Paula Wilcox
Encyclopedia
Paula Wilcox is an English
actress. She is best known for her role as Chrissy in the British comedy Man About the House
(1973–1976).
when she was offered her first starring television role in The Lovers
, a Granada
produced, ITV
sitcom written by Jack Rosenthal
and co-starring the equally precocious and unknown Richard Beckinsale
. Wilcox played Beryl Battersby, a flighty but principled young woman who would not allow her boyfriend Geoffrey (Beckinsale) to have a sexual relationship with her until marriage. There were two series of The Lovers, plus a feature film.
In Man About the House
(Thames
), she played Chrissy Plummer, another flighty but principled woman who was regularly in a flirtatious battle of wits with her male flatmate Robin, played by Richard O'Sullivan. The show was a huge success and ended with Wilcox's character marrying Robin's brother Norman (Norman Eshley
). She also starred in the feature film of the same show.
She participated in "The Lonely Miss Fox" sketch on an episode of The Benny Hill Show
(Thames
) that aired on 23 February 1972.
In 1977, Wilcox took the eponymous role in Miss Jones and Son
, another Thames series, which broke new ground as the first depiction of a single mother in British situation comedy.
's West End
she appeared as Florence the obsessive housewife
in Neil Simon
's female version of his comedy The Odd Couple
, as the Queen in The Queen and I
by Sue Townsend
, as Shirley Valentine
in Willy Russell's one-woman play, and played Cora in Anyone Can Whistle
, in 2003. Paula has also performed in Shakespeare
plays at the Open Air Theatre, Regents Park and at the Bristol
Old Vic
.
From 20 October 2008 she appeared in the London production of La cage aux folles which has transferred to the West End as Mme Dindon.
From July to November 2009 she appeared in Stella Feehily
's play Dreams of Violence for Out of Joint and Soho Theatre
.
Wilcox has recently finished a run playing Ellie and, for one scene only, Margaret Thatcher
in the Jonathon Harvey play 'Canary' at the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre.
sitcom called Fiddlers Three
opposite Peter Davison
before playing the character of Ivy Sandford in the pilot of Frank Skinner
's Blue Heaven
on Channel 4
in 1992 - the show then went on to became a series. Skinner later admitted in his autobiography
that he recruited Wilcox for the role not just because of her abilities, but because he fancied her when he was a teenager. As a guest on Skinner's edition of This Is Your Life
, Wilcox praised his decision to cast her in the role of a "hideous old bag", a departure from the sweet-natured girl-next-door TV roles she had previously been known for. Wilcox did attract a sizeable following of male fans during her 1970s heyday. She appeared in several series of The Queen's Nose
(1995–2001).
In recent years, Wilcox has made guest appearances in programmes such as Footballers' Wives
, Holby City
and Down to Earth
. These guest roles led her to be cast as Lilian in the BBC Three
cult sitcom The Smoking Room
.
On 27 October 2006, Wilcox was seen in the popular Only Fools and Horses
spin-off The Green Green Grass
as Marlene's sister. She has also played another character in the Only Fools and Horses universe, appearing in 2 episodes of Rock and Chips, playing Edward "Grandad" Trotter's estranged wife Violet. She also had a cameo role in the Woody Allen
movie Scoop
. In 2007 Wilcox joined the cast of Emmerdale
as Hilary Potts, mother of the vicar's wife, Laurel Thomas.
s (including Renault
for many years) and has narrated documentaries
and audio book
s. She also plays the role of Mary in the BBC 7
sitcom Knocker
.
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress. She is best known for her role as Chrissy in the British comedy Man About the House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
(1973–1976).
Early sitcom fame
Wilcox first came to public attention while a member of the National Youth TheatreNational Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....
when she was offered her first starring television role in The Lovers
The Lovers (TV series)
The Lovers is a British television sitcom by Jack Rosenthal, starring Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox as a courting couple, Geoffrey and Beryl. It was made between 1970 and 1971 by Granada Television for the ITV network. The hook for the show was the mismatch between the two, particularly in...
, a Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
produced, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
sitcom written by Jack Rosenthal
Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
and co-starring the equally precocious and unknown Richard Beckinsale
Richard Beckinsale
Richard Arthur Beckinsale was an English actor, best known for his roles as Lennie Godber in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the British sitcom Rising Damp....
. Wilcox played Beryl Battersby, a flighty but principled young woman who would not allow her boyfriend Geoffrey (Beckinsale) to have a sexual relationship with her until marriage. There were two series of The Lovers, plus a feature film.
In Man About the House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
(Thames
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
), she played Chrissy Plummer, another flighty but principled woman who was regularly in a flirtatious battle of wits with her male flatmate Robin, played by Richard O'Sullivan. The show was a huge success and ended with Wilcox's character marrying Robin's brother Norman (Norman Eshley
Norman Eshley
Norman Eshley is an English actor best known for his roles on television.He is possibly best known for his role in the sitcom George and Mildred as the snobbish, right-wing real estate agent Jeffrey Fourmile, the foil to George...
). She also starred in the feature film of the same show.
She participated in "The Lonely Miss Fox" sketch on an episode of The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
(Thames
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
) that aired on 23 February 1972.
In 1977, Wilcox took the eponymous role in Miss Jones and Son
Miss Jones and Son
Miss Jones and Son was a comedy series first broadcast on ITV in 1977. It starred Paula Wilcox, Christopher Beeny, Charlotte Mitchell and Norman Bird...
, another Thames series, which broke new ground as the first depiction of a single mother in British situation comedy.
Theatre
Wilcox went back to the theatre. In LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's 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...
she appeared as Florence the obsessive housewife
Housewife
Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
in Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
's female version of his comedy The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
, as the Queen in The Queen and I
The Queen and I
The Queen and I is a 1992 novel/play written by Sue Townsend.The setting is the UK, after the 1992 General Election, where the House of Windsor has just been deprived of its Royal status by the People's Republican Party and its members are made to live like normal Britons.After a People's...
by Sue Townsend
Sue Townsend
-Adrian Mole series:* The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ , her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.* The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole * The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole...
, as Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine is a one-character play by Willy Russell. Taking the form of a monologue by a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife, it focuses on her life before and after a transforming holiday abroad.-Plot:...
in Willy Russell's one-woman play, and played Cora in Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story concerns a corrupt mayoress, an idealistic nurse, a man who may be a doctor, and various officials, patients and townspeople, all fighting to save a bankrupt town...
, in 2003. Paula has also performed in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays at the Open Air Theatre, Regents Park and at the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
.
From 20 October 2008 she appeared in the London production of La cage aux folles which has transferred to the West End as Mme Dindon.
From July to November 2009 she appeared in Stella Feehily
Stella Feehily
Stella Feehily is a London-born Irish playwright and actor. Her plays include "Game" 2003 produced by Fishamble Theatre company-Dublin -published in an anthology of first plays by New Island. ISBN 978-1-84840-020-7...
's play Dreams of Violence for Out of Joint and Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
.
Wilcox has recently finished a run playing Ellie and, for one scene only, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
in the Jonathon Harvey play 'Canary' at the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre.
Return to television
In 1991, Wilcox returned to sitcom as Ros West in a Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
sitcom called Fiddlers Three
Fiddlers Three
The fiddlers three are characters featured in the English nursery rhyme "Old King Cole".Fiddlers Three may also refer to:*Fiddlers Three , a 1918 Broadway production that ran for 87 performances...
opposite Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
before playing the character of Ivy Sandford in the pilot of Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
's Blue Heaven
Blue Heaven
Blue Heaven is a British television sitcom that starred Frank Skinner, Conleth Hill and Paula Wilcox. It featured guest stars such as Bill Bailey, Philip Glenister and John Thomson. It first appeared on Channel 4 as a one-off pilot in the series Bunch of Five in 1992, and was followed by one series...
on 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...
in 1992 - the show then went on to became a series. Skinner later admitted in his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
that he recruited Wilcox for the role not just because of her abilities, but because he fancied her when he was a teenager. As a guest on Skinner's edition of This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life (UK TV series)
This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
, Wilcox praised his decision to cast her in the role of a "hideous old bag", a departure from the sweet-natured girl-next-door TV roles she had previously been known for. Wilcox did attract a sizeable following of male fans during her 1970s heyday. She appeared in several series of The Queen's Nose
The Queen's Nose
The Queen's Nose is a book, written by Dick King-Smith, that was adapted into a successful BBC television series.-The book:The book by Dick King Smith features the story of Harmony Parker, a 10 year old girl who wants an animal of her own but is not allowed by her parents who think they are dirty...
(1995–2001).
In recent years, Wilcox has made guest appearances in programmes such as Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives is a British television drama surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006...
, Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
and Down to Earth
Down to Earth (UK TV series)
Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...
. These guest roles led her to be cast as Lilian in the BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
cult sitcom The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room is a British television sitcom written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, was originally transmitted on BBC Three between 29 June and 17 August 2004. The Christmas Special was first transmitted on the same...
.
On 27 October 2006, Wilcox was seen in the popular Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
spin-off The Green Green Grass
The Green Green Grass
The Green Green Grass is a British sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan, produced by Shazam Productions for the BBC. It is a spin-off of the long running sitcom Only Fools and Horses and stars John Challis, Sue Holderness and Jack Doolan...
as Marlene's sister. She has also played another character in the Only Fools and Horses universe, appearing in 2 episodes of Rock and Chips, playing Edward "Grandad" Trotter's estranged wife Violet. She also had a cameo role in the Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
movie Scoop
Scoop (2006 film)
Scoop is a 2006 American-British romantic comedy/murder mystery written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Ian McShane, and Allen himself...
. In 2007 Wilcox joined the cast of Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
as Hilary Potts, mother of the vicar's wife, Laurel Thomas.
Other work
Wilcox has voiced numerous commercialAdvertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
s (including Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
for many years) and has narrated documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
and audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
s. She also plays the role of Mary in the BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
sitcom Knocker
Knocker (radio series)
Knocker is a British radio situation comedy broadcast on digital radio station BBC 7, recorded before a live audience. It is written by and stars Neil Edmond as Ian Dunn, a long suffering market researcher. The series also co-stars Paula Wilcox as Ian's boss, Mary...
.
Comedy
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 to 1970 | The Dustbinmen The Dustbinmen The Dustbinmen was a British television sitcom made by Granada Television for ITV, which starred Bryan Pringle, Trevor Bannister, Graham Haberfield and Tim Wylton. The show was a spin-off from a one-off 90-minute TV movie "There's a Hole in Your Dustbin, Delilah" written by Jack Rosenthal and... |
Naomi |
| 1970 to 1971 | The Lovers The Lovers (TV series) The Lovers is a British television sitcom by Jack Rosenthal, starring Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox as a courting couple, Geoffrey and Beryl. It was made between 1970 and 1971 by Granada Television for the ITV network. The hook for the show was the mismatch between the two, particularly in... |
Beryl Battersby |
| 1971 to 1972 | The Liver Birds The Liver Birds The Liver Birds is a British situation comedy, set in Liverpool, Merseyside, North-West of England, which aired on BBC1 from 1969 to 1978, and again in 1996. It was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpool housewives had met at a local writers club and decided to pool their talents... |
Gloria Titlark |
| 1973 to 1976 | Man About the House Man About the House Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of... |
Chrissy Plummer |
| 1977 to 1978 | Miss Jones and Son Miss Jones and Son Miss Jones and Son was a comedy series first broadcast on ITV in 1977. It starred Paula Wilcox, Christopher Beeny, Charlotte Mitchell and Norman Bird... |
Elizabeth Jones |
| 1985 | The Bright Side | Cynthia Bright |
| 1991 | Fiddlers Three Fiddlers Three The fiddlers three are characters featured in the English nursery rhyme "Old King Cole".Fiddlers Three may also refer to:*Fiddlers Three , a 1918 Broadway production that ran for 87 performances... |
Ros West |
| 1992 to 1994 | Blue Heaven Blue Heaven Blue Heaven is a British television sitcom that starred Frank Skinner, Conleth Hill and Paula Wilcox. It featured guest stars such as Bill Bailey, Philip Glenister and John Thomson. It first appeared on Channel 4 as a one-off pilot in the series Bunch of Five in 1992, and was followed by one series... |
Ivy Sandford |
| 2004 to 2005 | The Smoking Room The Smoking Room The Smoking Room is a British television sitcom written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, was originally transmitted on BBC Three between 29 June and 17 August 2004. The Christmas Special was first transmitted on the same... |
Lillian |
| 2010 to 2011 | Rock & Chips | Violet Trotter |
Drama
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Queen's Nose The Queen's Nose The Queen's Nose is a book, written by Dick King-Smith, that was adapted into a successful BBC television series.-The book:The book by Dick King Smith features the story of Harmony Parker, a 10 year old girl who wants an animal of her own but is not allowed by her parents who think they are dirty... |
Mrs Parker |
| 2007–2008 | Emmerdale Emmerdale Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972... |
Hilary Potts 40 episodes |
| 2008 | A Touch of Frost A Touch of Frost (TV series) A Touch of Frost is a television detective series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV from 1992 until 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R. D. Wingfield.... |
Gloria Collingham |
Personal life
Wilcox was married to her first husband, actor Derek Seaton, from 1970 until his death in 1979. She later married Nelson Skip Riddle, son of the bandleader and arranger Nelson RiddleNelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
.