Pippa Guard

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Pippa Guard born 13 October 1952 in Edinburgh, Scotland is a British actress. She belongs to a well-known theatrical family, whose members include her uncle Philip Guard, cousins Christopher Guard and Domimic Guard, and younger brother Alex Guard. However, Guard's father was an engineer who moved the family to Kent, and then to Canada. Guard briefly attended the University of Montreal, first studying English and drama and then nursing, before returning to Britain to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She left RADA in 1975 as winner of the Ronson, Kendall and Pole prizes and was named as Britain's Most Promising Actress. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1976, and first attracted attention when she took over the role of Juliet from a sick Francesca Annis. She went on to play Hermia in Peter Brook's Midsummer Night's Dream, Luciana in Trevor's Nunn's musical Comedy of Errors and Evie in Factory Birds. As The Stratfordians notes, Guard appeared destined for a classical stage career but she has become best-known as a television actress.

In 1978 Guard left the RSC and won the role of Maggie Tulliver in a BBC serialisation of The Mill on the Floss (1978), followed by Barbara Mallen in The Mallens (Granada, 1979), Maria in Maria Marten (BBC, 1980), Prue in To the Lighthouse (BBC, 1982) and three roles for the BBC Television Shakespeare: Miranda in The Tempest (1979), Diana in All's Well that Ends Well (1980) and Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981). Guard's classical pedigree and striking looks - one make-up artist described her as 'one of the most beautiful faces in television' (ref coming) - probably accounted for her popularity as a period heroine. (On BBC radio, she also played Tess of the d'Urbervilles in 1982 and Bella Wilfer in Our Mutual Friend in 1984). However, her stated desite for more contemporary and diverse roles (Film Monthly??, July 1982)was evident in her portrayal of a 21sr-century woman in the acclaimed Play for Today The Flipside of Dominick Hide (1980) and its sequel Another Flip for Dominick (1982). She also portrayed PD James' sleuth Cordelia Gray in a 1981 adaptation of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, which included a topless scene. This remains her only film role to date.

In 1984, Guard played Edith Holden in a twelve-part adaptation of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady (Central Television). This drama attracted a peak audience of 13 million viewers and raised Guard's public profile considerably, but it effectively marked the end of the first phase of her television career. In 1981 she had married the BBC production manager and director Steve Goldie and in July 1984 she gave birth to their daughter Sama. She did not return to television until 1986, although she focussed on her stage career in the meantime, playing Antigone at the National Theatre (1984) and Faye in A Chorus of Disapproval in the West End (1986). In 1986, she played an abusive mother in the award-winning A Couple of Charlies (Central) and an abused wife in The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (BBC), markimg a radical shift in her TV persona. She then returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company for two years, where her roles included Natasha in 'Three Sisters' (Barbican, 1988), although she did not play any major Shakespearean roles. In the 1990s, Guard re-established her television career, favouring contemporary and comic parts. Her first major project was the limp sitcom 'Close to Home' with Paul Nicholas (LWT, 1990), followed by two series of the outstanding comedy-drama The Riff Raff Element (BBC, 1993-94), All or Nothing at All with Hugh Laurie (LWT,1993), John Sullivan's Roger Roger (BBC, 1998-2000), and two series of The Creatives (1998-2000), plus many guest appearances.

In her 'second' television career, Guard successfully demomstrated her versatility. However, she was usually cast as the love interest of the male star, or as a member of an ensemble cast, rather than as the leading lady. In 1998, she grsduated with a first-class degree in English and drama from the University of Greenwich. She went on to gain an MPhil from Royal Holloway, University of London and is currently working on a PhD on early modern drama. She is now a lecturer and drama programme leader at Greenwich, publishes research (see 'A Defence of the First English Actress', Literature & History, Volume 15 Issue 2, Autumn 2006) and recently appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour to discuss Shakespeare's women. Her last known screen appearance was in 'Roger Roger' (2003).