Amanda Barrie
Encyclopedia
Amanda Barrie is an English
actress.
. 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 acting in a number of British television
and film roles in the 1960s and 1970s. She was also 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).
Barrie is well-known for her role as a café proprietor's wife, Alma Sedgewick (later Baldwin), on Coronation Street
. She was a bit-player in the early to mid-1980s before she was offered a contract in 1988, after which she became a very well known character. She continued in the role until her retirement in 2001. In the story, Alma was diagnosed with cervical cancer
which later caused her death. Coronation Street
was but a stepping stone on her path to becoming an international star of stage and screen.
Since leaving Coronation Street, she continued to act 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 slap him across the face.
From November 2006 to January 2007, Amanda took a starring role in the pantomime
adaption of Jack and the Beanstalk
in Canterbury
. From December 2007 to January 2008, she appeared as the Fairy Godmother in the pantomime adaption of Cinderella
at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage
, Hertfordshire
. 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 will play the role again from December 2011 to January 2012 in Worthing
.
, and stayed with him until the mid-1980s; the couple had no children; he died in 2004. Her current life partner is solicitor Emma Brankin (nee Bolland).
She cameout as bisexual in her autobiography, It's Not a Rehearsal.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress.
Career
Born as Shirley Anne Broadbent, Barrie attended St Anne's College, St Anne's on SeaLytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes is a conurbation in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England. The neighbouring towns of Lytham and St-Anne's-on-the-Sea have grown together and now form a seaside resort...
. She then trained at the Arts Educational School in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and later at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
. She appeared in pantomime as a child and was a dancer before acting in a number of British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
and film roles in the 1960s and 1970s. She was also in two of the Carry On films
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
, a long-running series of British comedy films: she had a supporting turn as a cab driver in Carry On Cabby
Carry On Cabby
Carry On Cabby is the seventh Carry On film. Released in 1963, it was the first one written by series mainstay Talbot Rothwell from a story by Sid Green and Dick Hills...
(1963) and took the title role in Carry on Cleo
Carry On Cleo
Carry On Cleo is the tenth film in the Carry On film series and was released in 1964. The website ICONS.a portrait of England cites the Carry On films as iconic of British cinema, and describes Carry On Cleo as "perhaps the best". Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles...
(1964).
Barrie is well-known for her role as a café proprietor's wife, Alma Sedgewick (later Baldwin), on Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. She was a bit-player in the early to mid-1980s before she was offered a contract in 1988, after which she became a very well known character. She continued in the role until her retirement in 2001. In the story, Alma was diagnosed with cervical cancer
Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. One of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer is in its advanced stages...
which later caused her death. Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
was but a stepping stone on her path to becoming an international star of stage and screen.
Since leaving Coronation Street, she continued to act in the popular ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
prison series, Bad Girls
Bad Girls (TV series)
Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
, playing inmate Bev Tull from the fifth series to the last, along with Phyl Oswyn played by Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
. The characters together were known as "The Costa Cons". She also became one of the celebrities who took part in Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen (UK TV series)
Hell's Kitchen was a British cookery reality show aired on ITV which featured prospective chefs competing with each other for a final prize. Four series had been aired since 2004, three presented by Angus Deayton and the latest by Claudia Winkleman....
; a popular ITV1 "reality TV" series which screened in 2004. While on the show, she became so frustrated with Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
, that she tried to slap him across the face.
From November 2006 to January 2007, Amanda took a starring role in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
adaption of Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. From December 2007 to January 2008, she appeared as the Fairy Godmother in the pantomime adaption of Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. From December 2008 to January 2009, she played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool. She again played the role from December 2009 to January 2010 in Rhyl
Rhyl
Rhyl is a seaside resort town and community situated on the north east coast of Wales, in the county of Denbighshire , at the mouth of the River Clwyd . To the west is the suburb of Kinmel Bay, with the resort of Towyn further west, Prestatyn to the east and Rhuddlan to the south...
. In December 2010 and January 2011 she played the role in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. She will play the role again from December 2011 to January 2012 in Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
.
Personal life
In 1967 Barrie married theatre director Robin HunterRobin Hunter
Robin Ian Hunter was an English actor, who was also a skilled and versatile performer and writer in the field of musicals, music hall and comedy.-Life and career:...
, and stayed with him until the mid-1980s; the couple had no children; he died in 2004. Her current life partner is solicitor Emma Brankin (nee Bolland).
She cameout as bisexual in her autobiography, It's Not a Rehearsal.
Selected filmography
- Operation BullshineOperation BullshineOperation Bullshine is a 1959 British colour comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Donald Sinden, Barbara Murray and Carole Lesley. The working title of the film was Girls in Arms that features in the film as a marching song. Gunn had filmed Girls at Sea the previous year...
(1959) - A Pair of BriefsA Pair of BriefsA Pair of Briefs is a 1962 British legal comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Mary Peach, Brenda De Banzie and James Robertson Justice...
(1962) - Carry on CabbyCarry On CabbyCarry On Cabby is the seventh Carry On film. Released in 1963, it was the first one written by series mainstay Talbot Rothwell from a story by Sid Green and Dick Hills...
(1963) - Doctor in DistressDoctor in Distress (film)Doctor in Distress is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson Justice, and Samantha Eggar. It was the fifth film in the Doctor Series...
(1963) - Carry on CleoCarry On CleoCarry On Cleo is the tenth film in the Carry On film series and was released in 1964. The website ICONS.a portrait of England cites the Carry On films as iconic of British cinema, and describes Carry On Cleo as "perhaps the best". Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles...
(1964) - I've Gotta HorseI've Gotta Horse- Summary :Based on the star's famous love of animals, this musical comedy portrays Billy setting out to add a sheepdog to his vast entourage of animals and coming back with an irresistible horse named Armitage instead. To his manager's horror, Billy smuggles the horse backstage during rehearsals...
(1965) - The Reluctant RomeoThe Reluctant RomeoThe Reluctant Romeo is a British television comedy series that was broadcast on the BBC in 1967The plot centres upon Geraldine Woods' obsession with an older working colleague, Thomas Jones . Thomas Jones is already engaged to Sally Gardner .All eight episodes of the show are thought to have been...
(1967) - Thirty-Minute Theatre (1969)
- One of Our Dinosaurs Is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the...
(1975) - Are You Being Served?Are You Being Served?Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
(1979) - Time of My LifeTime Of My LifeTime Of My Life is a play by Alan Ayckbourn. It premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough on 21 April 1992 then in the West End on 3 August 1993.-Plot:...
(1980) - Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
(1981–2001) - Dick Whittington (2002)
- Hell's KitchenHell's Kitchen (UK TV series)Hell's Kitchen was a British cookery reality show aired on ITV which featured prospective chefs competing with each other for a final prize. Four series had been aired since 2004, three presented by Angus Deayton and the latest by Claudia Winkleman....
(2004) - DoctorsDoctors (BBC Soap Opera)Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
(2003–2004) - Bad GirlsBad Girls (TV series)Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
(2002–2006)