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Margi Clarke (born 25 May 1954) is an English actress and radio and television presenter. She had a leading role in the film ''
Letter to Brezhnev
''Letter to Brezhnev'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy film about working-class life in Liverpool, written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Alfred Molina, Peter Firth and Tracy Marshak-Na ...
'' (1985), a low-budget film which had an international release. Later, Clarke played
Jackie Dobbs
Jackie Dobbs is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' played by Margi Clarke. She was introduced in 1998, but written out in 1999 due to the personal problems of the actress who played her. Nine years late ...
in the
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 ...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'' (1998–1999, 2008–2010).
Early life and career
Clarke was born and raised in
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
.
Her career as a presenter began in 1978 on the late-night television magazine show ''What's On'', broadcast only in the
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
region. She was known as Margox in the early 1980s when performing in punk bands.
In 1983, Clarke appeared as Fran in two early episodes of the
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
-set
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Brookside Brookside may refer to:
Geography Canada
* Brookside, Edmonton
* Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Brookside, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Brookside, Berkshire, England
* Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England
United States
* Br ...
'', credited as Margi MacGregor.
She featured in the low-budget film ''
Letter to Brezhnev
''Letter to Brezhnev'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy film about working-class life in Liverpool, written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Alfred Molina, Peter Firth and Tracy Marshak-Na ...
'' (1985), the screenplay being adapted by her brother from his own play.
It concerns two working-class Liverpool young women who meet two Russian sailors; the other lead part was played by Alexandra Pigg. The film was made for around £50,000 (Clarke called this "the cocaine budget on ''
Rambo
Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...
''"), and became an international hit. At the next ''
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
British Film Awards'', Clarke was awarded the prize for "Most Promising Newcomer".
Margi had originated her role of Theresa in ''Letter to Brezhnev'' a few years earlier when she played the role in a modest run at the
Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actres ...
in 1983.
Clarke followed ''Letter to Brezhnev'' with a European arthouse trilogy for Finnish brothers
Aki and
Mika Kaurismäki
Mika Juhani Kaurismäki (; born 21 September 1955) is a Finnish film director.
Biography
Mika Kaurismäki is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki, and the father of Maria Kaurismäki, who graduated from Tampere School of Art and Media in 200 ...
:
''
Helsinki Napoli All Night Long
''Helsinki Napoli All Night Long'' (also released as ''Helsinki – Napoli'') is a gangster-comedy film written, directed and produced by Mika Kaurismäki. The film was released in Italy as ''Napoli–Berlino – Un taxi nella notte'', with Berli ...
'', ''
I Hired a Contract Killer
''I Hired a Contract Killer'' is a film directed, produced and written by the Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki in 1990. It is a Finnish-British- German-Swedish co-production and stars the renowned French actor Jean-Pierre Léaud. The film also f ...
'' and ''
L.A. Without a Map
''L.A. Without a Map'' (also known as ''Los Angeles Without a Map'' and ''I Love L.A''.) is a 1998 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mika Kaurismäki, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Richard Rayner, based on Rayner's 1988 semi-autobiog ...
''.
Film actress and TV presenter
Clarke had a lead role in the films ''
The Dressmaker'' (1988) and ''
Strike It Rich'' (1990), and appeared in the
Pet Shop Boys' video for their 1987 single,"
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
". She was the stand-in host for
Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was the girlfriend of musicia ...
on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''
The Tube'' on several occasions.
Clarke was also the voice for the character of Bixie in
Weetabix
Weetabix is a breakfast cereal produced by Weetabix Limited in the United Kingdom. It comes in the form of palm-sized (approx. 9.5 cm × 5.0 cm or 4" × 2") wheat biscuits. Variants include organic and Weetabix Crispy Minis (bite-sized ...
adverts.
In 1989, she was cast as Queenie in 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. ...
...
series ''
Making Out
Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or heavy kissing of the neck (called ''necking''), or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy pett ...
'', set in a
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
electronics factory and written by
Debbie Horsfield
Debbie Horsfield (born 1955) is an English theatre and television writer and producer.
