Wendy Richard
Encyclopedia
Wendy Richard, MBE (born Wendy Emerton 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English
actress best known for playing Miss Brahms
in Are You Being Served?
and Pauline Fowler
in EastEnders
. She was first educated at St George's Primary School in Mount Street, Mayfair
, west London, before attending the Royal Masonic School for Girls
in Rickmansworth
, Hertfordshire, and then the Italia Conti Academy
stage school in London.
She died on 26 February 2009 at the Harley Street
clinic where she was being treated for a third bout of breast cancer
.
in 1943. Her parents, Henry William (died in 1954) and Beatrice Reay (1910–1972) (née Cutter) Emerton, were publicans and ran the Corporation Hotel in the town. Emerton and Cutter married in Paddington in 1939. Richard left Middlesbrough as a baby, when the family moved first to Bournemouth
, then the Isle of Wight
and finally to London. Here they ran the Shepherds Tavern in Shepherd Market, where Elizabeth Taylor
and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
were said to be customers. Richard attended the local primary school, St George's, but her education was interrupted when her family moved again, this time to the Valentine Hotel at Gants Hill
, then in Essex
, now in Greater London
. Another move, to the Streatham
Park Hotel in south London, followed a few months later. It was here, in December 1954, that Richard's father committed suicide
. The actress, then 11, found his body. Her mother Beatrice never remarried, and died of liver cancer
in May 1972.
Richard was enrolled at the Royal Masonic School for Girls
at Rickmansworth
after her father's death, as Henry had been a Freemason
, and help with fees was provided by the organisation. But she found the school rather "strict," and her art mistress called her paintings and drawings "affected, rather like herself." Richard dreamed of becoming a TV continuity girl or film star from a young age and, after leaving school at 15, helped to pay her way though the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London
by working in the fashion department of Fortnum and Mason. It was at this time she decided to change her surname to Richard, because "it was short and neat." While at the Italia Conti, Richard appeared on television with Sammy Davis Jr in the ATV
programme Sammy Meets the Girls, and also in No Hiding Place
.
's 1960s soap opera
, The Newcomers
. She has also appeared in Dad's Army
(first as Edith Parrish, and later as Private Walker's girlfriend Shirley), Up Pompeii!
and The Likely Lads
. Richard also appeared in two Carry On films
, playing a small role in Carry On Matron
and a supporting part in Carry On Girls
(both these films featured future EastEnders co-star, Barbara Windsor
). In 1962, her distinct cockney
vocals also helped get her to #1 on the UK singles chart
on the single, Come Outside
by Mike Sarne
. She also appears in a scene cut from the released version of The Beatles
movie Help!
(1965).
Richard's first appearance in a television series was as a teenager in Stranger on the Shore
which debuted in 1961. The theme tune of the series was the Acker Bilk clarinet solo of the same name. In 1965 she appeared in an early black and white episode of "The Likely Lads", as a household cleaner saleswoman called Lynn. She also had a bit part the same year, episode ("Don't Nail Him Yet") of Danger Man
(aka Secret Agent) with Patrick McGoohan
. Richard's first soap role was as teenage supermarket till girl Joyce Harker in The Newcomers
which ran on BBC1 from 1965 to 1969. She is probably best known for her role in the 1970s sitcom Are You Being Served?
as Miss Shirley Brahms, a sales representative with a heavy Cockney
accent. (Richard also appeared in the Are You Being Served? sequel Grace & Favour
in 1992 and 1993.)
Richard subsequently found continued success as heroine and matriarch Pauline Fowler
on the BBC soap opera
EastEnders
, a role she played from the first episode in 1985 until the character's death at Christmas of 2006. She appeared regularly on the BBC Radio programme Just a Minute
from 1989 until 1994. On 10 July 2006, the BBC announced that Richard had decided to leave EastEnders
, after nearly 22 years in the show. An interview with The Sun
revealed that problems with the EastEnders storyline (primarily Pauline's marriage to Joe Macer
) was the main cause for her departure. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours
.
