| Anne Reid | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 May 1935 Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Spouse | Peter Eckersley (?–1981) (his death) |
Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a BAFTA Award-nominated English film and television actress from Newcastle upon Tyne, best known for her roles as Valerie Tatlock in Coronation Street and Jean in Dinnerladies.
Reid was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.[1]
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Reid's first major acting role was as the character of Valerie Tatlock (later Barlow) on Coronation Street. Her character was very popular with the fans with Valerie's marriage to Ken Barlow being an early example of a soap supercouple. Her character Valerie was the mother of the twins Susan and Peter. Reid joined the cast, initially for two months, starting in August 1961 and leaving in October 1961. She returned to the programme to marry Barlow on 1 August 1962 in a wedding watched by 15.8 million viewers. Her character was very popular and in 1965 when she and Barlow had twins, Granada TV received numerous flowers, cigars, candies, and cards addressed to "Mrs Barlow" as congratulations. An estimated 17.8 million watched the christening episode of the twins.
In 1968 Reid played one of the most difficult parts in Coronation Street, when Valerie Barlow was held hostage by a rapist. Although Mrs Barlow wasn't harmed, viewers sent in hate mail to the actor who played the rapist. In November 1970 Reid announced she was leaving Coronation Street as she was now pregnant with her first child. On 27 January 1971, 18.26 million viewers watched as Valerie Barlow was written out, dying of an electrocution by a hairdryer with a faulty plug. On 3 February 1971, the character's funeral was shown and 18.92 million people watched.
Reid returned to TV as one of the ensemble cast in Victoria Wood's As Seen On TV in 1986 and in 1989 featured in two episodes of the comedy series Victoria Wood, Mens Sana In Thingummy Doodah and The Library. From 1998 to 2000, Reid played the major role of Jean in the BBC comedy series Dinnerladies by Victoria Wood, and has appeared in other television programmes including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1958), the Benny Hill Show (1957), Hancock's Half Hour, Casualty (1992), Boon (1988), and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996). She also made an appearance in the Doctor Who serial The Curse of Fenric which was broadcast in October 1989.
In 2003, Reid had a part in Midsomer Murders in the episode "A Tale of Two Hamlets", and a main part in the comedy drama The Booze Cruise. She also had a major role in the ITV drama series Life Begins, which ran from 2004 to 2006, in which she appeared alongside Caroline Quentin and Frank Finlay. In October 2005 she had a role in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and in 2006 made a brief appearance in Jane Eyre.
On 31 March 2007, Reid appeared for a second time in the series Doctor Who in the episode "Smith and Jones".[2] In the episode she played Florence Finnegan, a blood-sucking alien called a Plasmavore, but took on the guise of a normal human. That same year she appeared in the ITV television adaptation of the novel The Bad Mother's Handbook, co-starring alongside Catherine Tate.
In February 2008 Reid appeared as the mother of Monica Gallagher, Joan, who was suffering from Alzheimer's in the Channel 4 drama Shameless. In October 2008, she played the title role in In Love with Barbara on BBC Four, a biopic of Barbara Cartland.
In 2009, Reid appeared in the television series Marple in the episode "Nemesis".[3] She also starred as Vera alongside Maureen Lipman as Irene in an ITV3 adaptation of the BBC Radio 4 series Ladies of Letters, a series which charts the correspondence of two ladies via a series of letters.
In 2010 she began playing Mrs Thackeray, the cook, in the BBC's revival series of Upstairs, Downstairs, and also appeared in Five Days, New Tricks and Moving On. In 2011 Reid had a major part in Marchlands, a five-part ITV supernatural drama, made a guest appearance in Doc Martin and played a supporting role in The Jury II.
In 1995 Reid was the voice of Wendolene Ramsbottom in the Wallace and Gromit film A Close Shave. Her other film appearances include Love and Death on Long Island (1997) and The Mother (2003), the latter performance secured her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2003.[4]
She filmed a minor role as a lesbian headmistress in the 2003 film Love Actually, but Reid is not credited in the cast list as all her scenes were ultimately deleted, as they were not central to the main plot. They can however, be viewed in the deleted scenes on the Love Actually DVD. She also appeared in the film Hot Fuzz in 2007.[5] In 2010 she appeared with Ricky Gervais in the film Cemetery Junction, which he wrote and directed with Stephen Merchant.
In 2002 she appeared in the premiere of The York Realist at the Royal Court Theatre, which later transferred to the West End. From September 2005 to January 2006, she appeared on stage in the West End in Epitaph for George Dillon, and in July 2006 starred in School Run, a short series of plays on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
In June 2007 she played the role of Jack's mother in Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
From January to May 2008 she appeared in the National Theatre's production of Happy Now? - a new play by Lucinda Coxon.
From March to May 2009 she appeared at the Donmar Warehouse in Dimetos, a 1975 play by Athol Fugard.