Margi Clarke
Encyclopedia
Margi Clarke is a British
actress (her name is pronounced with a hard 'g'). She was born in Liverpool
and raised in Kirkby
(originally a suburb of Liverpool), and is known for her Scouse
accent and platinum-blonde hair.
Granada region. She was known then simply as Margox.
In 1983 Clarke appeared as 'Fran' in episodes 54 and 66 of the Liverpool
-set Channel 4
soap opera
Brookside
, credited as Margi MacGregor. Her brother Frank wrote her in, because, as she later said, she "had a gas bill which I couldn't pay".
She first came to prominence in 1985 after starring in the low-budget cult film
Letter to Brezhnev
about two working-class Liverpool girls who meet two Russia
n sailors. This film is widely regarded as one of the most important British films of all time, and inspired the whole "guerilla" film-making scene that eventually blossomed a decade later. The film was made for approximately £50,000 (Clarke called this "the cocaine budget on Rambo"), and became a huge international hit. Margi originated her role of Theresa in Letter to Brezhnev some three years earlier when the she played the role in a modest run at the Liverpool Playhouse
in 1983.
In 1986, at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, Clarke took the prize for "Most Promising Newcomer". She followed this with the European art-house trilogy for the Kaurismäki
brothers (I Hired a Contract Killer
', "Helsinki
Napoli
All Night Long" and "L. A. Without a Map").
' video for their 1987 single, Rent. She was the stand-in host for Paula Yates
on Channel 4
's The Tube on several occasions. Clarke was also the voice for the character of "Bixie" in the Weetabix
adverts at this time. In the late eighties Clarke scored a Top Ten hit in the Welsh charts with Clutter from the Gutter.
1n 1989 she landed the part of 'Queenie' in the long running BBC
series Making Out
, set in a Manchester
electronics factory and written by Debbie Horsfield
. The show ran for three series, and there have been rumours ever since that the series will return again at some point. In 1991 she returned to presenting, on the late night ITV
show The Good Sex Guide which gained unheard-of audience figures of 13 million for a show that aired at 10.35pm. She was rewarded with a win at the RTS Awards for "Best Female Presenter" in 1994. A second series was equally successful, and a third, The Good Sex Guide Abroad, soon followed. Clarke turned down an offer to take the series into a late night chat show format, the host eventually being Toyah Wilcox.
In 1991 Clarke performed with Half Man Half Biscuit
on the single "No Regrets", a cover of the classic song, "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
", by Edith Piaf
. At the same year she also portrayed Ronnie O'Dowd, a sexy female boxer in Blonde Fist
.
Following the success of The Good Sex Guide, Carlton TV offered Clarke her own day-time show, and the resulting Swank run for two series. In 1994 Clarke tried a new venture, stand-up comedy
, and took her one-woman show 21st Century Scutt around the country, including a stint at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Royal Festival Hall
on London's South Bank
. She was a regular guest on Channel 4's notorious music show The Word
, including one occasion where she tricked presenter Terry Christian
into showing "his plums" in a hidden camera set-up.
Around this time Clarke's partner was the artist Jamie Reid
, and she was paid an undisclosed sum to pose nude while nine months pregnant with their daughter Rowan. The resulting pictures were a take on the recent Vanity Fair
spread of actress Demi Moore
, nude while nine months pregnant. The pictures of Clarke were published in Sunday tabloid The Sunday People. She also published her own vegetarian cookery book, Margi Clarke's Better than Sex Cookbook, to much acclaim.
Her last role before taking three years off, following the death of her mother and birth of her daughter (Rowan), was in the BBC1 mini-series, Soul Survivors co-starring Ian McShane
. She returned in typical style in 1998, joining the top rated soap opera
Coronation Street
, playing Jackie Dobbs
. She left in 1999, and went on to join the cast of Five soap opera
Family Affairs
, staying for just under a year, as well as guest starring in an episode of the BBC's Casualty
.
She also had roles in two high-profile films in 2002, The Revenger's Tragedy
, directed by Alex Cox
, and 24 Hour Party People
, the biopic of the Factory/Hacienda days in Manchester, which Clarke was a real life part of in her 'Margox' days of the 1970s. She appeared a guest on the long-running BBC show Through the Keyhole
where her home in Kirkby was revealed.
The Boys From County Clare feature film followed in 2003, in which she played the role of Dove.
and had a leading role in the theatrical film School for Seduction
co-starring Kelly Brook
. In 2006, Clarke had a role in an episode of the Hollyoaks
spin-off Hollyoaks: In the City
. This year she was also a contestant on a celebrity version of the BBC gameshow The Weakest Link
.
Margi is often referred to as "The Queen Of Liverpool" by the media. This tag was originally attributed to Clarke by music promoter Malcolm McLaren
.
