Lydia Simmonds
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Lydia Simmonds
Lydia Simmonds is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', initially played by Margaret Tyzack and then by Heather Chasen. She is the maternal grandmother of Ricky (Sid Owen) and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks). She made her first appearance on 5 April 2011, played by Tyzack, who stepped down from the role due to ill health on 13 April 2011 (she died on 25 June 2011), featuring as Lydia in three episodes. Chasen appeared in the role from 21 April. The character was killed-off and Chasen made her last appearance on 13 June 2011, and, though not credited for it, did a voice-over for the 14 June episode. Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood later said that Lydia's storyline was perfect and that Chasen made the part of Lydia her own. Described as "brilliantly funny" and a "cantankerous, rich old bag of a grannie", ex- ''EastEnders'' star Natalie Cassidy (who played Sonia Fowler) praised the introduction of Lydia, whilst a writer for the ''Daily Mirror'' ...
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Margaret Tyzack
Margaret Maud Tyzack (9 September 193125 June 2011) was an English actress. Her television roles included ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1967) and ''I, Claudius'' (1976). She won the 1970 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the BBC serial ''The First Churchills'', and the 1990 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Lettice and Lovage'', opposite Maggie Smith. She also won two Olivier Awards—in 1981 as Actress of the Year in a Revival and in 2009 as Best Actress in a Play. Her film appearances included '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), ''A Clockwork Orange'' (1971), ''Prick Up Your Ears'' (1987) and ''Match Point'' (2005). Early life Tyzack was born in Essex, England, the daughter of Doris (née Moseley) and Thomas Edward Tyzack. She grew up in West Ham (now Greater London). She attended the all-girls' St Angela's Ursuline School, Newham, and was a graduate of RADA. Career Tyzack was noted for her classical stage roles, having joined the Royal Shakespeare Company to p ...
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Natalie Cassidy
Natalie Ann Cassidy (born 13 May 1983) is an English actress. She has played Sonia Fowler in ''EastEnders'' since 1993, appeared in the BBC Two sitcom-horror ''Psychoville'' and was a contestant on the seventh series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and the ninth series of ''Celebrity Big Brother''. Career As a child, Cassidy attended the Anna Scher Theatre. She joined the cast of ''EastEnders'' in 1993, playing Sonia Jackson. In 2006, Cassidy played a rival to Lauren Cooper in an episode of ''The Catherine Tate Show'' screened on BBC Two. On 9 April 2006, the BBC announced Cassidy's departure from ''EastEnders'' with her final scenes being screened in February 2007. She then concentrated on work in the theatre, appearing in extensive UK tours of ''The Vagina Monologues'', ''Bedroom Farce'' and ''Gertrude's Secret'' opposite Prunella Scales and a run of ''The Cherry Orchard'' at the Chichester Festival Theatre opposite Diana Rigg. Towards the end of 2007, Cassidy made headlines ...
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Winston (EastEnders)
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 1985, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by executive producer Julia Smith. The first episode of ''EastEnders'' was broadcast on 19 February 1985, and twenty-three main characters were already created for their first appearance. The first character to be seen was Den Watts, followed by Ali Osman and then Arthur Fowler, all of whom find Reg Cox dying in his flat. Ethel Skinner, Harold Legg and Pauline Fowler appear, after Den alerts them of Reg's death. With Ethel is her pug Willy along with Lou Beale. Saeed and Naima Jeffery are seen working in the local shop whilst Angie Watts is seen in The Queen Victoria, Walford's local pub. Nick Cotton and Sue Osman are next seen, whilst Pete and Kathy Beale work at the fruit and veg stall and Hassan Osman is seen with his parents in the café. Sharon Watts, Ian Beale and Michelle Fowler are next seen and Mark Fowler is se ...
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The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. Appearance and development In the series' backstory, Albert Square was built around 1860 during the reign of Queen Victoria. In February 2020 Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) revealed that the original landlords of The Queen Victoria were Mr and Mrs Bagstock, and that he’d drowned his wife in the bath. Originally the pub was to be called The Balmoral Arms but after the death of Prince Albert it was renamed as a tribute to the mourning Queen. In reality, Albert Square is based on the real Fassett Square in Hackney, but there is no pub there so The Queen Victoria is based on what was once College Park Tavern on Harrow Road in Harlesden. Initially, the pub's exterior is first seen painted brown. This is later changed to a green and cream colour scheme in late 1990, ...
