Linda Hayden (born 19 January 1953, Linda M. Higginson) is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles in 1970s British

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

s and sex comedies.

Career

Hayden was born in

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. She trained with the Aida Foster stage school in dancing, singing and stage acting before making her film debut at the age of 15 in the controversial ''

Baby Love "Baby Love" is a song by American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, '' Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 1964 ...

'' (1968), playing a schoolgirl who seduces her adoptive family. She next featured in two horror films; playing Alice Hargood in

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

's ''

Taste the Blood of Dracula ''Taste the Blood of Dracula'' is a 1970 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Peter Sasdy from a script by Anthony Hinds, it is the fifth installment in Hammer's '' Dracula'' series, and the fourth ...

'', (1970), followed by a memorable performance as the demonically possessed Angel Blake in ''

The Blood on Satan's Claw ''The Blood on Satan's Claw'' is a 1971 British supernatural horror film directed by Piers Haggard and starring Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, and Barry Andrews. Set in early 18th-century England, it follows the residents of a rural village w ...

'' (1970), made by

Tigon A tigon (), tiglon () (portmanteau of ''tiger'' and ''lion''), or tion () is the hybrid offspring of a male tiger (''Panthera tigris'') and a female lion (''Panthera leo'').

."Blood On Satan's Claw 1970"
''BritishHorrorFilms.co.uk'' (Retrieved: 16 February 2010) In 1972, she played a pregnant teenage hitchhiker in ''

Something to Hide ''Something to Hide'' (in the U.S. also reissued as ''Shattered''), is a 1972 British thriller film, written and directed by Alastair Reid, based on a 1963 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. The film stars Peter Finch, Shelley Winters, Colin Blakel ...

'', driving

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

to murder and madness. Hayden appeared opposite

Robin Askwith Robin Mark Askwith (born 12 October 1950) is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions. Making his film debut as Keating in the film '' if....'' (1968), a role he would reprise in ''Brita ...

, her then-boyfriend, in the popular sex comedies ''

Confessions of a Window Cleaner ''Confessions of a Window Cleaner'' is a 1974 British sex comedy film, directed by Val Guest.Leach, p.132 Like the other films in the ''Confessions'' series; ''Confessions of a Pop Performer'', '' Confessions of a Driving Instructor'' and ''C ...

'' (1974), ''

Confessions from a Holiday Camp ''Confessions from a Holiday Camp'' is a 1977 British comedy film. It is the last film in the series which began with '' Confessions of a Window Cleaner''. The film was released in North America in 1978 under the title ''Confessions of a Summer ...

'' (1977) and, with

Fiona Richmond Fiona Richmond (born 2 March 1945) is an English former glamour model and actress. She became a British sex symbol in the 1970s for her appearances in numerous risqué plays, comedy revues, magazines and films. She has been described as one of ...

, in ''

Let's Get Laid ''Let's Get Laid'' is a 1978 British comedy film directed by James Kenelm Clarke and starring Robin Askwith, Fiona Richmond and Anthony Steel. The screenplay concerns a man, Gordon Laid, who returns to London after being demobbed at the end of ...

'' (1978); as well as the obscure cult film ''

Queen Kong ''Queen Kong'' is a 1976 British-German adventure comedy film parodying ''King Kong''. The film was never released theatrically in the United Kingdom, due to legal action by Dino De Laurentiis, producer of the 1976 ''King Kong'' remake and RKO ...

'' (1976). She also shared the stage with Askwith, in Richard Harris and Leslie Darbon's

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

''Who Goes Bare''. Hayden and Richmond had previously appeared together in the thriller ''

Exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

'' (1976), which was known as ''Trauma'' in the US and ''House on Straw Hill'' in Australia, and banned in the UK as a

video nasty Video nasty is a colloquial term popularised by the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVALA) in the United Kingdom to refer to a number of films, typically low-budget horror or exploitation films, distributed on video cassette that ...

. In a documentary on the DVD of ''The Blood on Satan's Claw'', Hayden says that ''Exposé'' is the only movie she regrets making and was not the film she had made originally. Following a brief role in '' The Boys from Brazil'' (1978), Hayden concentrated on stage and television work. In 1980 she appeared in the ITV series '' The Professionals'' as 'Gerda' in the episode 'Black Out' and as 'Annie,' Terry McCann's girlfriend in the Christmas special ''

Minder on the Orient Express ''Minder on the Orient Express'' is a comedy/thriller television film made in 1985 as a spin-off from the successful television series ''Minder''. It was first broadcast on Christmas Day 1985, as the highlight of that year's ITV Christmas sche ...

'', 1985. She also took a role in the thriller ''

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

'' at

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

and London's

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in 1983, as well as a 1997 episode of ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. Now semi-retired, she featured as Mrs Brown in

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...

's 2010 remake of ''

'', with

Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...

playing Linda—Hayden's role in the 1976 original.

Personal life

She is the sister of the company actress

Jane Hayden Jane Hayden (born 1957) is an English stage, television, and film actress. Early life Hayden was born in Harrow, Middlesex, the younger sister of Linda Hayden, although their name at birth was Higginson. Their screen surname is an adaptation of t ...

(b. 1957), who played a number of roles on films and TV in the 1970s. Hayden was in a relationship with fellow actor and co-star

in the 1970s. She married Paul Elliot in 1987.

Filmography

Film

Television

References and notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Linda People from Stanmore English film actresses English television actresses 1953 births Living people