In 2005, she began her successful on-line health and beauty range "Soul Rinse" which she runs parallel to her acting career. In 2006/07, she was heard on the airwaves of North-West radio station 105.4 Century Radio as co-presenter of the breakfast show and their late night phone-in shows.
In August 2007, Margi was a guest on Big Brother's Big Mouth on Channel 4
with Pete Burns
, a Liverpool-born friend and performer for many years. At the end of 2007 it was reported in the Liverpool Echo
that Margi would be playing the role of Kath in the infamous Joe Orton
play Entertaining Mr Sloane
, as part of the city's Capital of Culture celebrations for 2008, and would be writing her memoirs in the near future.
On 11 January 2008, as part of the opening night celebrations of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture
year, Margi was one of around a hundred local celebrities hoisted hidden in a blue container by a crane 30 feet into the air, landing on the main stage at St George's Hall in the city. The celebrities stepped out of the container marked "Precious Cargo" to rapturous applause. The same evening Margi appeared as a panel guest on the BBC2 late-night news review show Newsnight
, giving her take on her home town's Capital of Culture celebrations.
In January 2008, Margi joined Liverpool's newest talk radio station City Talk 105.9, presenting a late night show on Saturday evenings from 10pm.
Margi is shortly due to return to a prime-time starring role in the second series of the hit British comedy Benidorm
on ITV in 2008 and reprised her role as Jackie Dobbs
in Coronation Street
on 2 January 2009, and again on 22 February 2010.
Also in February 2010 Clarke appeared with her daughter Rowan in an episode of the BBC
's Celebrity Cash in the Attic
.
Margi appeared in 'Scousers in St Helens' on 26 October 2010 alongside Tina Malone
, Billy Butler
and many, many more. In late 2010, she recorded many music tracks such as Like A Memory and Holographic Disco which are now available on iTunes
and in November 2010 she released her long awaited no holds barred biography "Margi Clarke - Now You See Me". She has also appeared in an episode of the BBC show Waterloo Road
in May 2011 and participated in the 2011 series of Celebrity MasterChef.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actress (her name is pronounced with a hard 'g'). She was born in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and raised in Kirkby
Kirkby
Kirkby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in England. The town was developed from the 1950s through 1970s as a means to house the overspill of Liverpool. It is situated roughly north of Huyton, the administrative HQ of the borough and about...
(originally a suburb of Liverpool), and is known for her Scouse
Scouse
Scouse is an accent and dialect of English found primarily in the Metropolitan county of Merseyside, and closely associated with the city of Liverpool and the adjoining urban areas such as the boroughs of south Sefton, Knowsley and the Wirral...
accent and platinum-blonde hair.
Early career
Her official launch into showbusiness came in 1978, as a presenter on the late-night entertainment magazine show, What's On, which was just shown in the ITVITV
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...
Granada region. She was known then simply as Margox.
In 1983 Clarke appeared as 'Fran' in episodes 54 and 66 of the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
-set Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
, credited as Margi MacGregor. Her brother Frank wrote her in, because, as she later said, she "had a gas bill which I couldn't pay".
She first came to prominence in 1985 after starring in the low-budget cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev is a 1985 British comedy film about working class life in contemporary Liverpool. It was written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alfred Molina, Peter Firth, Tracy Lea, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke amongst others...
about two working-class Liverpool girls who meet two Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n sailors. This film is widely regarded as one of the most important British films of all time, and inspired the whole "guerilla" film-making scene that eventually blossomed a decade later. The film was made for approximately £50,000 (Clarke called this "the cocaine budget on Rambo"), and became a huge international hit. Margi originated her role of Theresa in Letter to Brezhnev some three years earlier when the she played the role in a modest run at the Liverpool Playhouse
Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actresses, some of which went on to achieve...
in 1983.
In 1986, at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, Clarke took the prize for "Most Promising Newcomer". She followed this with the European art-house trilogy for the Kaurismäki
Kaurismäki
Kaurismäki is a name originating in Finland. It may refer to:* Aki Kaurismäki , Finnish film director and screenwriter* Mika Kaurismäki , Finnish film director...
brothers (I Hired a Contract Killer
I Hired a Contract Killer
I Hired a Contract Killer is a film directed, produced and written by the Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki in 1990. It is a Finnish-British-German-Swedish co-production and stars the renowned French actor Jean-Pierre Léaud...
', "Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
Napoli
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
All Night Long" and "L. A. Without a Map").
Film actor and TV presenter
Clarke went on to star in the films The Dressmaker , Strike It Rich, and Leaving the 21st Century, and had a well-known role in the Pet Shop BoysPet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
' video for their 1987 single, Rent. She was the stand-in host for Paula Yates
Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates was a British television presenter and writer, best known for her work on two television programmes, The Tube and The Big Breakfast.-Early life:...
on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's The Tube on several occasions. Clarke was also the voice for the character of "Bixie" in the Weetabix
Weetabix
Weetabix is a whole grain wheat breakfast cereal produced by Weetabix Limited of the United Kingdom. It comes in the form of palm-sized biscuits. Variants include organic and Weetabix Minis versions. The UK cereal is manufactured in Burton Latimer, Kettering, United Kingdom and in Canada and...
adverts at this time. In the late eighties Clarke scored a Top Ten hit in the Welsh charts with Clutter from the Gutter.
