Bonnie Langford

Last updated

Bonnie Langford
Bonnie Langford 2016.jpg
Langford in 2016
Born
Bonita Melody Lysette Langford

(1964-07-22) 22 July 1964 (age 59)
Education Arts Educational Schools
St. Catherine's School, Twickenham
Alma mater Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Occupations
  • Actress
  • dancer
  • singer
Years active1970–present
Television
Spouse
Paul Grunert
(m. 1995;div. 2015)
Children1
Relatives
Website www.bonnielangford.co.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Bonita Melody Lysette Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series Just William .

Contents

In the 1980s, she played companion Mel Bush in Doctor Who , a role she returned to in the 2020s. She has also been known for appearing in various musicals in the West End and on Broadway, including shows such as Peter Pan , Cats , The Pirates of Penzance and Chicago . From 2015 to 2018, she played Carmel Kazemi on the BBC soap opera EastEnders , for which she received the 2016 British Soap Award for Best Newcomer.

Early life and career

Langford was born on 22 July 1964, and grew up in Surrey. [1] She attended the Arts Educational School, St Catherine's School, Twickenham and the Italia Conti Academy stage school. She first came to public attention when, aged six years old, she won the talent show Opportunity Knocks . This led to the role of Scarlett O'Hara's daughter in the London production of Scarlett (1972), [2] and work in the 1974 Broadway revival of Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury, in the 1976 film Bugsy Malone , the 1977 film Wombling Free , and to still greater fame playing Violet Elizabeth Bott in the 1977–78 television series Just William . During this time, she was appearing as a regular on a children's prime-time show made by Yorkshire Television called Junior Showtime , along with child stars Lena Zavaroni, Neil Reid, Perry Cree, and Glynn Poole among others. [2]

Career

Doctor Who

Between 1986 and 1987, Langford played the role of Mel, companion to both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors in the classic science fiction series Doctor Who . She returned to the role in 1993 for Dimensions in Time , a special charity Doctor Who / EastEnders crossover episode as part of the BBC's Children in Need . She has continued to reprise the role in several audio dramas alongside the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy Doctors [3] and in a cameo in the episode "The Power of the Doctor". [4]

In 2023, it was announced that Langford would be returning to the series in the revival’s fourteenth series, reprising her role as a guest star, alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday. [5] [6]

Dancing

Langford was a featured dancer in BBC One's popular light entertainment series The Hot Shoe Show which she co-presented with Wayne Sleep. On 23 October 2005, she performed in Children Will Listen , a 75th birthday tribute to Stephen Sondheim at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She is also a panto regular; recent credits include Peter in Peter Pan at the Richmond Theatre in Richmond, London (2008–2009); and Fairy Snow in Cinderella at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford (2013–2014). [1]

Dancing on Ice

In 2006, Langford was a celebrity contestant in the first series of ITV's Dancing on Ice , partnering professional figure skater Matt Evers. Their routines were characterised by the dramatic lifts and tricks they performed and were amongst the most ambitious in the competitions. Viewers saw her bang her head as she was spun on the ice during rehearsals, illustrating the danger of some of the moves they were attempting. Their appearances were also notable for the differing reception they received from the panel of judges (which consistently voted them highly, awarding them the highest total scores and the only two maximum scores from individual judges) and the voting public (who twice placed them in the bottom two pairs, forcing a "skate off" to remain in the competition). They finished in third place overall. [7]

Langford and Evers appeared again on the programme in the one-off Champion of Champions show which followed series two. They were scored second overall by the judging panel but again the public vote was less favourable and they were amongst the four teams eliminated in the first round of the competition. Langford then toured with Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice: The Tour in 2007. [8]

Langford took part in the Dancing on Ice: The Tour in April and May 2008. [9]

In 2014, Bonnie returned to Dancing on Ice for the ninth and final series (10 Week run), which saw the favourite celebrities from previous series. This time she was partnered with professional ice skater Andrei Lipanov. She was eliminated in Week 5 after losing out to Sam Attwater and his fiancé Vicky Ogden. In February 2014 she was announced as one of eight celebrities that would be appearing in Torvill & Deans Dancing on Ice: The Final Tour between March & April 2014.

