Prunella Gee

Prunella Gee
Born	17 February 1950 (1950-02-17) London, England, UK
Years active	1973–2004
Spouse	Ken Campbell (1978-?) 1 child

Prunella Gee (born 17 February 1950) is an English actress.

Gee studied at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art where she won the Spotlight Award for Best Actress; she then spent six months in repertory playing Priestly, Shaw, Shakespeare, Feydeau and Orton. Her first television role was as Anna Fitzgerald in ITV's 1930s series Shabby Tiger (1974), she appeared naked in the first couple of episodes which was quite rare and considered rather scandalous at the time. Gee was quickly hailed as a sex symbol.

Her first film role was also in 1974, alongside Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine in The Wilby Conspiracy. She went onto become an almost permanent fixture in British television, starring in The Sweeney and Return of the Saint, the first episode of ITV's Hammer House of Horror (1980) and she also had a regular role as the glamorous Miss Griffin in the sci-fi drama Kinvig (1981), written by Nigel Kneale.

Gee achieved even greater heights in 1983 when she played the role of Patrica in the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again opposite Sean Connery. The same year she appeared in the sitcom Moving. These days, she is perhaps best known for her character Doreen Heavey in the top rated soap opera Coronation Street, a part she played on a semi-regular basis for four years from 1999. In her heyday, Gee made regular appearances as herself on many popular entertainment programmes in the UK including Call My Bluff and Celebrity Squares.

Gee married the actor and director Ken Campbell in 1978 with whom she had a daughter, Daisy; the couple divorced after five years but remained on good terms.

Gee has had a long and varied career in the theatre and has performed in many national tours. In 1998 she played the female lead of a fading adult film star in the romantic comedy Merchants of Venus, filmed in Los Angeles and co-starring Michael York. It was her first film role since she had played the wife of Sting's character in the atmospheric, noirish thriller Stormy Monday (1988).

Filmography

• Shabby Tiger (1974)
• The Wilby Conspiracy (1975)
• The Sweeney (1975)
• The Last of the Best Men (TV 1975)
• Quiller (TV 1975)
• Waiting for Sheila (TV 1976)
• The Glittering Prizes (TV 1976)
• Return of the Saint (TV 1978)
• Turtle's Progress (1979)
• Call My Bluff (1979)
• Fallen Hero (1979)
• Hammer House of Horror (TV 1980)
• The Professionals (TV 1980)
• Cry Freedom (1981)
• Kinvig (TV 1981)
• Never Say Never Again (1983)
• Moving (TV 1985)
• Number One (1985)
• Alas Smith & Jones (TV 1985)
• No Place Like Home (TV 1986)
• Constant Hot Water (1986)
• Stormy Monday (1988)
• Executive Stress (TV 1988)
• Spilt Ends (1989)
• Merchants of Venus (1998)
• Coronation Street (TV 1999 - 2004)

External links

• Prunella Gee at the Internet Movie Database
• http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prunellagee/