1n 1989 she landed the part of 'Queenie' in the long running BBC
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...
series Making Out
Making Out
Making Out is a British television series, shown by the BBC between 1989 and 1991.The series, written by Debbie Horsfield, mixed comedy and drama in its portrayal of the women who worked on the factory floor at New Lyne Electronics in Manchester, tackling the personal lives of the characters as...
, set in a Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
electronics factory and written by Debbie Horsfield
Debbie Horsfield
Debbie Horsfield is a British theatre and television writer and producer.- Early life and career :Hosfield was born in Eccles, Lancashire and she attended Eccles College before studying at Newcastle University....
. The show ran for three series, and there have been rumours ever since that the series will return again at some point. In 1991 she returned to presenting, on the late night 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...
show The Good Sex Guide which gained unheard-of audience figures of 13 million for a show that aired at 10.35pm. She was rewarded with a win at the RTS Awards for "Best Female Presenter" in 1994. A second series was equally successful, and a third, The Good Sex Guide Abroad, soon followed. Clarke turned down an offer to take the series into a late night chat show format, the host eventually being Toyah Wilcox.
In 1991 Clarke performed with Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...
on the single "No Regrets", a cover of the classic song, "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
"Non, je ne regrette rien" , meaning "No, I'm not sorry for anything", is a French song composed by Charles Dumont, with lyrics by Michel Vaucaire. It was written in 1956, and is best known through its 1960 recording by Édith Piaf....
", by Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
. At the same year she also portrayed Ronnie O'Dowd, a sexy female boxer in Blonde Fist
Blonde Fist
Blonde Fist , is a 1991 film starring Margi Clarke as the protagonist Ronnie O'Dowd, who finds female boxing as an alternative to her domestic problems....
.
Following the success of The Good Sex Guide, Carlton TV offered Clarke her own day-time show, and the resulting Swank run for two series. In 1994 Clarke tried a new venture, stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
, and took her one-woman show 21st Century Scutt around the country, including a stint at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
on London's South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
. She was a regular guest on Channel 4's notorious music show The Word
The Word (TV series)
The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:Its presenters included Mancunian radio presenter Terry Christian, comedian Mark Lamarr, Dani Behr, Katie Puckrik, Jasmine Dotiwala, Alan Connor, Amanda de Cadenet and "Huffty"...
, including one occasion where she tricked presenter Terry Christian
Terry Christian
Terry Christian is a British television and radio presenter whose credits include Channel 4's late night Youth Entertainment show The Word and ITV1 moral issues talk show It's My Life...
into showing "his plums" in a hidden camera set-up.
Around this time Clarke's partner was the artist Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid is a British artist and anarchist with connections to the Situationists. His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, particularly in the UK...
, and she was paid an undisclosed sum to pose nude while nine months pregnant with their daughter Rowan. The resulting pictures were a take on the recent Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
spread of actress Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
, nude while nine months pregnant. The pictures of Clarke were published in Sunday tabloid The Sunday People. She also published her own vegetarian cookery book, Margi Clarke's Better than Sex Cookbook, to much acclaim.
Her last role before taking three years off, following the death of her mother and birth of her daughter (Rowan), was in the BBC1 mini-series, Soul Survivors co-starring Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
. She returned in typical style in 1998, joining the top rated soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
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...
, playing Jackie Dobbs
Jackie Dobbs
Jacqueline "Jackie" Dobbs, played by Margi Clarke, is a fictional character in the soap opera, Coronation Street. She was introduced in 1998, but written out in 1999 due to the personal problems of the actress who played her. Nine years later, in 2008, the character was reintroduced, once again...
. She left in 1999, and went on to join the cast of Five soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
, staying for just under a year, as well as guest starring in an episode of the BBC's Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
.
She also had roles in two high-profile films in 2002, The Revenger's Tragedy
The Revenger's Tragedy
The Revenger's Tragedy is an English language Jacobean revenge tragedy, in the past attributed to Cyril Tourneur but is sometimes considered to be the work of Thomas Middleton by "Middletonians"...
, directed by Alex Cox
Alex Cox
Alexander Cox is a British film director, screenwriter, nonfiction author and sometime actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach to scripts...
, and 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
, the biopic of the Factory/Hacienda days in Manchester, which Clarke was a real life part of in her 'Margox' days of the 1970s. She appeared a guest on the long-running BBC show Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole was a British panel game, hosted by Sir David Frost where panellists are given a video tour of a mystery famous guest's property and attempt to identify them. As of 1996, it is produced by David Frost's own production company, Paradine Productions at The Leeds Studios , and has...
where her home in Kirkby was revealed.
