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Wendy Craig

February 25, 2023

For the psychologist, see Wendy Craig (psychologist). For the economist, see Wendy Craigg.

Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig CBE (born 20 June 1934)[1] is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms Not in Front of the Children, ...And Mother Makes Three, ...And Mother Makes Five and Butterflies. She played the role of Matron in the TV series The Royal (2003–2011).

Wendy Craig

CBE
Born
Anne Gwendolyn Craig

(1934-06-20) 20 June 1934 (age 88)
Sacriston, County Durham, England
OccupationActress
Years active1955–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1955; died 1994)​
Children2

Early life

Anne Gwendolyn Craig was born on 20 June 1934 in Sacriston, County Durham,[1] the daughter of farmer George Craig and his wife Anne (née Lindsay).[2] She attended Durham High School for Girls, initially as a day pupil and later as a boarder, which she revisited in October 2007 to open a new building that had been named after her.[3] She passed the 11+ examination and went to Darlington High School. When she was twelve years old the family moved to Picton, North Yorkshire and she attended nearby Yarm Grammar School.[2] She trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albert Hall, London.[4][5]

In 1956, Craig appeared in the West End alongside Robertson Hare in John Dighton's farce Man Alive!.

Career

One of her early TV appearances was in an episode of the Danger Man series called "The Gallows Tree" (1961) with Patrick McGoohan.[6] In the 1960s Craig appeared in British films such as The Servant (1963) and The Nanny (1965) with Bette Davis, but it was her appearances in British sitcoms of the late 1960s/1970s which led to her becoming a household name, usually playing a scatty middle class housewife.[7][citation needed] She went from the BBC's Not in Front of the Children (1967–1970) to ITV's ...And Mother Makes Three (1971–1973), in which she played a single parent, which evolved into its sequel ...And Mother Makes Five (1974–1976).[5] Then came Butterflies (1978–1983), a successful comedy on BBC2.[8]

Craig returned to drama with the series Nanny (1981–1983), a series she created, and wrote some episodes herself as Jonathan Marr,[5] a pseudonym she had used before when writing episodes of ...And Mother Makes Five.[9] Twenty years later, she played Matron in ITV's The Royal (2003–2011)[10] and she also made several appearances in the 2002 adaptation of John Galsworthy's novel The Forsyte Saga. However, she has continued to be associated with comedy, having taken one of the leading roles as Annie in Brighton Belles (1993–1994), the UK's short-lived version of The Golden Girls.[11] She appeared as Reggie's mother in the BBC One comedy Reggie Perrin (2009–2010), an update of the 1970s' series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.[12]

In 2012 Craig appeared as a guest in an episode of the cookery series MasterChef, along with many other 1970s sitcom stars.[13] In 2014 she appeared in an episode of the BBC popular drama Waterloo Road.[14]

In 2016, she appeared as Mary Goodman in the BBC detective series Death in Paradise.[15] In 2017 she appeared in the second series of the ITV drama Unforgotten.[7] Also in 2017 she starred as Miss Bat in the first three series of the CBBC programme The Worst Witch.[16] In 2018, she appeared in the ITV soap Emmerdale.[17] In October 2019, she appeared in an episode of Doctors alongside former Butterflies co-star Bruce Montague.[18]

Personal life

Craig was married to Jack Bentley, a trombonist, scriptwriter and journalist, from 1955 until his death in 1994.[19] During her marriage with Bentley, she had two sons: Alaster (later principal oboist for the Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia)[19] and (as the result of an affair with John Mortimer), Ross, an IT consultant.[20][1] In 2004, having heard that the secret was out, Wendy visited Mortimer to reveal formally that their affair had resulted in a son, then 42.[21] She was at the time of the leak appearing in an episode of Midsomer Murders; series star John Nettles later said one of his favourite memories of the series was picking up a copy of The Daily Telegraph on set during that filming with a headline revealing the secret.[22]