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Maisie Smith
Maisie Louise Collender Smith (born 9 July 2001) is an English actress and singer. She appeared in the feature film ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008) and played the regular role of Tiffany Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2008 to 2014. In November 2016, Smith temporarily returned to ''EastEnders'' for a guest stint, before making a full-time return in January 2018. In October 2021 it was announced that she would once again be leaving ''EastEnders'' and her final scenes aired in December of that year; she made a one-off appearance in March 2022 to aid the departure of Keegan Baker ( Zack Morris). In 2020, she competed in the eighteenth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' alongside partner Gorka Marquez, reaching the final but losing out to Bill Bailey. Career Smith attended the Singer Stage School in Leigh-on-Sea for 18 months, and in 2006, she was cast in the film ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' as a young Elizabeth I; the film was released in February 2008. She the ...
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June Brown
June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards and received the Lifetime Achievement award at The British Soap Awards. Brown was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to drama and to charity, and promoted to an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours. In 2009, she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, making her the second performer to receive a BAFTA nomination for their work in a soap opera, after Jean Alexander. In February 2020, at the age of 93, she announced that she had left ''EastEnders'' permanently. Early life Brown was born on 16 February 1927 in Needham Market, Suffolk, one of five children of Louisa Ann (née Butler) and Henry William Melton Brown. Her ancestry included Engli ...
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Dot Cotton
Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. A tragicomic character, Dot was known for her devout Christian faith, gossiping, chain smoking, hypochondria, and motherly attitude to those in need. Dot first appeared in ''EastEnders'' in July 1985 as the mother of notorious criminal and original character Nick Cotton ( John Altman). The character worked as a launderette assistant for most of that time, along with original character Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard), and was close friends with original characters Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin) and Lou Beale (Anna Wing). Dot moved away with her son and his family in 1993. In reality, Brown left the show in 1993, unhappy with the development of her character. Brown returned to the role in April 1997, and on 28 April 2017, Dot ov ...
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Wedding Of Prince William And Kate Middleton
The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship since 2003. John Hall (priest), John Hall, Dean of Westminster, presided at the service; Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the marriage; Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, preached the sermon; and a reading was given by the bride's brother, James William Middleton, James. William's best man was his brother, Prince Harry, while the bride's sister, Pippa Middleton, Pippa, was the Bridesmaid#Maid of honor, maid of honour. The ceremony was attended by the bride's and groom's families, as well as members of foreign royal families, diplomats, and the couple's chosen personal guests. After the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. As Prince William was not the heir apparent to the ...
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BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2, in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997. The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion. It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had the highest reach share of any broadcaster in th ...
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Mike Reid (actor)
Michael Reid (19 January 1940 – 29 July 2007) was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter. He played the role of Frank Butcher in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' and hosted the children's game show '' Runaround''. He was known for his gravelly voice and strong London accent. Personal life Michael Reid was born in Hackney in 1940, the son of Ellen Louvian ( Ives) and Sidney Reid. The Blitz caused his family to move to Tottenham where he attended Rowland Hill School. In 1958, he married his first wife, Sheila Axe, they had a son and a daughter together, their son died as an infant from a mouth infection. The couple divorced in 1967. Later he married his longtime live-in partner Shirley (née Allder) in 1971; they had twin sons Mark and Michael. In 1990 he suffered tragedy when his son Mark committed suicide by dousing himself with petrol after years of suffering with mental health problems. Just four months after Mark's death, Mark's daughter, die ...
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Frank Butcher
Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Mike Reid (actor), Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception, he is reintroduced in 1988 as a regular. Reid took a long hiatus from ''EastEnders'' in 1994 and Frank remained off-screen for over a year and a half. Frank made his return as a recurring character from December 1995 to January 1998. Frank eventually becomes a regular once again from May 1998 to November 2000, when Reid quit the show. Frank makes three brief reappearances after that, the final one in December 2005. Given the widespread identification of Mike Reid as Frank, Reid's death in July 2007 led to BBC bosses deciding that it would not be possible for the character to return in the future. In November 2007, it was announced that the character would die off-screen and in April 2008 his funeral was screened as part of a special set of episodes, du ...
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BBC Online
BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, the children's sites CBBC (TV channel), CBBC and CBeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize and BBC Own It, Own It. The BBC has had an online presence supporting its TV and radio programmes and web-only initiatives since April 1994, but did not launch officially until 28 April 1997, following government approval to fund it by Television licensing in the United Kingdom, TV licence fee revenue as a service in its own right. Throughout its history, the online plans of the BBC have been subject to competition and complaint from its commercial rivals, which has resulted in various public consultations and government reviews to investigate their claims that its large presence and public funding distorts the UK market. The website has gone t ...
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