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Philippa Ann Guard (born 13 October 1952) is a British actress.


Biography

Born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, Scotland, Guard briefly attended the
University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
in Canada, first studying English and drama and then nursing, before returning to Britain to attend the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
. She left RADA in 1975 as winner of the Ronson, Kendall and Pole prizes and was named as "Britain's Most Promising Actress". Guard joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1976, and first attracted attention when she took over the role of Juliet from a sick Francesca Annis. She played
Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...
in John Barton's 1977 production of '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Luciana in
Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
's musical ''
Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...
'' and Evie in ''Factory Birds''. As ''The Stratfordians'' notes, Guard appeared destined for a classical stage career but she has become best known as a television actress. In 1978 Guard left the RSC and won the role of Maggie Tulliver in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
serialisation of ''
The Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by George Eliot, first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York. Plot summary Spanning a period of 10 to ...
'' (1978), followed by Barbara Mallen in ''
The Mallens ''The Mallens'' was a popular Granada Television adaptation of Catherine Cookson novels that ran for 13 episodes from 10 June 1979 to 3 July 1980. The series is based on ''The Mallen Streak'', ''The Mallen Girls'', and ''The Mallen Secret'' a ...
'' ( Granada 1979), Maria in '' Maria Marten'' (BBC, 1980), Prue in ''
To the Lighthouse ''To the Lighthouse'' is a 1927 novel by Virginia Woolf. The novel centres on the Ramsay family and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920. Following and extending the tradition of modernist novelists like Marcel ...
'' (BBC, 1982) and three roles for the
BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...
: Miranda in '' The Tempest'' (1979), Diana in '' All's Well that Ends Well'' (1980) and, once again, Hermia in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1981). (On BBC Radio, she also played Tess in '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' in 1982 and Bella Wilfer in '' Our Mutual Friend'' in 1984). However, her stated desire for more contemporary and diverse roles was evident in her portrayal of a 22nd-century woman in the '' Play for Today'' ''
The Flipside of Dominick Hide ''The Flipside of Dominick Hide'' is a British television play first transmitted on BBC1 on 9 December 1980 as part of the '' Play for Today'' series. Peter Firth stars in the title role as a time traveller from Earth's future who illegally vis ...
'' (1980) and its sequel ''Another Flip for Dominick'' (1982). She also portrayed
P. D. James Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, (3 August 1920 â€“ 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring th ...
' sleuth
Cordelia Gray Cordelia Gray is a fictional character created by English author P. D. James. Gray is the protagonist of two novels, ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'' and of '' The Skull Beneath the Skin''. Cordelia Gray is a young woman who works as a private d ...
in an adaptation of ''
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'' is the title of a detective novel by P. D. James and of a TV series of four dramas developed from that novel. It was published by Faber and Faber in the UK in 1972 and by Charles Scribner's Sons in the US. The ...
'' (1981), her only film role. In 1984, Guard played Edith Holden in a twelve-part adaptation of ''
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady Edith Blackwell Holden (26 September 1871 – 15 March 1920) was a British artist and art teacher. She was born in Kings Norton, Birmingham. She became famous following the posthumous publication of her ''Nature Notes for 1906'', in facsimile ...
'' ( Central). This drama attracted a peak audience of 13 million viewers and raised Guard's public profile considerably, but it effectively marked the end of the first phase of her television career. In 1981 she had married the BBC production manager and director Steve Goldie and in July 1984 she gave birth to their daughter Sama. She did not return to television until 1986, although she focussed on her stage career in the meantime, playing ''
Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...
'' at the National Theatre (1983) and Faye in '' A Chorus of Disapproval'' in the West End (1986). In 1986, she played an abusive mother in ''A Couple of Charlies'' (Central) and an abused wife in ''
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil ''The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'' is a 1983 novel by British feminism, feminist author Fay Weldon. A story about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover, Weldon stated tha ...
'' (BBC). She then returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987, where her roles included Maria in ''
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
'', Nerissa in ''
The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...
'', Natasha in '' Three Sisters'', Caresse Crosby in ''Divine Gossip'' (Barbican, 1988) and Katherine in ''
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
'' (Barbican, 1991). Her first major project was the
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
'' Close to Home'', with Paul Nicholas (
LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
, 1990), followed by two series of the comedy-drama ''
The Riff Raff Element The Riff Raff Element is a 1990s British television series written by Debbie Horsfield and directed by Jeremy Ancock for BBC One. The series was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series in 1994. Plot The basic pl ...
'' (BBC, 1993–94), ''All or Nothing at All'' with
Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...
(LWT, 1993), India Wilkes in '' Scarlett'' (1994), John Sullivan's ''
Roger Roger ''Roger Roger'' is a BBC television comedy drama written by John Sullivan. The series was about a mini-cab firm called Cresta Cabs. The pilot aired in 1996 and there were three subsequent series on BBC1 in 1998–2003. Cast and characters Mai ...
'' (BBC, 1998-2000), '' Hope and Glory'' with Lenny Henry (BBC, 1999), '' Hearts and Bones'' (BBC, 2000) and two series of ''
The Creatives ''The Creatives'' is a British sitcom created by Jack Docherty and Moray Hunter which ran for two series between 2 October 1998 and 16 February 2000 on BBC Two. The series starring Roger Allam, Jack Docherty, Moray Hunter, Pippa Guard, Aislà ...
'' (1998-2000). In 1998, she graduated with a first-class degree in English and drama from the
University of Greenwich , mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve" , former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992) , established = , type = Public university , budget = £214.9 million (2020) , administrative_staff = , chancel ...
. After gaining an MPhil from Royal Holloway, University of London, she gained a PhD in 2005 on early modern drama from the same institution. Guard now works as a lecturer and drama programme leader at the
University of Greenwich , mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve" , former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992) , established = , type = Public university , budget = £214.9 million (2020) , administrative_staff = , chancel ...
, her published research includes "A Defence of the First English Actress", and she appeared on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''
Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...
'' to discuss Shakespeare's women.


Personal life

Guard is married to production manager Steve Goldie, with whom she has one daughter. Her cousins are fellow actors Christopher and
Dominic Guard Dominic Guard (born 18 June 1956) is an English child psychotherapist and author, formerly an actor. Early life Guard was born in London on 18 June 1956. His father, Philip Guard, was an English stage actor, his mother, Charlotte Mitchell, an ...
. Her uncle Philip and younger brother Alex Guard were also actors.


Notes


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guard, Pippa 1952 births Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Alumni of the University of Greenwich British stage actresses British television actresses Living people Actresses from Edinburgh Royal Shakespeare Company members