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Gemma Craven | |
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| Born | Rita Gemma Gabriel 1 June 1950 Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, performer, singer, musician |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouses |
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| Awards | Society of West End Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical 1980 They're Playing Our Song |
Rita Gemma Craven (born 1 June 1950) is an Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur (Bob Hoskins), in the BBC TV drama Pennies From Heaven (1978).
Craven's family moved from Dublin to Britain in 1960, and she attended the same school as Helen Mirren, St Bernard's Convent High School for Girls in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. [1] [2]
She appeared as Cinderella in the film The Slipper and the Rose (1976) opposite Richard Chamberlain. [3] She was cast as an unknown, having been spotted by one of the producers while performing at the Bristol Old Vic in a production of The Threepenny Opera . The local press touted the event as her own "Cinderella" story.
In London's West End, she starred opposite Tom Conti in the musical They're Playing Our Song for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award (at the time known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards SWET) for her performance, [4] the lead role in South Pacific , and in Noël Coward's Private Lives opposite Marc Sinden, Tony Anholt and Anholt's wife Tracey Childs which toured throughout 1991 and into 1992. [5] She also played Josie in Boy George's Taboo and features on the OCR singing "Independent Woman". [6] [7]
She appeared as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur (Bob Hoskins), in the original television version of Dennis Potter's Pennies From Heaven (1978); she has since talked about the difficulty the role presented in undertaking a nude scene, which was seen as counter to her public image. [8] She also made guest appearances on Robin of Sherwood (1985), The Bill , The Morecambe and Wise Show , The Two Ronnies , Father Ted (episode "And God Created Woman") and in the popular British drama Midsomer Murders episode, "Shot at Dawn" as Judy Hicks, the wife of Dave Hicks (Brian Capron). She co-starred in the acclaimed 1982 British TV version of East Lynne . On the same Victorian theme she also appeared on BBC TV's long running old time music hall show The Good Old Days.
Her most substantial film role was as Minna Wagner opposite Richard Burton's Richard Wagner, in the 1983 film Wagner . She also appeared in Why Not Stay for Breakfast? (1979), Double X: The Name of the Game (1992), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993), Words Upon the Window Pane (1994) and The Hole (2001).
On radio, she played the part of Helen in the BBC Radio 4 comedy Clare in the Community .
She appeared on Irish television in the popular medical drama series The Clinic which ran weekly on RTÉ One.
In November/December 2008, Craven appeared in Hollyoaks Later as Erin "Ma" Fisher – Mother to Malachy, Kris and Bernadette.
Craven was married from 1981 to 1984 to actor Frazer Hines, and from 1990 to 1996 to financier David Beamish.
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins is an English actress, author and columnist. With a career spanning nearly 8 decades, Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. She is one of the last surviving actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. In 1983, Collins was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has been recognised for her philanthropy, particularly her advocacy towards causes relating to children, which has earned her many honours. In 2015, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for her charitable services, presented to her by the then Prince of Wales, Charles III.
Robert William Hoskins was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough playing Arthur Parker on the 1978 BBC Television serial Pennies from Heaven. He subsequently played acclaimed lead roles in the films The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and Mermaids (1990).
Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips, known professionally as Siân Phillips, is a British actress from Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Glamorgan, Wales. Her early career consisted primarily of stage roles, including the title roles in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler and George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan. In the 1960s, she started taking on more roles in television and film. She is particularly known for her performance as Livia in the 1976 BBC television series I, Claudius, for which she was awarded a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society award.
Britt Ekland is a Swedish actress, model, and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in The Double Man (1967), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), Machine Gun McCain (1969), Stiletto (1969), and the British crime film Get Carter (1971), which established her as a sex symbol. She also starred in several horror films, including The Wicker Man (1973), and appeared as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Jennifer "Gemma" Jones is an English actress. Appearing on both stage and screen, her film appearances include Sense and Sensibility (1995), the Bridget Jones series (2001–2016), the Harry Potter series (2002–2011), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), and Ammonite (2020).
Pennies from Heaven is a 1978 BBC musical drama serial written by Dennis Potter. The title is taken from the song "Pennies from Heaven" written by Johnny Burke and Arthur Johnston. It was one of several Potter serials to mix the reality of the drama with a dark fantasy content, and the earliest of his works where the characters burst into extended performances of popular songs.
Patricia Ann Hodge, OBE is an English actress. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in Rumpole of the Bailey (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), Penny in Miranda (2009–2015) and Mrs Pumphrey in All Creatures Great and Small (2021–present).
Cheryl Campbell is an English actress of stage, film and television. She starred opposite Bob Hoskins in the 1978 BBC drama Pennies From Heaven, before going on to win the 1980 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Testament of Youth and Malice Aforethought, and the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Revival for A Doll's House. Her film appearances include Chariots of Fire (1981), Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) and The Shooting Party (1985).
Susan Elizabeth Jenkins is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Gloria Todd in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (1985–1988) and as Jackie Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1991–2001).
Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt is an English theatre, film, and television actress. She made her film debut in the 1950s, followed by a supporting role in the BBC television serial David Copperfield (1966). She also appeared as Queen Gertrude in Tony Richardson's 1969 film adaptation of Hamlet.
Rosemary Anne Leach was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for 84, Charing Cross Road and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her roles in the films That'll Be the Day (1973) and A Room with a View (1985).
Tracey Childs is an English actress, known for playing Lynne Howard in the 1980s drama series Howards' Way. Her other television roles include Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1981), Linda Cosgrove in Born and Bred (2002–05), Patty Cornwell in Hollyoaks (2003–04) and Elaine Jenkinson in Broadchurch (2013).
Gwendoline Watford, professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress.
Jenny Logan is an English actress, trained dancer and singer. Though she played WPC Sally Reed in the television series Dixon of Dock Green between 1968 and 1969, she is most familiar from her appearances in the TV commercial for the carpet freshener Shake n' Vac, which was shot in 1979 and ran from 1980 to 1986.
Lisa Davina Phillip is a British actress and singer.
Juliet Emma Aubrey is a British actress of theatre, film, and television. She won the 1995 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for playing Dorothea in the BBC serial Middlemarch (1994). She is also known for her role as Helen Cutter in the ITV series Primeval (2007–2011). Her film appearances include Still Crazy (1998), The Constant Gardener (2005) and The Infiltrator (2016). BBC Radio 4 The Archers (2024) as Eve Chilcott.
Claire Elizabeth Foy is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix drama series The Crown (2016–2023), for which she won a Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Gemma Christina Arterton is an English actress. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature film debut in the comedy St Trinian's (2007). She portrayed Bond Girl Strawberry Fields in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008), a performance which won her an Empire Award for Best Newcomer, and spy Pollyana "Polly" Wilkins / Agent Galahad in the action war film The King's Man (2021).
Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress and first gained prominence through her roles in the BBC dramas Five Daughters (2010) and Dive (2010), the play Spur of the Moment, and the film Death of a Superhero (2011).
Sally Smith is a British actress born in Godalming, Surrey. Although primarily a star of both dramatic and musical theatre she appeared in several films and dozens of television shows.
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