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Amanda Barrie

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Amanda Barrie
Born
Shirley Anne Broadbent

(1935-09-14) 14 September 1935 (age 89)
Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England
Years active1953–present
TelevisionCoronation Street (1981–1982, 1988–2001)
Bad Girls (2003–2006)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1967; died 2004)​

​
(m. 2014)​

Amanda Barrie (born 14 September 1935) is an English actress. She appeared in two of the Carry On films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, which she played on and off for 20 years. Between 2003 and 2006, she played the role of Bev Tull in the ITV prison drama, Bad Girls. She has since enjoyed a varied stage and TV career.

Career

Barrie was born Shirley Anne Broadbent in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire to Hubert Broadbent and his wife Connie (née Pyke). Barrie attended St Anne's College, St Anne's on Sea. She then trained at the Arts Educational School in London and later at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

She appeared in pantomime as a child and was a dancer before working for many years as a chorus girl in the West End until her first break as an actress came along. At sixteen she danced at the Windsor Club with Danny La Rue and Barbara Windsor, changing her name before making her West End debut in 1961's Babes in the Wood. Throughout the 1960s, Barrie worked on many stage productions including Cabaret, Private Lives, Hobson's Choice and Aladdin

Barrie made her screen debut in the comedy film Operation Bullshine in 1959 leading to roles in popular films including What a Whopper and Doctor in Distress. Barrie then starred in two of the Carry On films, a long-running series of British comedy films: she had a supporting turn as a cab driver in Carry On Cabby (1963) and took the title role in Carry On Cleo (1964). In 1965, Barrie starred alongside Billy Fury in his film I've Gotta Horse.

Barrie continued to appear in many television series into the 1970s as well as presenting Hickory House with former Coronation Street star Alan Rothwell between 1973 and 1977. In 1975, Barrie played Mrs. B.J. Spence in the Walt Disney film One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing. After roles in a string of one-off television plays and series, she appeared in a guest role as a ballet mistress in the popular BBC comedy series Are You Being Served? in 1979. In 1982, she starred alongside Brian Murphy in L for Lester, a sitcom about a driving instructor.

She is well known as Alma Sedgewick (later Baldwin), in Coronation Street. She was a bit-player in the early to mid-1980s before she was offered a contract in 1988, after which her character became high profile. She continued in the role until her departure in 2001. In the story, Alma was diagnosed with cervical cancer which later caused her death.[1]

Since leaving Coronation Street, Barrie continued to act, firstly as Margo Phillips in the long-running BBC medical soap opera Doctors for nine episodes, and in the popular ITV1 prison series Bad Girls, playing inmate Bev Tull from the fifth series to the last, along with Phyl Oswyn played by Stephanie Beacham. The characters together were known as "The Costa Cons".

She also became one of the celebrities who took part in Hell's Kitchen; a popular ITV1 "reality TV" series which screened in 2004. While on the show, she became so frustrated with Gordon Ramsay, that she tried to attack him.[2] In 2005 she appeared as the Wicked Witch of the West in a pantomime adaptation of The Wizard of Oz at an Oxford theatre. She appeared on a pantomime edition of The Weakest Link dressed as the witch to raise money for charity but she was voted off in the second round.

From November 2006 to January 2007, Barrie took a starring role in the pantomime adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk in Canterbury. From December 2007 to January 2008, she appeared as the Fairy Godmother in the pantomime adaptation of Cinderella at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.[3] From December 2008 to January 2009, she played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool. She again played the role from December 2009 to January 2010 in Rhyl. In December 2010 and January 2011 she played the role in Bournemouth. She played role again from December 2011 to January 2012 in Worthing. On Tuesday 7 August 2012 she appeared in the BBC drama Holby City as troubled, sassy, failed actress Annabella Casey. She again played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft from December 2013 to January 2014.[4]

In June 2014, Barrie returned to the set of Coronation Street for a 30-minute documentary entitled, Gail & Me: 40 Years on Coronation Street, and was reunited with former co-stars and friends. From 2015 to 2017, Barrie had a recurring role as a fortune teller nicknamed Psychic Sue in the popular sitcom Benidorm. In 2015, she starred in the film Tea for Two alongside John Challis as a couple who run a tea room, before having a role in the 2018 drama film Together with Sylvia Syms and Peter Bowles. In January 2018, Barrie took part in Celebrity Big Brother.

