Su Pollard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Su Pollard | |
| Birth name | Susan Georgina Pollard |
| Born | 7 November 1949 Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Notable roles | Peggy Ollernshaw in Hi-de-Hi! Ivy Teasdale in You Rang, M'Lord? Ethel Schumann in Oh, Doctor Beeching! |
Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English comedy actress known as Su Pollard who is best known for her roles in the sitcoms Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord?.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Pollard was born in Nottingham in 1949 as the eldest daughter of Don and Hilda Pollard, [1] and she is a supporter of Nottingham Forest. [1] Pollard's interest in acting came at the age of six when she played an angel in a school nativity play, [2] and at the age of 16 she begun singing in working men's clubs and charity shows. [3] Following an apprenticeship at the Arts Theatre in Nottingham, Pollard appeared on Opportunity Knocks in 1974 singing "I Cain't Say No" from Oklahoma! and came second to a singing Jack Russell. [1] Pollard started appearing in many West End musicals including Godspell, Big Sin City, Grease and Oh, Mr Porter!.
[edit] Television fame
In 1979, Pollard was chosen by the BBC to play Flo in a new sitcom called Two Up, Two Down with Paul Nicholas. However, this only lasted one series. The following year, Su Pollard landed the role of chalet maid Peggy Ollernshaw in Hi-de-Hi!. She continued in this role until the programme's end in 1988, by which time she had become a household name. When filming one episode, Peter Keogh proposed to her while she was dressed as an insect. [4]. She said yes, but they later divorced [1] Pollard has no children.
During the run of Hi-de-Hi!, Pollard had a singing career, and in 1986, she reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart with the song "Starting Together". [1] It was her only Top 40 hit; her first single, "Come To Me (I Am Woman)", had reached number 71 in 1985 and her only charting album, "Su", peaked at number 86 in November 1986. In 1987, she toured the UK with The Su Pollard Show [1] and co-hosted It's a Royal Knockout.
In 1988, the year Hi-de-Hi! ended, the writers David Croft and Jimmy Perry chose Pollard to star as Ivy Teasdale in their new sitcom You Rang, M'Lord?, which starred her Hi-de-Hi! co-stars Paul Shane and Jeffrey Holland. This period sitcom ran until 1993, and from 1995 to 1997 she played Ethel Schumann in another David Croft sitcom Oh, Doctor Beeching!. Also in 1988, she won the "Rear of the Year" award. From 1989 to 1990, Pollard's distinctive voice voiced the lead character in the BBC children's television series Penny Crayon.
[edit] Since 2000
More recently, Su Pollard made a guest appearance in Gimme Gimme Gimme in 2001 and voiced Noisy in Little Robots. In 2001, she twice presented Songs of Praise and she has made four appearances on Just a Minute. She also regularly appears in pantomimes and other stage shows [1] including Annie and The Pirates of Penzance.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Great Nottinghamians:Su Pollard", BBC, November 2002.
- ^ "Su Pollard", tv.com.
- ^ "Su Pollard", u-reds.com.
- ^ "An Interview With Su Pollard", BritishExpat.com, 2002.