Early life and career
Horsfield was born in Urmston and she attended Eccles Grammar School and Eccles College before studying at Newcastle University, wher ...
. The show ran for three series. In 1991, she returned to presenting, this time on the late night
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 ...
show ''
The Good Sex Guide
''The Good Sex Guide'' is a British documentary TV series presented by Margi Clarke, broadcast on late nights on ITV.
The show ran for three series. It gained unheard-of audience figures of 13 million for a show that aired at 10.35pm, and was ...
'' which gained audience figures of 13 million. She received a
Royal Television Society (RTS) Award
for "Best Female Presenter" in 1994. A second series and third series followed. the last entitled ''The Good Sex Guide Abroad''. Clarke turned down an offer to take the series into a late night chat show format, the host eventually being
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English musician, actress, and TV presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays an ...
.
In 1991, Clarke performed with
Half Man Half Biscuit on the single "No Regrets", a cover of the song, "
Non, je ne regrette rien
"Non, je ne regrette rien" (, Piaf's pronunciation , meaning "No, I do not regret anything") is a French song composed in 1956 by Charles Dumont, with lyrics by Michel Vaucaire. Édith Piaf's 1960 recording spent seven weeks atop the French Sin ...
", best known from the version recorded by
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars.
Pia ...
. In the same year, she also portrayed Ronnie O'Dowd, a 'sexy' female boxer who follows her father into the world of 'pugilism' and rescues him from being 'on the skids' in New York to bring him back to Liverpool with her winnings in ''
Blonde Fist
''Blonde Fist'' (or ''Blond Fist'') is a 1991 sports film directed by Frank Clarke and starring Margi Clarke as the protagonist Ronnie O'Dowd, who finds female boxing as an alternative to her domestic problems. The film received a mixed reception ...
''.
Following the success of ''The Good Sex Guide'', the ITV franchise holder
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
offered Clarke her own day-time show, and the resulting programme, ''Swank'', co-presented with fashion designer
David Emanuel,
ran for two series. In 1994, Clarke tried a new venture,
stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
, and took her one-woman show ''21st Century Scutt'' around the country - the tour included a stint at the
Edinburgh Film Festival and the
Royal Festival Hall on London's
South Bank. She was a regular guest on Channel 4's music show ''
The Word'', including one occasion where she tricked presenter
Terry Christian
Terence Christian (born 8 May 1960) is a British broadcaster, journalist and author. He has presented several national television series in the UK including Channel 4's late night entertainment show '' The Word'' (1990–1995) and six series o ...
into showing his testicles in a hidden camera set-up.
Around this time, Clarke's partner was the artist
Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid (born 16 January 1947 in London, United Kingdom) is an English artist and anarchist.
Career
His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, p ...
and she was paid an undisclosed sum to pose nude while nine months pregnant with their daughter Rowan. (The couple split up around 1997.)
The resulting pictures were a response to the then recent ''
Vanity Fair'' spread of actress
Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...
, in which she was shown nude while also nine months pregnant. The pictures of Clarke were published in the ''
Sunday People'' tabloid. She also published her own
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
cookery book, ''Margi Clarke's Better than Sex Cookbook''. In 1994, Clarke worked with Welsh political band
Anhrefn
Yr Anhrefn, also known simply as Anhrefn, were an influential Welsh punk rock group of the 1980s and 1990s.
History
Anhrefn (Welsh for "Disorder") were an influential punk rock band from Bangor, North Wales and formed in 1982,Hill, Sarah (200 ...
for the single "Clutter from the Gutter".
Her last role before taking a three-year sabbatical, following the death of her mother and birth of her daughter, was in the
BBC1
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, ...
serial, ''Soul Survivors'' co-starring
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...
. She returned to acting in 1998, joining the
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'', playing
Jackie Dobbs
Jackie Dobbs is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' played by Margi Clarke. She was introduced in 1998, but written out in 1999 due to the personal problems of the actress who played her. Nine years late ...
