Denise Gyngell
Encyclopedia
Denise Gyngell is a British singer, actress and model. She is most famous as a member of the early 80s pop group, Tight Fit
. She later married record producer Pete Waterman
.
, Rhondda
, South Wales
. She is Welsh, as are her parents, Gerry and Madge. She went to the Barbara Speake Stage School and the Italia Conti Academy
.
As a child, she was friends with Jay Aston
of Bucks Fizz
.
episode called Song for Twilight written by Noel Coward
, featuring Peter Sallis
. Along with brother Paul, she also appeared in The Zoo Robbery.
Denise was one of Hill's Angels on The Benny Hill Show
during the early 1980s. She appeared in an episode of Ronnie Corbett
's Sorry!
in 1987. She also made appearances with Kenny Everett
and Morecambe and Wise
.
Gyngell was also in several stage shows, including Aladdin
in pantomime
.
As part of pop group Tight Fit she had a No. 1 single with a cover version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight
and a top 5 hit with "Fantasy Island" in 1982.
The band has recently reformed and are currently doing small gigs around Britain.
in 1991 and they have 2 children, Charley-Ella and Toni-Tuesday. The couple divorced in 1999.
Tight Fit
Tight Fit are a British pop group who had a number of hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982...
. She later married record producer Pete Waterman
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman OBE is an English record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles...
.
Biography
Denise Gyngell was born in PorthPorth
Porth is a town and a community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Valley and is regarded as the gateway to the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach valleys because both valleys meet at Porth...
, Rhondda
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. She is Welsh, as are her parents, Gerry and Madge. She went to the Barbara Speake Stage School and the Italia Conti Academy
Italia Conti Academy
The Italia Conti Academy is a theatre arts training school based in London. It was founded in 1911 by actress Italia Conti...
.
As a child, she was friends with Jay Aston
Jay Aston
Jay Hilda Aston is a singer, dancer, and occasional songwriter who was formerly with the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. She was the youngest member of the group's original line-up, being just 19 at the Eurovision Song Contest....
of Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
.
Career
She appeared in The Darwin Adventure (1972), with her brothers Paul and Michael, where they were all cast as Darwin's children. In 1973 she appeared in a Play for TodayPlay for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
episode called Song for Twilight written by Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, featuring Peter Sallis
Peter Sallis
Peter Sallis, OBE is an English actor and entertainer, well-known for his work on British television. Although he was born and brought up in London, his two most notable roles require him to adopt the accents and mannerisms of a Northerner.Sallis is best known for his role as the main character...
. Along with brother Paul, she also appeared in The Zoo Robbery.
Denise was one of Hill's Angels on The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
during the early 1980s. She appeared in an episode of Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
's Sorry!
Sorry! (TV series)
Sorry! was a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1981 to 1982 and from 1985 to 1988. Starring Ronnie Corbett, it was written by Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, both of whom had previously written for The Two Ronnies, of whom Corbett was one half....
in 1987. She also made appearances with Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
and Morecambe and Wise
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
.
Gyngell was also in several stage shows, including Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
in 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...
.
As part of pop group Tight Fit she had a No. 1 single with a cover version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight", also known as "Wimoweh" and originally as "Mbube", is a song recorded by Solomon Linda and his group The Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. It was covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including The Weavers,...
and a top 5 hit with "Fantasy Island" in 1982.
The band has recently reformed and are currently doing small gigs around Britain.
Personal life
Gyngell married producer Pete WatermanPete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman OBE is an English record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles...
in 1991 and they have 2 children, Charley-Ella and Toni-Tuesday. The couple divorced in 1999.