The Boys From County Clare feature film followed in 2003, in which she played the role of Dove.
Recent years
In 2004 Clarke appeared on the Five reality TV show The FarmThe Farm (UK TV series)
The Farm is Five's version of the international TV format The Farm, produced by Strix. It had a number of celebrities appearing on it.-Series one:Series one aired in 2004 and was presented and narrated by Ed Hall...
and had a leading role in the theatrical film School for Seduction
School for Seduction
School for Seduction is a 2004 British film directed by Sue Heel. The plot is about an Italian temptress who arrives at a school in Newcastle to teach a group of Geordies about the art of romance.-Cast:...
co-starring Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, television presenter and Playboy model.-Early life:...
. In 2006, Clarke had a role in an episode of the Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
spin-off Hollyoaks: In the City
Hollyoaks: In the City
Hollyoaks: In the City was a British television drama series set in Liverpool and first broadcast in 2006. Hollyoaks: In the City was a spin-off of Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, originally devised by Phil Redmond...
. This year she was also a contestant on a celebrity version of the BBC gameshow The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
.
Margi is often referred to as "The Queen Of Liverpool" by the media. This tag was originally attributed to Clarke by music promoter Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
.
In 2005, she began her successful on-line health and beauty range "Soul Rinse" which she runs parallel to her acting career. In 2006/07, she was heard on the airwaves of North-West radio station 105.4 Century Radio as co-presenter of the breakfast show and their late night phone-in shows.
In August 2007, Margi was a guest on Big Brother's Big Mouth on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
with Pete Burns
Pete Burns
Pete Burns is an English singer-songwriter, author and television personality who founded the band Dead or Alive in 1980, for which he acted as the vocalist and songwriter, and which rose to mainstream success with their 1985 single "You Spin Me Round "...
, a Liverpool-born friend and performer for many years. At the end of 2007 it was reported in the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
that Margi would be playing the role of Kath in the infamous Joe Orton
Joe Orton
John Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
play Entertaining Mr Sloane
Entertaining Mr Sloane
Entertaining Mr Sloane is a play by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964.-Plot summary:Act 1...
, as part of the city's Capital of Culture celebrations for 2008, and would be writing her memoirs in the near future.
On 11 January 2008, as part of the opening night celebrations of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
year, Margi was one of around a hundred local celebrities hoisted hidden in a blue container by a crane 30 feet into the air, landing on the main stage at St George's Hall in the city. The celebrities stepped out of the container marked "Precious Cargo" to rapturous applause. The same evening Margi appeared as a panel guest on the BBC2 late-night news review show Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, giving her take on her home town's Capital of Culture celebrations.
In January 2008, Margi joined Liverpool's newest talk radio station City Talk 105.9, presenting a late night show on Saturday evenings from 10pm.
Margi is shortly due to return to a prime-time starring role in the second series of the hit British comedy Benidorm
Benidorm
Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean....
on ITV in 2008 and reprised her role as Jackie Dobbs
Jackie Dobbs
Jacqueline "Jackie" Dobbs, played by Margi Clarke, is a fictional character in the soap opera, Coronation Street. She was introduced in 1998, but written out in 1999 due to the personal problems of the actress who played her. Nine years later, in 2008, the character was reintroduced, once again...
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...
on 2 January 2009, and again on 22 February 2010.
Also in February 2010 Clarke appeared with her daughter Rowan in an episode of the BBC
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...
's Celebrity Cash in the Attic
Cash in the Attic
Cash in the Attic, also Cash in the Celebrity Attic, is a UK television show on the BBC. The show, made by , premièred in 2002 and has run for sixteen series; as of February 2010, the seventeenth series is currently in production, along with the fifth celebrity series...
.
Margi appeared in 'Scousers in St Helens' on 26 October 2010 alongside Tina Malone
Tina Malone
Tina Malone is an English actress, writer, director and producer, who is probably best known for playing the brash, belligerent, foul-mouthed Mimi Maguire on Shameless. She also played the role of Mo McGee on Brookside and a nurse called Bobbie on Victoria Wood's dinnerladies...
, Billy Butler
Billy Butler (DJ)
Billy Butler is a radio presenter on BBC Radio Merseyside. In the 1960s he was a DJ at the Cavern Club and has presented TV shows such as FAX and the magazine programme What the Butler Sees...
and many, many more. In late 2010, she recorded many music tracks such as Like A Memory and Holographic Disco which are now available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and in November 2010 she released her long awaited no holds barred biography "Margi Clarke - Now You See Me". She has also appeared in an episode of the BBC show Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
in May 2011 and participated in the 2011 series of Celebrity MasterChef.