In late 2006, Richard was seen as a guest presenter on the BBC
's City Hospital series and on 31 March 2007, she presented the documentary A Tribute to John Inman
, for BBC2
. She also gave interviews for the first time in a number of years, making appearances on The Paul O'Grady Show
, Big Brother's Little Brother, Loose Women
, Parkinson
and the Biography Channel special Gloria's Greats with Gloria Hunniford
amongst others.
In April 2007, Richard announced that she would be appearing in a new role for the first time since leaving Eastenders, playing a part in a new sitcom penned by David Croft called Here Comes The Queen. The project came about after she personally asked her good friend Croft to write something for her. Richard had commented that "the part is like an older version of Miss Brahms".
In September 2007, it was announced that Richard was to join the second series of ITV1
's sitcom Benidorm
playing a “loud-mouthed, rude” wheelchair-bound character; the episodes aired in 2008.
In 2007, Richard was awarded a British Soap Award for 'Lifetime Achievement' for her role in EastEnders.
In January 2008, adverts for The Post Office
featuring Richard (as a human cannonball) began to be shown. In February, she landed the role of Mrs. Crump in the episode "A Pocket Full of Rye
" of the Marple
TV series starring Julia McKenzie
. This was to be her final role, airing in 2009.
. During the premiership of Margaret Thatcher
, Richard was a frequent and conspicuous supporter of Thatcher's policies and accomplishments. At one point the EastEnders script writers gave Richard a script in which Pauline Fowler launched into a vicious tirade against Thatcher; Richard refused to perform this sequence.
Richard was married four times. Her first marriage was to a music publisher, her second to an advertising director. Her third marriage, to a carpet fitter, took place in Westminster
, London; Her first three marriages ended in divorce. Richard later lived with John Burns, a painter and decorator 20 years her junior, in the Marylebone
area of London. They lived together from 1996, and married on 10 October 2008 at a hotel in London's Mayfair. She had no children.
in 1996; she had an operation and apparently recovered. She had a recurrence of the disease in 2002. Her cancer went into remission after years of treatment. She was given a clean bill of health in 2005. Articles about her departure from EastEnders
suggest her health challenges did not play any role in her decision to leave the series and that it was because her character in the soap remarried, something she disagreed with.
Richard later said she left because of stress and that she had been stress-free since leaving the show. She kept in touch with co-stars Natalie Cassidy
, Todd Carty
, and James Alexandrou
after leaving.
It was reported in the Sunday Express on 5 October 2008 that Wendy Richard had been diagnosed with breast cancer again. After seeing her oncologist
in January 2008, cancer cells were found in her left armpit. Further investigation showed that this had metastasis
ed to her left kidney and bones, including her spine and left ribs.
She made a half hour programme called Wendy Richard: To Tell You the Truth, documenting the last three months of her life; it was broadcast on BBC1 on 19 March 2009.
, London. Her husband John Burns was at her bedside. Mr Francis said: "She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humour right to the end." On the day of her death, that evening's episode of EastEnders and a memorial programme, both dedicated to Richard, were broadcast on BBC One. Richard's funeral, on 9 March 2009 at St Marylebone Parish Church
, was attended by many in the media industry, and many fans. She was later cremated at a private service.
In July 2009, David Croft, the creator of Are You Being Served?
, unveiled a Heritage Foundation commemorative plaque
at The Shepherds Tavern in London, which Richard's parents had run. A number of entertainers were there to pay their respects on this occasion.
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 best known for playing Miss Brahms
Miss Brahms
Miss Shirley Brahms is a fictional character from the BBC1 comedy show, Are You Being Served?. She was played by Wendy Richard.-Role:Miss Brahms is the junior ladieswear assistant. Known for her Cockney accent, Miss Brahms is sometimes unintelligible to the person with whom she is speaking, but...
in 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...
and Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. She was first educated at St George's Primary School in Mount Street, Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, west London, before attending the Royal Masonic School for Girls
Royal Masonic School
The Royal Masonic School for Girls is an independent school in Rickmansworth, England with both day and boarding pupils. The school was instituted in 1788, with the aim of maintaining the daughters of indigent Freemasons, unable through death, illness, or incapacitation to support their families...
in Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles west of Watford.The town has a population of around 15,000 people and lies on the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne, at the northern end of the Colne Valley regional park.Rickmansworth is a small town in...