In the 1990s, Craig lived and still lives in Cookham in Berkshire.[23] She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to drama and charity.[24]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c Pickering, David. "Craig, Wendy – British Actor". Museum.TV. Chicago, Illinois, USA: The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b Morgan, Mike (8 August 2010). "Actress Wendy Craig talks up Teesside". gazettelive.
  3. ^ "A few Butterflies as children meet actress". The Northern Echo.
  4. ^ V&A, Theatre and Performance Special Collections, Elsie Fogerty Archive, THM/324
  5. ^ a b c Julia Hallam Wendy Craig profile, screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  6. ^ "The Gallows Tree (1961)". BFI.
  7. ^ a b "Wendy Craig". BFI.
  8. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Butterflies (1978-83)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  9. ^ "Sally's Diary (1976)". BFI.
  10. ^ "The Sunday Post: Wendy Craig". BBC. 4 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Brighton Belles (1993)". BFI.
  12. ^ "BBC One - Reggie Perrin, Series 2, Episode 6". BBC.
  13. ^ "BBC One - MasterChef, Series 8, Episode 12". BBC.
  14. ^ "BBC One - Waterloo Road, Series 9, Episode 14". BBC.
  15. ^ "BBC One - Death in Paradise, Series 5, Episode 5". BBC.
  16. ^ "BBC - Meet the teachers - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk.
  17. ^ "Emmerdale: Butterflies star Wendy Craig to guest star in Sandy's exit story". Radio Times.
  18. ^ Selwood, Sarah (8 October 2019). "Butterflies stars Wendy Craig and Bruce Montague: 'We're playing naughty seniors in Doctors!'". What's on TV. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  19. ^ a b Walker, Tim; Eden, Richard (12 September 2004). "Mortimer's joy at son with Wendy Craig". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  20. ^ Robertson, Geoffrey (16 January 2009). "Obituary: Sir John Mortimer" – via www.theguardian.com.
  21. ^ Valerie Grove, A Voyage Round John Mortimer (Penguin, 2008), p. 217
  22. ^ Barnett, Laura (25 February 2011). "Your next box set: Midsomer Murders: John Nettles My Top Ten". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Screen International Who's Who 1993"
  24. ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N8.

External links

  • Wendy Craig at IMDb
  • Wendy Craig at the BFI's Screenonline
  • Wendy Craig at the Museum of Broadcast Communications