In the summer of 2019 she appeared in series 2 of Celebrity 5 Go Barging, exploring canals around Staffordshire and Warwickshire by narrowboat.[5]

Personal life

Barrie had a relationship with singer Billy Fury in the mid-1960s after they met while filming I've Gotta Horse.[6] Fury proposed to her, but she did not accept.[7]

In 1967, Barrie married theatre director Robin Hunter. They separated in the mid-1980s, but never divorced; he died in 2004. The couple had no children.[8][9] She came out as bisexual in her autobiography It's Not a Rehearsal, and for many years was in a relationship with actress Heather Chasen.[10] On 12 September 2014, she married her long-term partner Hilary Bonner.[11] The couple live in homes in the Blackdown Hills, Somerset and London.[8][9]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1959 Operation Bullshine A.T.S. Girl
Set to Music Dancer TV film
1961 Don't Bother to Knock American Girl
What a Whopper Chelsea Girl Uncredited
1962 A Pair of Briefs Exotic Snake Dancer
1963 Doctor in Distress Rona
Carry On Cabby Anthea
1964 Carry On Cleo Cleopatra
1965 I've Gotta Horse Jo
1975 One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing Mrs B.J. Spence
1976 The Venetian Twins Unnamed TV film
2002 Dick Whittington Queen of Tonga
2015 Tea for Two Alice
2018 Together Margaret

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1954 Running Wild Dancer Episode 1.1
1957 This Is the Henry Hall Show Dancer 5 episodes
1960 ITV Play of the Week Flora Episode: "The Two Bouquets"
1961 The Seven Faces of Jim Muriel Episode: "The Face of Dedication"
Maudie Glover Episode: "The Face of Enthusiasm"
1962 Playbox Margaret Palethorpe 2 episodes
Compact Marilyn Wayne Episode: "Musical Evening"
Bulldog Breed Sandra Prentiss All 7 episodes
1963 ITV Television Playhouse Cigarette Girl Episode: "Adam's Apple"
Playbox Gloria Green Episode: 8.10
Jezebel ex UK Episode: "Sanderson and the Sea"
More Faces of Jim Velvet O'Toole Episode: "A Matter of Upbringing"
1964–1965 It's Tarbuck Various characters 6 episodes
1966 Pardon the Expression Judy Best Episode: "Whose Baby Are You?"
Comedy Playhouse Geraldine Woods Episode: "The Reluctant Romeo"
The Wednesday Play Jada Episode: "A Tale of Two Wives"
1967 Danger Man Rosemary Episode: "Koroshi"
The Reluctant Romeo Geraldine Woods All 7 episodes
1968–1973 Ooh La La! Various characters 7 episodes
1968 ITV Playhouse Mavis Pritchard Episode: "Horizontal Hold"
1969 Thirty-Minute Theatre Janet 4 episodes
1971 The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder Ethel Gibson Episode: "Death of an Angel"
BBC Play of the Month Hermia Episode: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
1976 The Many Wives of Patrick Amy Episode: "Internal Disputes"
Play for Today Joyce Episode: "Early Struggles"
Anne Episode: "Buffet"
1977 BBC Play of the Month Mrs Squeamish Episode: "The Country Wife"
Miss Jones and Son Wanda Episode: "Baby Talk"
1978 Strangers Mrs Parker Episode: "Paying Guests"
1979 Are You Being Served? Ballet Mistress Episode: "Strong Stuff This Insurance"
1980 Time of My Life Joan Archer All 6 episodes
Spooner's Patch Spooner's Girlfriend Episode: "Spooner's Patch Thatch"
1981–1982,
1988–2001		 Coronation Street Alma Baldwin Series regular, 1,133 episodes
1982 L for Lester Sally Small All 6 episodes
2003–2004 Doctors Margo Phillips 9 episodes
2003–2006 Bad Girls Beverley Tull Series regular, 41 episodes
2012 Holby City Annabella Casey Episode: "Crimes and Misdemeanours"
2013 Doctors Cath Horton Episode: "In Good Health"
2015, 2017 Benidorm Psychic Sue 3 episodes
2017 Holby City Jenny Cox Episode: "Project Aurous"
2018 The Bar Mitzvah Hillary All 6 episodes

Reality TV

References

  1. ^ "Alma blasts Street". Manchester Evening News. 18 June 2001. Archived from the original on 27 December 2001.
  2. ^ "Hell hath no fury like Amanda". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Having a ball". The Comet. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  4. ^ Wilf Arasaratnam (29 December 2013). "Cinderella (Lowestoft)". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Barry, banter and booze: the soothing therapy of Celebrity 5 Go Barging". TheGuardian.com. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  6. ^ "The Story". Billy Fury. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  7. ^ Vikki White (2 January 2018). "Amanda Barrie: I came out at 67 and married for a second time when I was 79". Mirror. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b Anglesey, Natalie (13 July 2006). "Amanda's Bad and loving it!". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 1 June 2007.
  9. ^ a b McGlone, Jackie (20 October 2002). "Let Sleeping Actors Lie". Scotland on Sunday. Archived from the original on 20 September 2004.
  10. ^ Morris, Sally (1 December 2002). "I've had good sex with men.. but there was never that bond I felt when with a woman; Street Star Amanda Barrie on Coming Out". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  11. ^ Walters, Sarah (8 August 2016). "Former Corrie star Amanda Barrie says she feared her sexuality would ruin her career". Manchester Evening News.
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