Since Dancing on Ice

Langford's appearance on Dancing on Ice reinvigorated her career. She returned to the West End theatre in 2006 playing the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago .

In 2006 and 2007, Langford appeared in the Birmingham and Plymouth tours of Guys and Dolls playing Miss Adelaide Adams, a dance hall hostess.

In July 2007, Langford was a judge on the ITV series Baby Ballroom: The Championship .

In 2009 and 2010, she again appeared in Chicago as Roxie Hart.

Langford played the role of Roz in the first UK tour production of the Broadway musical, 9 to 5 , which was launched at the Opera House, Manchester on 12 October 2012. [10]

In 2018 she took over the leading role of Dorothy Brock in the West End revival of 42nd Street, until the show closed on 5 January 2019; [11] a recording from the end of the 2018 run aired as part of PBS's Great Performances’ third annual “Broadway’s Best” lineup in November 2019. [12]

In 2021, Langford appeared on The Masked Dancer , masked as Squirrel. She reached the final and was announced as the runner up on 5 June. [13]

EastEnders

On 5 April 2015, it was announced that Langford had joined long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders for a guest role, later promoted to a regular role as character Carmel Kazemi, the mother of established character, Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami). Carmel is described as an "overly protective" and "outspoken" mother. Commenting on the casting, Langford said: "I’m so thrilled and delighted to be part of EastEnders. I’m a great fan of the show and think the recent 30th Anniversary was sensational and shows just how good British television can be. To be part of this family is an absolute privilege." [14]

Personal life

Langford is the aunt of actresses Summer, Scarlett, Zizi, and Saskia Strallen. [15]

She married Paul Grunert in 1995, with whom she has one daughter. They divorced in 2015. [1] [16]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1976 Bugsy Malone Lena Marelli
1977 Wombling Free Felicity Kim Frogmorton

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1970 Opportunity Knocks Herself
1973 Junior Showtime TillyEpisode: "Christmas Pantomime: Babes in the Wood"
1977–1978 Just William Violet Elizabeth Bott17 episodes
1978 Lena and Bonnie HerselfTV special
1982 The Morecambe & Wise Show SingerEpisode #3.1
1982–1983, 1990 The Royal Variety Performance Herself
1983 The Sooty Show Episode: "The Dancer"
1983–1984The Hot Shoe ShowDancerAll 11 episodes
1984–1985 The Saturday Starship Presenter
1984 The Keith Harris Show Herself; guest
1985 Whose Baby? Panelist
1986 This Is Your Life Herself; subject
1986–1987, 2022–2024 Doctor Who Melanie Bush 22 episodes:
1987 Emu's Wide World Herself; guest
Open AirHerself
Saturday Superstore
1990 The Little and Large Show VariousEpisode #10.4
1991 Tonight at 8.30 EmilyEpisode: "Family Album"
1992, 1997 Surprise, Surprise
1993 Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time Melanie BushPart One
1994Showstoppers
1999 Goodnight Sweetheart Nancy PotterEpisode: "How I Won the War"
1999–2000 Esther Herself; guest2 episodes
2000 Mirrorball Singer
2006 Marple Betty JohnsonEpisode: "By the Pricking of My Thumbs"
Dancing on Ice Herself; contestantContestant; finished 3rd
The Catherine Tate Show Herself; guest
School's Out
Strictly Dance Fever Advisor to contestants
2007 Hider in the House
Supermarket Sweep
Baby Ballroom: The Championship Herself; judge
Dancing on Ice: Champion of Champions HerselfContestant; finished 3rd
2008 Hotel Babylon Scarlett SeniorEpisode #3.4
Britannia High Herself; guest
2013 The Spa Bonnie LangfordEpisode: "Love Is a Losing Game"
2014Dancing on IceHerself; contestant
Pointless Celebrities
2015–2018 EastEnders Carmel Kazemi 351 episodes
2015–2016 Children in Need 2 episodes
2021 The Masked Dancer Squirrel

Webcasts

YearTitleRoleNotes
2021 24 Carat Mel Bush Mini-episode as part of the release of Doctor Who: The Collection Season 24

