Valerie Kathleen Lehman (née Willis; born 15 March 1943) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

actress and director, best known locally and internationally for her role as the antagonist "Top Dog" and self-styled Queen Bea Smith in the Australian TV series ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'' (known internationally as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'').

Career

Lehman played antagonist Bea Smith in the Australian TV series ''

'' from 1979 to 1983. She received three

Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

for her performance; Best Lead Actress in a Series, Most Popular Actress in 1982 and Best Lead Actress in a Series in 1983. Lehman decided to leave the series towards the end of season five after becoming tired with playing the character, and she recorded her final scenes on 13 May 1983, making her final appearance in episode 400. Lehman has appeared in many other Australian television productions, mostly in guest roles. Prior to ''Prisoner'' she acted in the television series '' Bellbird'' and ''

Tandarra ''Tandarra'' is an Australian television series which screened on the Seven Network in Australia in 1976 and on ITV (including the London Weekend Television and Anglia regions) in the UK. It was a follow-up series to '' Cash and Company'' whic ...

''. After ''Prisoner'' she appeared in ''

The Flying Doctors ''The Flying Doctors'' is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. T ...

'', ''Army Wives'', ''

Something in the Air "Something in the Air" is a song by English rock band Thunderclap Newman, written by Speedy Keen who also sang the song. It was a No. 1 single for three weeks in the UK Singles Chart in July 1969. The song has been used for films, television ...

'', ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...

'', '' All Saints'' and ''

City Homicide ''City Homicide'' is an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 and 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne. The main characte ...

''. In 2016, Lehman was a contestant on the Australian version of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. On 6 March 2016 she was evicted from the jungle. Lehman had a guest role on ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' in December 2017 as

Joanne Schwartz '' Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985 and currently airs on digital channel Eleven. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the show in 2017, by order of first appearance. ...

, which reunited her with her former ''Prisoner'' co-star

Colette Mann Colette Mann (born 17 February 1950) is an Australian actress, singer, TV and radio presenter, choreographer and author/writer and media personality, she has been in the entertainment industry for over 50 years. Mann appeared in two Grundy Orga ...

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehman, Val 1943 births Living people Actresses from Perth, Western Australia Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian television actresses Logie Award winners People from Ballarat People from Redland City Actors from Ipswich 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants Members of the Order of Australia