. She left in 1999, and joined the cast of
Five
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Family Affairs
''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...
'', staying for just under a year, as well as guesting in an episode of the BBC's ''
Casualty
Casualty may refer to:
*Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster
**Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare
* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
''.
She also had roles in two films released in 2002, ''
Revengers Tragedy
''Revengers Tragedy'' is a 2002 film adaptation of the 1606 play ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' (attributed to Thomas Middleton in the credits, following the scholarly consensus). It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fello ...
'' (adapted from the
17th century play), directed by
Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with '' Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since the release and co ...
and ''
24 Hour Party People'', the biopic of the
Factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...
/
Hacienda days in Manchester, which Clarke participated in during her 'Margox' days of the 1970s. In feature film ''
The Boys from County Clare'' (2003) she played the role of Dove.
Since 2004
In 2004, Clarke appeared on the
Five
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
reality TV show ''
The Farm'' and had a leading role in the theatrical film ''
School for Seduction
''School for Seduction'' is a 2004 British film directed by Sue Heel. The plot involves an Italian temptress (played by Kelly Brook) who arrives at a school in Newcastle to teach a group of Geordies about the art of romance.
Incidental music
Musi ...
'' co-starring
Kelly Brook
Kelly Ann Parsons (born 23 November 1979), known professionally as Kelly Brook, is an English model, actress, and media personality. She is known for her modelling work in the UK, and in the US for her role as Prudence on the NBC sitcom '' On ...
. In 2006, Clarke had a role in an episode of the ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
'' spin-off ''
Hollyoaks: In the City'' and around the same time she was also a contestant on a celebrity version of the BBC gameshow ''
The Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...
''.
Clarke is often referred to as "The Queen of Liverpool" by the media. This tag was originally attributed to Clarke by music promoter
Malcolm McLaren. In 2005, she began her successful on-line health and beauty range "Soul Rinse" which she runs parallel to her acting career. In 2006–2007, she was heard on the airwaves of
North-West
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...
radio station
105.4 Century Radio as co-presenter of the breakfast show and their late night phone-in shows.
In August 2007, Clarke was a guest on ''
Big Brother's Big Mouth
This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition ran from 2000 to 2018 and the celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018.
''Big Brother''
''Big Brother'' was a daily sho ...
'' on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
with
Pete Burns, a Liverpool-born friend and performer for many years. At the end of 2007 it was reported in the ''
Liverpool Echo
The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...
'' that Clarke would be playing the role of Kath in a revival of the
Joe Orton play ''
Entertaining Mr Sloane
''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' is a three-act play written in 1963 by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964.
Plo ...
'', as part of the city's Capital of Culture celebrations for 2008.
On 11 January 2008, as part of the opening night celebrations of Liverpool's
European Capital of Culture year, Clarke was one of around a hundred local celebrities hoisted hidden in a blue container by a crane 30 feet into the air, landing on the main stage at
St. George's Hall in the city. The celebrities stepped out of the container marked "Precious Cargo" to rapturous applause. The same evening Clarke appeared as a panel guest on the
BBC Two
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 ...
late-night show ''
Newsnight Review
''The Review Show'' was a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which ran, under several titles, from 1994 to 2014. The programme featured a panel of guests who reviewed developments in the world of the arts and culture.
History
' ...
'', talking about her home town's Capital of Culture celebrations.
In January 2008, Clarke joined Liverpool's talk radio station City Talk 105.9, presenting a late night show on Saturday evenings.
Clarke returned to a prime-time starring role in the second series of the British sitcom ''
Benidorm'' on ITV in 2008 and reprised her role as
Jackie Dobbs
Jackie Dobbs is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' played by Margi Clarke. She was introduced in 1998, but written out in 1999 due to the personal problems of the actress who played her. Nine years late ...
in ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'' on 2 January 2009, and again on 22 February 2010.
Also in February 2010, Clarke appeared with her daughter Rowan 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. ...
...
's ''