February 25, 2023
wendy, craig, psychologist, psychologist, economist, anne, gwendolyn, wendy, craig, born, june, 1934, english, actress, best, known, appearances, sitcoms, front, children, mother, makes, three, mother, makes, five, butterflies, played, role, matron, series, ro. For the psychologist see Wendy Craig psychologist For the economist see Wendy Craigg Anne Gwendolyn Wendy Craig CBE born 20 June 1934 1 is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms Not in Front of the Children And Mother Makes Three And Mother Makes Five and Butterflies She played the role of Matron in the TV series The Royal 2003 2011 Wendy CraigCBEBornAnne Gwendolyn Craig 1934 06 20 20 June 1934 age 88 Sacriston County Durham EnglandOccupationActressYears active1955 presentSpouseJack Bentley m 1955 died 1994 wbr Children2 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Selected filmography 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditAnne Gwendolyn Craig was born on 20 June 1934 in Sacriston County Durham 1 the daughter of farmer George Craig and his wife Anne nee Lindsay 2 She attended Durham High School for Girls initially as a day pupil and later as a boarder which she revisited in October 2007 to open a new building that had been named after her 3 She passed the 11 examination and went to Darlington High School When she was twelve years old the family moved to Picton North Yorkshire and she attended nearby Yarm Grammar School 2 She trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama then based in the Royal Albert Hall London 4 5 In 1956 Craig appeared in the West End alongside Robertson Hare in John Dighton s farce Man Alive Career EditOne of her early TV appearances was in an episode of the Danger Man series called The Gallows Tree 1961 with Patrick McGoohan 6 In the 1960s Craig appeared in British films such as The Servant 1963 and The Nanny 1965 with Bette Davis but it was her appearances in British sitcoms of the late 1960s 1970s which led to her becoming a household name usually playing a scatty middle class housewife 7 citation needed She went from the BBC s Not in Front of the Children 1967 1970 to ITV s And Mother Makes Three 1971 1973 in which she played a single parent which evolved into its sequel And Mother Makes Five 1974 1976 5 Then came Butterflies 1978 1983 a successful comedy on BBC2 8 Craig returned to drama with the series Nanny 1981 1983 a series she created and wrote some episodes herself as Jonathan Marr 5 a pseudonym she had used before when writing episodes of And Mother Makes Five 9 Twenty years later she played Matron in ITV s The Royal 2003 2011 10 and she also made several appearances in the 2002 adaptation of John Galsworthy s novel The Forsyte Saga However she has continued to be associated with comedy having taken one of the leading roles as Annie in Brighton Belles 1993 1994 the UK s short lived version of The Golden Girls 11 She appeared as Reggie s mother in the BBC One comedy Reggie Perrin 2009 2010 an update of the 1970s series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin 12 In 2012 Craig appeared as a guest in an episode of the cookery series MasterChef along with many other 1970s sitcom stars 13 In 2014 she appeared in an episode of the BBC popular drama Waterloo Road 14 In 2016 she appeared as Mary Goodman in the BBC detective series Death in Paradise 15 In 2017 she appeared in the second series of the ITV drama Unforgotten 7 Also in 2017 she starred as Miss Bat in the first three series of the CBBC programme The Worst Witch 16 In 2018 she appeared in the ITV soap Emmerdale 17 In October 2019 she appeared in an episode of Doctors alongside former Butterflies co star Bruce Montague 18 Personal life EditCraig was married to Jack Bentley a trombonist scriptwriter and journalist from 1955 until his death in 1994 19 During her marriage with Bentley she had two sons Alaster later principal oboist for the Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia 19 and as the result of an affair with John Mortimer Ross an IT consultant 20 1 In 2004 having heard that the secret was out Wendy visited Mortimer to reveal formally that their affair had resulted in a son then 42 21 She was at the time of the leak appearing in an episode of Midsomer Murders series star John Nettles later said one of his favourite memories of the series was picking up a copy of The Daily Telegraph on set during that filming with a headline revealing the secret 22 In the 1990s Craig lived and still lives in Cookham in Berkshire 23 She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to drama and charity 24 Selected filmography EditThe Secret Place 1957 Room at the Top 1959 The Mind Benders 1963 The Servant 1963 The Nanny 1965 Just like a Woman 1967 I ll Never Forget What s isname 1967 Joseph Andrews 1977 Run for Your Wife 2012 The Worst Witch 2017 2019 Emmerdale 2018 Doctors 2019 References Edit a b c Pickering David Craig Wendy British Actor Museum TV Chicago Illinois USA The Museum of Broadcast Communications Retrieved 9 January 2012 a b Morgan Mike 8 August 2010 Actress Wendy Craig talks up Teesside gazettelive A few Butterflies as children meet actress The Northern Echo V amp A Theatre and Performance Special Collections Elsie Fogerty Archive THM 324 a b c Julia Hallam Wendy Craig profile screenonline org uk Retrieved 20 August 2014 The Gallows Tree 1961 BFI a b Wendy Craig BFI BFI Screenonline Butterflies 1978 83 www screenonline org uk Sally s Diary 1976 BFI The Sunday Post Wendy Craig BBC 4 December 2016 Brighton Belles 1993 BFI BBC One Reggie Perrin Series 2 Episode 6 BBC BBC One MasterChef Series 8 Episode 12 BBC BBC One Waterloo Road Series 9 Episode 14 BBC BBC One Death in Paradise Series 5 Episode 5 BBC BBC Meet the teachers Media Centre www bbc co uk Emmerdale Butterflies star Wendy Craig to guest star in Sandy s exit story Radio Times Selwood Sarah 8 October 2019 Butterflies stars Wendy Craig and Bruce Montague We re playing naughty seniors in Doctors What s on TV Retrieved 8 October 2019 a b Walker Tim Eden Richard 12 September 2004 Mortimer s joy at son with Wendy Craig The Daily Telegraph London UK Retrieved 9 January 2012 Robertson Geoffrey 16 January 2009 Obituary Sir John Mortimer via www theguardian com Valerie Grove A Voyage Round John Mortimer Penguin 2008 p 217 Barnett Laura 25 February 2011 Your next box set Midsomer Murders John Nettles My Top Ten The Guardian Retrieved 5 September 2020 Screen International Who s Who 1993 No 62866 The London Gazette Supplement 28 December 2019 p N8 External links EditWendy Craig at IMDb Wendy Craig at the BFI s Screenonline Wendy Craig at the Museum of Broadcast Communications Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wendy Craig amp oldid 1130951531, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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