Theatre and tour appearances

YearTitleRoleRef.
1972Gone with the Wind [17]
1973–1974 Gypsy Baby June
1981, 1983 Cats Rumpleteazer
1983–1985, 1989–1990 The Pirates of Penzance Mabel & Kate
1984 42nd Street Peggy Sawyer
1985–1986 Peter Pan Peter Pan
1985 Me and My Girl Sally Smith
1987 Charlie Girl Charlie
1990Queen Mother's 90th Birthday Gala PerformanceHerself
1991 Time of My Life Jan Cheyney
1993Hollywood and Broadway IIHerself, Wayne Sleep, Kim Criswell
1998 Oklahoma! Ado Annie
Sweet Charity Charity Hope Valentine
2001Bonnie Langford Now: And Her MusiciansHerself
2002Big Night Out at The Little Theatre
2004 Fosse Headline Performer
2005Children Will Listen
Pete 'N' MeJudy
2006–2010 Chicago Roxie Hart
2006–2007Guys and DollsMiss Adelaide
2007 Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice: The Tour 2007 Herself
Short and Curly
2008 Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice: The Tour 2008
2010The Oscar Show
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
2010–2011Brits Off Broadway
2012–2014 Spamalot The Lady of the Lake
2012The Night of 1,000 VoicesHerself
2014 Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice: The Tour 2014
2014–2015Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical)Muriel Eubanks
2015 Charles Strouse with Bonnie LangfordHerself
Hey, Old Friends!
2016, 2019An Evening with Bonnie Langford
2016Singular Sensations
2018–2019 42nd Street Dorothy Brock
2019–2020 9 to 5 Roz Keith
2021The Show Must Go On!Herself
2022 Anything Goes Evangeline Harcourt
2023 Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends Herself / Various

Pantomime appearances

YearTitleRoleRef.
1980, 2003–2004 Dick Whittington Dick Whittington [17]
1984–1985, 1989–1991 Cinderella Cinderella
1993–1994, 2000–2001 Jack and the Beanstalk Jack
1995–1997, 2001–2002 Aladdin Aladdin
2002–2003, 2008–2009 Peter Pan Peter Pan
2004 Mother Goose Prince
2005–2006 Cinderella Prince Charming
2011–2012 Jack and the Beanstalk Fairy Fuchsia
2013–2014 Cinderella Fairy Snow
2021–2022 Sleeping Beauty Lilac Fairy

Discography

Albums

Audio

Key
Denotes works that have not yet been released
YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2000 The Fires of Vulcan Mel Bush Doctor Who audio stories [18]
2001 The One Doctor
2002 Bang-Bang-a-Boom!
2003 Flip-Flop
He Jests at Scars
Zagreus
2005 The Juggernauts
Catch-1782
Unregenerate!
Thicker than Water
2006 Red
2007 The Wishing Beast & The Vanity Box
2013 The Wrong Doctors
Spaceport Fear
The Seeds of War
2015We are the Daleks
The Warehouse
Terror of the Sontarans
The Last Adventure
2016A Life of Crime
Fiesta of the Damned
Maker of Demons
2017The High Price of Parking
The Blood Furnace
The Silurian Candidate
2018Red Planets
The Dispossessed
The Quantum Possibility Engine
2022Mind of the Hodiac
Water Worlds
Silver and Ice
Purity Undreamed
2023Broken Memories

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2006 12th National Television Awards Most Popular TV ContenderDancing on IceNominated [19]
2015 Inside Soap Awards Best NewcomerEastEndersNominated [20]
2016 The British Soap Awards Best Newcomer EastEndersWon [21]
2018Inside Soap AwardsBest ActressEastEndersShortlisted [22]
2018I Talk Telly AwardsBest Soap PerformanceEastEndersNominated [23]
2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Actor (Female)EastEndersFifth [24]
2019 24th National Television Awards Serial Drama PerformanceEastEndersShortlisted [25]
2019Inside Soap AwardsBest ExitEastEndersShortlisted [26]

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References

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  15. "Bonnie Langford to return to Broadway". The Telegraph. 13 June 2009.(subscription required)
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