Brigit Forsyth
Encyclopedia
Brigit Forsyth is a British actress, who is best known for her roles as Thelma Ferris in the BBC
comedy Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
and Helen Yeldham in the hit ITV
drama/modern-day western Boon
.
, where she won the Emile Littler award. She then joined various repertory
companies, including Lincoln, Edinburgh, Salisbury, Cheltenham, Hornchurch, and Watford.
productions of The Norman Conquests; and Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi .
Her film work includes The Wrong Side of the Blanket (1970), as Miss Wiggins Teape; The Night Digger
(1971), as district nurse; The Likely Lads
(1976), as Thelma Ferris; and Crystalstone (1988), as Isabel.
She played the cello
from the age of nine, but abandoned it once she went to drama school. Her ability came in handy when, in 2004, she took the lead role in Cello And The Nightingale, a play about the internationally acclaimed cellist Beatrice Harrison
that was premiered at York Theatre Royal
.
Brigit's television work includes Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
, as Thelma (1973–74); The Glamour Girls
(1980-82), as Veronica Haslett; Tom, Dick and Harriet
(1983) as Harriet Maddison; The Practice, as Dr. Judith Vincent (1986); Sharon and Elsie, as Elsie Beecroft (1984–85); Dark Season
(1991), as Miss Maitland; and Boon
(ITV, 1989), as Helen Yeldham. She has guested on The Bill
; Doctor Who
; Dr Finlay's Casebook; Wycliffe
; Agatha Christie's Poirot
; and also appeared in The Sinners; Holly, as the title character Holly Elliot; Adam Smith; Bizarre and Rummage; The Master of Ballantrae; Jackanory
; Holding The Fort; Tom, Dick, and Harriet; Waiting; Dangerfield; Running Wild; The Visit; Graham's Gang
; I Told You, Didn't I?; Stanley's Vision, as Hilda Spencer; My World; Henry; Nice Town (1992) as Rosemary Dobson; Murder Most Horrid (episode: "A Life Or Death Operation") (BBC2, 1996) as Mrs. Osman; Spark (1997) as Mrs. Wells; and Playing the Field
(BBC1, 1998) as Francine Pratt. In March 1998, she made a one-episode guest appearance in Coronation Street
as Ken Barlow's dating agency client, Babs Fanshawe. Forsyth has also worked regularly in radio comedy and drama.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a 1970s British sitcom broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It is the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais...
and Helen Yeldham in the hit ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama/modern-day western Boon
Boon (TV series)
Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV...
.
Early life
After leaving school, Forsyth trained as a secretary, before enrolling at Royal Academy of Dramatic ArtRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
, where she won the Emile Littler award. She then joined various repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
companies, including Lincoln, Edinburgh, Salisbury, Cheltenham, Hornchurch, and Watford.
Career
She toured in My Fat Friend, and performed in the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
productions of The Norman Conquests; and Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi .
Her film work includes The Wrong Side of the Blanket (1970), as Miss Wiggins Teape; The Night Digger
The Night Digger
The Night Digger is a 1971 British thriller film that was based on the novel Nest in a Fallen Tree by Joy Cowley. It was adapted by Roald Dahl and starred his wife Patricia Neal. The Night Digger was the American title; it was originally released in the United Kingdom as The Road Builder.-Cast:*...
(1971), as district nurse; The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads (film)
The Likely Lads is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Michael Tuchner, starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. It's a spin-off from the popular 1960s British television series The Likely Lads, from which it takes its title, though in fact it's closer in tone to the more recent sequel series...
(1976), as Thelma Ferris; and Crystalstone (1988), as Isabel.
She played the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
from the age of nine, but abandoned it once she went to drama school. Her ability came in handy when, in 2004, she took the lead role in Cello And The Nightingale, a play about the internationally acclaimed cellist Beatrice Harrison
Beatrice Harrison
Beatrice Harrison was a British cellist active in the first half of the 20th century. She gave first performances of several important English works, especially those of Frederick Delius, and made the first or standard recordings of others.-Early training:Beatrice Harrison was born in Roorkee,...
that was premiered at York Theatre Royal
York Theatre Royal
The York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St. Leonard's Place, York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 847 people. This reduced capacity takes into account removal of the mixing position seats and the stage side boxes which are normally not sold...
.
Brigit's television work includes Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a 1970s British sitcom broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It is the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais...
, as Thelma (1973–74); The Glamour Girls
The Glamour Girls
The Glamour Girls were a female professional wrestling tag team. The members were Judy Martin and Leilani Kai-Early career and training:Leilani Kai was trained by The Fabulous Moolah in 1975 right after she finished high school at Lillian Ellison School of Professional Wrestling...
(1980-82), as Veronica Haslett; Tom, Dick and Harriet
Tom, Dick and Harriet
Tom, Dick and Harriet is a British sitcom that aired for two seasons from 1982 to 1983. It was created by the sitcom writing team of Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, and it starred veteran actor Lionel Jeffries in one of his very few television roles, only seven months after his previous TV...
(1983) as Harriet Maddison; The Practice, as Dr. Judith Vincent (1986); Sharon and Elsie, as Elsie Beecroft (1984–85); Dark Season
Dark Season
Dark Season is a British science-fiction television serial for adolescents, screened on BBC1 in late 1991. Comprising six twenty-five minute episodes, the two linked three-part stories tell the adventures of three teenagers and their battle to save their school and their classmates from the actions...
(1991), as Miss Maitland; and Boon
Boon (TV series)
Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV...
(ITV, 1989), as Helen Yeldham. She has guested on The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
; Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
; Dr Finlay's Casebook; Wycliffe
Wycliffe (TV series)
Wycliffe is a British TV series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe . It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a...
; Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
; and also appeared in The Sinners; Holly, as the title character Holly Elliot; Adam Smith; Bizarre and Rummage; The Master of Ballantrae; Jackanory
Jackanory
Jackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap o' Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 24 March 1996,...
; Holding The Fort; Tom, Dick, and Harriet; Waiting; Dangerfield; Running Wild; The Visit; Graham's Gang
Graham's Gang
Graham's Gang is a British children's comedy first broadcast by the BBC in 1977 and 1979.The gang consisted of five boys - Graham, William, Lux, Robert and Keith - and one girl, Mildred. Plots often revolved around the boys trying to exclude Mildred, who would often use her influential family to...
; I Told You, Didn't I?; Stanley's Vision, as Hilda Spencer; My World; Henry; Nice Town (1992) as Rosemary Dobson; Murder Most Horrid (episode: "A Life Or Death Operation") (BBC2, 1996) as Mrs. Osman; Spark (1997) as Mrs. Wells; and Playing the Field
Playing the Field
Playing the Field is a BBC television drama series following the lives of the Castlefield Blues, a fictitious female football team from South Yorkshire.-Outline:...
(BBC1, 1998) as Francine Pratt. In March 1998, she made a one-episode guest appearance in 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...
as Ken Barlow's dating agency client, Babs Fanshawe. Forsyth has also worked regularly in radio comedy and drama.