, Hertfordshire, and then 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...
stage school in London.
She died on 26 February 2009 at the Harley Street
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...
clinic where she was being treated for a third bout of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
.
Family and early life
Richard, an only child, was born in MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
in 1943. Her parents, Henry William (died in 1954) and Beatrice Reay (1910–1972) (née Cutter) Emerton, were publicans and ran the Corporation Hotel in the town. Emerton and Cutter married in Paddington in 1939. Richard left Middlesbrough as a baby, when the family moved first to 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...
, then the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
and finally to London. Here they ran the Shepherds Tavern in Shepherd Market, where Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, GCVO, RDI is an English photographer and film maker. He was married to Princess Margaret, younger daughter of King George VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II....
were said to be customers. Richard attended the local primary school, St George's, but her education was interrupted when her family moved again, this time to the Valentine Hotel at Gants Hill
Gants Hill
Gants Hill is a district of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge in northeast London, England. It is a suburban development situated north east of Charing Cross....
, then in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, now in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
. Another move, to the Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
Park Hotel in south London, followed a few months later. It was here, in December 1954, that Richard's father committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. The actress, then 11, found his body. Her mother Beatrice never remarried, and died of liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
in May 1972.
Richard was enrolled at the Royal Masonic School for Girls
Royal Masonic School
The Royal Masonic School for Girls is an independent school in Rickmansworth, England with both day and boarding pupils. The school was instituted in 1788, with the aim of maintaining the daughters of indigent Freemasons, unable through death, illness, or incapacitation to support their families...
at Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles west of Watford.The town has a population of around 15,000 people and lies on the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne, at the northern end of the Colne Valley regional park.Rickmansworth is a small town in...
after her father's death, as Henry had been a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, and help with fees was provided by the organisation. But she found the school rather "strict," and her art mistress called her paintings and drawings "affected, rather like herself." Richard dreamed of becoming a TV continuity girl or film star from a young age and, after leaving school at 15, helped to pay her way though the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts 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...
by working in the fashion department of Fortnum and Mason. It was at this time she decided to change her surname to Richard, because "it was short and neat." While at the Italia Conti, Richard appeared on television with Sammy Davis Jr in the ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
programme Sammy Meets the Girls, and also in No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967....
.
Career
Richard first became familiar to TV audiences playing Joyce Harker, a regular in the BBCBBC
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 1960s 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,...
, The Newcomers
The Newcomers (TV series)
The Newcomers was a late 1960s BBC soap opera which dealt with the subject of a London family, the Coopers, who moved to a housing estate in the fictional country town of Angleton. It was broadcast in bi-weekly half hour episodes from 5 October 1965 until 28 November 1969...
. She has also appeared in Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
(first as Edith Parrish, and later as Private Walker's girlfriend Shirley), Up Pompeii!
Up Pompeii!
Up Pompeii! is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the Carry On films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and...
and The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads was a black-and-white British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966...
. Richard also appeared in two 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....
, playing a small role in Carry On Matron
Carry On Matron
Carry On Matron is the twenty-third Carry On film. It was released in 1972. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Connor. This was the last Carry on... film for Terry Scott after appearing...
and a supporting part in Carry On Girls
Carry On Girls
Carry On Girls is the 25th Carry On film, released in Britain in 1973. The film is notable for being the first not to feature either Kenneth Williams or Charles Hawtrey. Williams was appearing in a West End play, My Fat Friend. Hawtrey had been dropped from the series the year before...
