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Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934)
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
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
''. She played the role of Matron in the TV series ''
The Royal
''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the st ...
'' (2003–2011).
Early life
Anne Gwendolyn Craig was born on 20 June 1934 in
Sacriston
Sacriston is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England, situated north of the city of Durham, England, Durham.
Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated ...
,
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...
,
[ the daughter of farmer George Craig and his wife Anne ().] 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. She passed the 11+
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''El ...
examination and went to Darlington High School. When she was twelve years old the family moved to Picton, North Yorkshire
Picton is a hamlet and civil parish located in the north of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south from Yarm, south from Middlesbrough, and just over west from the A19 road. The name of the village derives from Old Engli ...
and she attended nearby Yarm Grammar School.[ She trained as an actress at the ]Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
, then based in the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
, London.[Julia Halla]
Wendy Craig profile
screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
In 1956, she appeared in the West End alongside Robertson Hare
John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Gas ...
in John Dighton
John Gervase DightonCollections"John Dighton"''British Film Institute''. Retrieved 30 August 2020. (8 December 1909 – 16 April 1989) was a British playwright and screenwriter.
Dighton was born in London to Basil Lewis Dighton, of West Ken ...
's farce '' Man Alive!''.
Career
One of her early TV appearances was in an episode of the ''Danger Man
''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...
'' series called "The Gallows Tree" (1961) with Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television.
Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...
. In the 1960s Craig appeared in British films such as ''The Servant
A servant is a person working within an employer's household.
Servant or servants may refer to:
Places
* Servant, Puy-de-Dôme, France Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Servant'' (1963 film), a British drama
* ''The Servant'' (1989 ...
'' (1963) and ''The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...
'' (1965) with Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
, but it was her appearances in British sitcom
A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...
s of the late 1960s/1970s which led to her becoming a household name, usually playing a scatty middle class housewife. She went from the 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. ...
...
's ''
Not in Front of the Children'' (1967–1970) to
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
'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).
Then came ''
Butterflies
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
'' (1978–1983), a successful comedy on
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
.
Craig returned to drama with the series ''
Nanny
A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
'' (1981–1983), a series she created, and wrote some episodes herself as Jonathan Marr,
a pseudonym she had used before when writing episodes of ''...And Mother Makes Five''. Twenty years later, she played Matron in ITV's ''
The Royal
''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the st ...
'' (2003–2011) and she also made several appearances in the 2002 adaptation of
John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1906–1921) and its sequels, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of the Chapter''. He won the Nobel Prize i ...
's novel ''
The Forsyte Saga
''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vici ...
''. 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
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...
''. She appeared as Reggie's mother in the
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, p ...
comedy ''
Reggie Perrin
''Reggie Perrin'' is a modern update of the 1970s BBC sitcom ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'', which starred Leonard Rossiter. The revival stars Martin Clunes and was first broadcast on 24 April 2009. Series 1 was released on DVD in R ...
'' (2009–2010), an update of the 1970s' series ''
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' is a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. It is based on a series of novels written by David Nobbs and produced from 1976 to 1979. Nobbs adapted the screenplay for the first series ...
''.
In 2012 Craig appeared as a guest in an episode of the cookery series ''
MasterChef
''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...
'', along with many other 1970s sitcom stars. In 2014 she appeared in an episode of the
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. ...
...
popular drama ''