.
is Lady Penelope's butler and chauffeur. Born on 30 May 2003, Parker is the last of a long line of Cockney
retainers who have served the British aristocracy for centuries. However, finding it difficult to get a stable job, Parker soon fell in with various villains of the London underworld. Parker quickly gained a reputation as the world's best safe-cracker and cat-burglar, which led to his serving a sentence in Parkmoor Scrubs Prison. After his release, he soon fell back into criminal activity,and was recruited by Lady Penelope when she caught him breaking into the safe of an oil tycoon. Lady Penelope heard of Parker’s talents and offered him a partnership in her espionage activities. He is a loyal and indispensable assistant to Lady Penelope and International Rescue.
universe. Penelon was discovered by the noted fashion designer François Lemaire, who named it after his favourite model, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward.
The fabric itself has extraordinary properties: Penelon can be made into any costume design, it never gets crushed, it can squeeze into a space the size of a match box and it can be fashioned to look like any other material.
The fabric was keenly sought after by François Lemaire's rivals, who bugged and kept his office under surveillance; hence it was top secret. After this was discovered by Lady Penelope she suggested holding the premiere of the new collection made entirely of Penelon on board the new aircraft Skythrust designed by the International Rescue scientific genius Brains
.
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
. The character was created and voiced by Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
in the original series, and portrayed on film
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
by Sophia Myles
Sophia Myles
-Early life:Myles was born in London. She is the daughter of Jane, who works in educational publishing, and Peter Myles, a retired Anglican vicar in Isleworth, west London. Her maternal grandmother was Russian, and she refers to herself as "half-Welsh, half-Russian". She grew up in Notting Hill,...
.
Early life
Born on 24 December 2039, Lady Penelope is the twenty-six-year-old daughter of aristocrat Sir Hugh Creighton-Ward and his wife, Amelia. The first years of Lady Penelope’s life were spent at Creighton-Ward Mansion; thereafter her father was requested by the government to go to India to organise a tea-growing community. However, Lady Penelope didn’t agree with the Indian climate and returned without her parents to England, where she was put into the care of a governess, Miss Pemberton, to whom she quickly bonded. At the age of eleven Lady Penelope was sent to RoedeanRoedean School
-Roedeanians in fiction:* Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward * Dawn Drummond-Clayton * Emily James...
, an exclusive girls' boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
where she excelled in many subjects and became very popular among her peers; she was later elected head girl. Upon leaving Roedean, Lady Penelope went to a finishing school
Finishing school
A finishing school is "a private school for girls that emphasises training in cultural and social activities." The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the educational experience, with classes primarily on etiquette...
in Switzerland where she became a skilled skiier and linguist, being able to speak French, German and Italian as well as a native.
Secret life
On the outside Lady Penelope is just another member of the British high societyHigh society (group)
High society refers to a category of people deemed to have greater social status or prestige, and their related affiliations, social events and practices which together define a group variously referred to as "Society" or high society. Such groups are defined by certain key events and cultural...
and also a fashion icon. But, after completing her education in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
she rejected the aristocracy's endless round of social engagements and became a secret agent. It was while working as the chief operative of the Federal Agents Bureau that Lady Penelope first met Jeff Tracy
Jeff Tracy
Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley. The character also appeared in the live...
, the founder of International Rescue, and she immediately accepted his invitation to become their London Agent.
Style
Lady Penelope is stylish and fashionable in almost every aspect of her life. Lady Penelope is a world renowned supermodelSupermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
and celebrity and has appeared on the cover of Chic magazine. Her clothes are specially created for her by top fashion designers like Elaine Wickfern and François Lemaire, who named a revolutionary new fabric "Penelon" after her. She wears an exclusive perfume called "Soupçon de Péril", mixed for her by Jacques Verre. Whenever Lady Penelope is in Paris she always drinks Pernod. Lady Penelope takes tea almost religiously and can communicate with International Rescue via her Regency tea pot.
FAB 1
Lady Penelope owns an iconic six-wheeled Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
called FAB1 painted in her trademark tone of pink. FAB 1 has lots of features to assist Lady Penelope's work such as machine guns in the grill, bulletproof glass, water skis for travel on water and radar-assisted steering. FAB 1 is mostly driven by Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds....
. Lady Penelope also owns FAB 2, a sleek private yacht; FAB 3, a prize winning racehorse; and Seabird, a 40 feet (12.2 m) ocean-going cruiser. There have been several Seabirds as they are frequently destroyed in use.
