Christine McKenna (born 1951) is a British actress active during the 1970s and 1980s, best known for playing "Christina" in the television series '' Flambards''. McKenna was a drama student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in the early 1970s. During her summer holidays she learned stage management and theatrical wardrobe at the

Byre Theatre The Byre Theatre is a theatre in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was founded in 1933 by Charles Marford, an actor (found in the '' Who's Who'' of 1921) and Alexander B. Paterson, a local journalist and playwright, with help from a theatre group ...

. Upon graduating, she appeared in productions for the National Theatre and in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...

, including Stephen Sondheim´s ''

A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a ...

'' with Jean Simmons and

Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and e ...

, '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and '' Great Expectations'', and played "Polly" in '' The Boy Friend'' with

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...

, "

Sally Bowles Sally Bowles () is a fictional character created by English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood and based upon 19-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross. The character debuted in Isherwood's 1937 novella ''Sally Bowles'' published by Hogarth Press ...

" in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'', and "Moll" in '' Moll Flanders''.McKenna
on The Byre Theatre website McKenna was also a member of the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

company 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 ...

, and with that company appeared in ''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

'' and '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' and played the " Principal Girl" in several traditional

pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

. She starred as Jess in 41 episodes of the popular TV series ''

The Kids from 47A ''The Kids from 47A'' is a British children's television series produced by Associated Television. Three series were made; the first (comprising 15 episodes) was shown in 1973, the second (13 episodes) and third (13 episodes) in 1974. The third ...

'' (1973–4), and her other television credits include

Georgina Hogarth Georgina Hogarth (22 January 1827 – 19 April 1917) was the sister-in-law, housekeeper, and adviser of English novelist Charles Dickens and the editor of three volumes of his collected letters after his death. Biography 'Georgy' Hogarth was o ...

in ''

Dickens of London ''Dickens of London'' is a 1976 television miniseries from Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The series was written by Wolf Mank ...

'' with

Roy Dotrice Roy Dotrice (26 May 1923 – 16 October 2017) was a British actor famed for his portrayal of the antiquarian John Aubrey in the record-breaking solo play '' Brief Lives''. Abroad, he won a Tony Award for his performance in the 2000 Broadway r ...

(1976), ''Friends and Other Lovers'' (1981) for

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'' is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour ...

, and the film ''

Mask of Murder ''Mask of Murder'' is a 1985 Swedish-American film directed by Arne Mattsson, about a serial killer in a small Canadian town. Plot In a Canadian town, women are being killed by a serial murderer. Cast *Rod Taylor as Supt. Bob McLaine *Valerie ...

'' (1985), however she is probably best known for her starring role as "Christina" in 13 episodes of '' Flambards'' (1979). McKenna relates in her autobiography ''Why Didn't They Tell The Horses?'' that when she auditioned for the part of "Christina" in '' Flambards'', her most notable role, she had never ridden a horse before. She was so determined to gain the part that she described the horse-obsessed childhood of a friend as her own and got the part. McKenna then had to learn to ride

sidesaddle Sidesaddle riding is a form of equestrianism that uses a type of saddle which allows female riders to sit aside rather than astride an equine. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ages as a way f ...

very quickly.McKenna, Christine ''Why Didn't They Tell The Horses?'' Published by Puffin Books (1981)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Christine 1951 births British television actresses British television producers British women television producers British stage actresses Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Living people