Louise Jameson
 |
Louise Jameson | |
|---|---|
 Louise Jameson (left) with Janet Dibley (right), May 2009 | |
| Born | 20 April 1951 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | http://www.louisejameson.com/ |
Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress, with a wide variety of British TV and theatre credits. She is best known for her appearances in British TV series EastEnders, Doctor Who, Bergerac and Tenko.
Biography
Career
Jameson was born in Wanstead, London. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and spent two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, Summerfolk, and Blithe Spirit. In 1995 she appeared in the RSC production of Botho Strauß's The Park. Other stage appearances include the first production of Peter Nichols's Passion Play produced at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in 1981.
Her early TV career highlights included appearances on Emmerdale in 1973 (as Sharon Crossthwaite), as Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who between 1977–78, and in The Omega Factor as Dr. Anne Reynolds in 1979.
She later had a leading role as Blanche Simmons in the first two series of Tenko, her favourite job,[1] before starring for five years in the late 1980s in Bergerac as Susan Young, Jim Bergerac's girlfriend. In the early 1990s she starred in two series of Rides, and made numerous one-off appearances in various TV drama series, as well as numerous Doctor Who spin-off projects including the 1993 Children in Need special Dimensions in Time.
In 1998 she began a long run in the hit BBC soap EastEnders as Rosa di Marco, appearing in over 200 episodes over 2½ years until August 2000. More recently she has appeared in episodes of the BBC Scotland soap River City as Viv Roberts, as a guest artist in episodes of Doctors, Holby City and The Bill, and as a regular in Doc Martin.[2]
She continues to reprise the character of Leela in Doctor Who audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions and has also starred in Sapphire and Steel and Dark Shadows audio dramas for the same company. She has also appeared in documentaries and commentaries accompanying numerous BBC DVD releases of her Doctor Who serials.
Jameson is the subject of MJTV's The Actor Speaks Volume 5, where she discusses herself, her acting career and the various series she has been in.
In 2007, Jameson toured nationally in her one-woman show, Face Value, inspired by her near decision to have a face-lift.[3]
In 2013, Louise starred in the play Gutted by Rikki Beadle-Blair and has been nominated for Best Female Performance at the 2013 Off West End Theatre Awards (Offies). In November 2013 she appeared in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.[4]
Personal life
Jameson had two sons in the 1980s, Harry and Tom. She is also good friends with her Big Finish Productions co-star Lalla Ward. For many years she has lived in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Jameson was a regular prison visitor during the first few years of her career, and during the early 1970s she met Leslie Grantham at Leyhill Prison in Gloucestershire, while he was serving 12 years of a life sentence for murder. She encouraged Grantham to be an actor, and by 1985 he had secured the role of Den Watts in EastEnders.
Jameson also works as a teacher of drama, directing youth productions of Shakespeare for local festivals. She also runs a Sunday Drama College, with branches in Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne.
References
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2233412/Tenko-turned-anorexic-Thirty-years-stars-ground-breaking-womens-prison-camp-drama-reveal-toll-series-took-lives-screen.html
- ^ [1] Diary of a Diva
- ^ Good Health. Daily Mail. 27 March 2007
- ^ "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot", BBC programmes, retrieved 26 November 2013