(both these films featured future EastEnders co-star, Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
). In 1962, her distinct cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
vocals also helped get her to #1 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on the single, Come Outside
Come Outside (song)
"Come Outside" was a number one in the UK Singles Chart in 1962 for Mike Sarne and actress Wendy Richard who provided vocals.A cover version of the song by Judge Dread, with more explicit lyrics than the original, was a UK Top 20 hit in 1975....
by Mike Sarne
Mike Sarne
Mike Sarne is a British actor, director and former pop singer.Sarne was born Michael Scheuer at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London. Active in the 1960s as singer, he is best known for his 1962 UK comedy number one hit, "Come Outside"...
. She also appears in a scene cut from the released version of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
movie Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
(1965).
Richard's first appearance in a television series was as a teenager in Stranger on the Shore
Stranger on the Shore (TV serial)
Stranger on the Shore is a BBC television drama serial first broadcast in five parts in 1961.Produced by Kevin Sheldon and written by Ruth Sheila Hodgson, the five-episode series portrays Marie-Hélène Ronsin, a young French teenager, on her first trip to England as an au pair...
which debuted in 1961. The theme tune of the series was the Acker Bilk clarinet solo of the same name. In 1965 she appeared in an early black and white episode of "The Likely Lads", as a household cleaner saleswoman called Lynn. She also had a bit part the same year, episode ("Don't Nail Him Yet") of Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
(aka Secret Agent) with Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
. Richard's first soap role was as teenage supermarket till girl Joyce Harker in The Newcomers
The Newcomers (TV series)
The Newcomers was a late 1960s BBC soap opera which dealt with the subject of a London family, the Coopers, who moved to a housing estate in the fictional country town of Angleton. It was broadcast in bi-weekly half hour episodes from 5 October 1965 until 28 November 1969...
which ran on BBC1 from 1965 to 1969. She is probably best known for her role in the 1970s sitcom 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...
as Miss Shirley Brahms, a sales representative with a heavy Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
accent. (Richard also appeared in the Are You Being Served? sequel Grace & Favour
Grace & Favour
Grace & Favour is a British sitcom sequel to the long-running series Are You Being Served? It aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993 and marked the return of Are You Being Served? creators and writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.-History:The idea of a spinoff was originally suggested by...
in 1992 and 1993.)
Richard subsequently found continued success as heroine and matriarch Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
on the BBC 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,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, a role she played from the first episode in 1985 until the character's death at Christmas of 2006. She appeared regularly on the BBC Radio programme Just a Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
from 1989 until 1994. On 10 July 2006, the BBC announced that Richard had decided to leave EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, after nearly 22 years in the show. An interview with The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
revealed that problems with the EastEnders storyline (primarily Pauline's marriage to Joe Macer
Joe Macer
Joseph "Joe" Macer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ray Brooks. He made his first appearance on 19 August 2005 and left the show on 26 January 2007.-Storylines:...
) was the main cause for her departure. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
.
In late 2006, Richard was seen as a guest presenter on 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 City Hospital series and on 31 March 2007, she presented the documentary A Tribute to John Inman
John Inman
Frederick John Inman was an English actor best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served?, a British sitcom in the 1970s and 1980s. Inman was also well known in the United Kingdom as a pantomime dame....
, for BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. She also gave interviews for the first time in a number of years, making appearances on The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
, Big Brother's Little Brother, Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
, Parkinson
Parkinson (TV series)
Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Sir Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and on ITV from 2004 to 2007.-Background:...
and the Biography Channel special Gloria's Greats with Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.-Biography:...
amongst others.
In April 2007, Richard announced that she would be appearing in a new role for the first time since leaving Eastenders, playing a part in a new sitcom penned by David Croft called Here Comes The Queen. The project came about after she personally asked her good friend Croft to write something for her. Richard had commented that "the part is like an older version of Miss Brahms".
In September 2007, it was announced that Richard was to join the second series of 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...
's sitcom Benidorm
Benidorm (TV series)
Benidorm is an award-winning British television comedy-drama that is produced by Tiger Aspect for ITV and written by Derren Litten, co-writer of The Catherine Tate Show, exploiting the working-class stereotype of this popular tourist destination....
playing a “loud-mouthed, rude” wheelchair-bound character; the episodes aired in 2008.