Creighton-Ward Mansion
The eighteenth-century stately homeStately home
A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...
at Foxleyheath in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England is the seat of the Creighton-Ward dynasty. The first Creighton-Ward Mansion was built on the site of a Norman Castle by the first Lord Creighton-Ward after he was knighted by Elizabeth I, who was a regular visitor. The current Creighton-Ward Mansion was built by Lord Cuthbert Creighton-Ward in 1730 after he burned down the previous house during a gunpowder experiment. Lord Cuthbert asked architect Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell was a pioneering Scottish architect who spent most of his career in England, and is credited as a founder of the Georgian style...
to design the iconic Palladian edifice, which has been designated a Grade One listed building by the World Heritage Organization. When Lady Penelope became a secret agent she renovated the historic building to better suit her secret lifestyle by installing a satellite antenna, a number of two-way video communication consoles for contacting International Rescue and a safe with state-of-the-art alarm system and CCTV. There is a forensic laboratory where the old servants' quarters were. Also there is an underground river with a boat beneath the estate, and if Lady Penelope thinks that the house is under surveillance or she is in danger, she can meet Parker at a nearby village without anyone knowing.
Bonga Bonga
In addition Lady Penelope owns Bonga Bonga, a sheep station in the Australian outback with 200,007 sheep. The station was acquired by Bertie ‘Buster’ Creighton-Ward. The open plan lounge with its modern fabrics and simple geometric designs is in sharp contrast to the rich detail of Creighton-Ward Mansion.Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" ParkerAloysius "Nosey" Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds....
is Lady Penelope's butler and chauffeur. Born on 30 May 2003, Parker is the last of a long line of Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
retainers who have served the British aristocracy for centuries. However, finding it difficult to get a stable job, Parker soon fell in with various villains of the London underworld. Parker quickly gained a reputation as the world's best safe-cracker and cat-burglar, which led to his serving a sentence in Parkmoor Scrubs Prison. After his release, he soon fell back into criminal activity,and was recruited by Lady Penelope when she caught him breaking into the safe of an oil tycoon. Lady Penelope heard of Parker’s talents and offered him a partnership in her espionage activities. He is a loyal and indispensable assistant to Lady Penelope and International Rescue.
Lilian
Lilian, or Lil as she is known by Parker, is Lady Penelope’s cook. Lilian has a large repertoire of food that she prepares for Lady Penelope, much to the disgust of Parker.Perce
Perce is the gardener for the 2000 acres (8.1 km²) Creighton-Ward estate and friend of Parker.Penelon
Penelon is the fictional fabric featured in the ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
universe. Penelon was discovered by the noted fashion designer François Lemaire, who named it after his favourite model, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward.
The fabric itself has extraordinary properties: Penelon can be made into any costume design, it never gets crushed, it can squeeze into a space the size of a match box and it can be fashioned to look like any other material.
The fabric was keenly sought after by François Lemaire's rivals, who bugged and kept his office under surveillance; hence it was top secret. After this was discovered by Lady Penelope she suggested holding the premiere of the new collection made entirely of Penelon on board the new aircraft Skythrust designed by the International Rescue scientific genius Brains
Brains (Thunderbirds)
Brains is a fictional character in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its sequel films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 , and the 2004 live-action remake film Thunderbirds. Brains was born 14 November 2040 and was orphaned when a hurricane struck his family's...
.
Thunderbirds episodes
- "Trapped in the SkyTrapped in the Sky"Trapped in the Sky" is the first episode of Thunderbirds, a British 1960s Supermarionation television series co-created by Gerry Anderson, which originally aired on ATV Midlands on 30 September 1965. The plot revolves around master criminal the Hood, who sabotages the brand-new Fireflash prior to...
" - "The Perils of Penelope"
- "Day of Disaster"
- "30 Minutes After Noon30 Minutes After Noon"30 Minutes After Noon" is the seventh episode of the 1960s Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. Written by Alan Fennell and directed by David Elliott, it first aired in the United Kingdom on ATV Midlands on 11 November 1965...
" - "Vault of Death"
- "The Mighty Atom"
- "The Impostors"
- "The Man From MI.5"
- "Danger at Ocean Deep"
- "The Duchess Assignment"
- "Brink of Disaster"
- "The Cham-ChamThe Cham-Cham"The Cham-Cham" is the 25th episode of the 1960s Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. One of the final instalments of Series One, it first aired in the United Kingdom on ATV Midlands on 24 March 1966...
" - "Atlantic Inferno"
- "Path of Destruction"
- "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker"
- "Lord Parker's 'Oliday"
Thunderbirds Films
- Thunderbirds Are GOThunderbirds Are GOThunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
- Thunderbird 6Thunderbird 6Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British science-fiction and adventure film written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, directed by David Lane and produced by Century 21 Cinema...
- ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (film)Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
Controversies
When Thunderbirds was rebroadcast, Lady Penelope was criticised for smoking, wearing furs and not wearing a seat belt.Sources
- The Complete Book of "Thunderbirds ISBN 1842220926
- Lady Penelope Annual 1960s
- Lady Penelope's Lifestyle Secrets ISBN 1842222287
See also
- Lady Penelope (comic)Lady Penelope (comic)Lady Penelope was a British weekly comic for girls which ran from 1966 to 1969.-Publishing History:Marketed as the comic for girls who love television, it was the sister publication to TV Century 21. It ran for 204 issues with the first dated 22 January 1966...
- Aloysius "Nosey" ParkerAloysius "Nosey" ParkerAloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds....