Amanda Barrie

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Amanda Barrie

Barrie as Alma in Coronation Street
Born 14 September, 1935
Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire
Notable roles Alma Baldwin in Coronation Street

Amanda Barrie (born Shirley Anne Broadbent on 14 September 1935 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire) is an English actress.

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[edit] Early life

Barrie has acted in a number of British television and film roles in the 1960s and 1970s. She was married to the theatre director Robin Hunter (1967-2004).

[edit] Career

Barrie was probably best known for her roles in the Carry On films which was an extensive series of British comedy films, perhaps most notably in the title role of Carry on Cleo. She was cast as a café proprietor's wife, Alma Sedgewick (later Baldwin), on the British soap opera Coronation Street. She was a bit player in the early to mid 1980s before she was offered a contract in 1988 where she became a very well-known character. She played the role until she decided to retire in 2001. In the story, Alma was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer which later caused her death.

Since leaving Coronation Street, she has continued to act in the popular ITV1 prison series, Bad Girls, playing inmate Bev Tull from the fifth series to the last, along with Phyl Oswyn played by Stephanie Beacham. The characters together were known as "The Costa Cons". She also became one of the celebrities who took part in Hell's Kitchen; a popular ITV1 "reality TV" series which screened in 2004. Whilst on the show, she became so frustrated with Gordon Ramsay, that she tried to slap him across the face.

From November to January 2006, Amanda took a starring role in the pantomine adaption of Jack and the Beanstalk in Canterbury, Kent.

Barrie on Bad Girls DVD cover.
Barrie on Bad Girls DVD cover.

Amanda's autobiography It's not a rehearsal has become a best seller since it was published in 2003. Having kept her personal life very private, Amanda decided in her autobiography to be more open about being bisexual. [1]

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] External links