In 2007, Richard was awarded a British Soap Award for 'Lifetime Achievement' for her role in EastEnders.
In January 2008, adverts for The Post Office
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
featuring Richard (as a human cannonball) began to be shown. In February, she landed the role of Mrs. Crump in the episode "A Pocket Full of Rye
A Pocket Full of Rye
A Pocket Full of Rye is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 9, 1953, and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at ten shillings and sixpence and the US edition at $2.75...
" of the Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
TV series starring Julia McKenzie
Julia McKenzie
Julia McKenzie is an English actress, singer, and theatre director. She is best-known for her performance in Fresh Fields, but to current television audiences, she is best known for her role as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple...
. This was to be her final role, airing in 2009.
Personal life
She was a supporter of the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. During the premiership of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Richard was a frequent and conspicuous supporter of Thatcher's policies and accomplishments. At one point the EastEnders script writers gave Richard a script in which Pauline Fowler launched into a vicious tirade against Thatcher; Richard refused to perform this sequence.
Richard was married four times. Her first marriage was to a music publisher, her second to an advertising director. Her third marriage, to a carpet fitter, took place in Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, London; Her first three marriages ended in divorce. Richard later lived with John Burns, a painter and decorator 20 years her junior, in the Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
area of London. They lived together from 1996, and married on 10 October 2008 at a hotel in London's Mayfair. She had no children.
Cancer
Richard was first diagnosed with breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
in 1996; she had an operation and apparently recovered. She had a recurrence of the disease in 2002. Her cancer went into remission after years of treatment. She was given a clean bill of health in 2005. Articles about her departure from EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
suggest her health challenges did not play any role in her decision to leave the series and that it was because her character in the soap remarried, something she disagreed with.
Richard later said she left because of stress and that she had been stress-free since leaving the show. She kept in touch with co-stars Natalie Cassidy
Natalie Cassidy
Natalie Ann Cassidy is a British actress, most commonly known for appearing in the television soap EastEnders where she played Sonia Jackson for many years. She has also appeared in the BBC Two sitcom Psychoville and was a contestant on the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing.-Career:As a...
, Todd Carty
Todd Carty
Todd Carty is an Irish actor and director, who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage work has varied from pantomime to serious drama, as well as radio plays, voiceovers, commercials, narrations, and films...
, and James Alexandrou
James Alexandrou
James Alekos Alexandrou is an English actor of Greek Cypriot descent, best known for playing Martin Fowler in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.-Early life:...
after leaving.
It was reported in the Sunday Express on 5 October 2008 that Wendy Richard had been diagnosed with breast cancer again. After seeing her oncologist
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
in January 2008, cancer cells were found in her left armpit. Further investigation showed that this had metastasis
Metastasis
Metastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...
ed to her left kidney and bones, including her spine and left ribs.
She made a half hour programme called Wendy Richard: To Tell You the Truth, documenting the last three months of her life; it was broadcast on BBC1 on 19 March 2009.
Death
Wendy Richard's agent Kevin Francis reported she had died on 26 February 2009 of breast cancer, age 65, at a clinic on Harley StreetHarley Street
Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...
, London. Her husband John Burns was at her bedside. Mr Francis said: "She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humour right to the end." On the day of her death, that evening's episode of EastEnders and a memorial programme, both dedicated to Richard, were broadcast on BBC One. Richard's funeral, on 9 March 2009 at St Marylebone Parish Church
St Marylebone Parish Church
-First church:The first church for the parish was built in the vicinity of the present Marble Arch c.1200, and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.-Second church:...
, was attended by many in the media industry, and many fans. She was later cremated at a private service.
In July 2009, David Croft, the creator of 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...
, unveiled a Heritage Foundation commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
at The Shepherds Tavern in London, which Richard's parents had run. A number of entertainers were there to pay their respects on this occasion.