Lady Godiva, in Old English Godgifu, was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly remembered for a legend dating back to at least the 13th century, in which she rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband, Leofric, imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend, in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge is an English stage, TV and film actress and singer.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Burroughs was a British-born Canadian actress.
Pamela Ferris is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (1985), The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993), Where the Heart Is (1997–2000), Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006), and Call the Midwife (2012–2016). For her role as Peggy Snow in Where the Heart Is she was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards.
Wendi Louise Peters is an English actress. Peters began her acting career in theatre, with appearances in various productions including The Scarlet Pimpernel (1991), Guys and Dolls (1991), Into the Woods (1992), Bedroom Farce (1996) and Noises Off (1997). Then from 2003 to 2007, she portrayed Cilla Battersby-Brown in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Sylvia May Laura Syms was an English stage and screen actress. Her best-known film roles include My Teenage Daughter (1956), Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award, Ice Cold in Alex (1958), No Trees in the Street (1959), Victim (1961), and The Tamarind Seed (1974).
Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress and writer. She co-created and starred in the ITV series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–75), for which she won the 1975 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Rose Buck. She later reprised the role in the BBC's revival of the series (2010–2012).
Sonja Bennett is a Canadian actress and screenwriter. Her film debut was in the Canadian feature film Punch (2002), for which she won the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Canadian Film. She has since starred in the films Donovan's Echo, Cole, Control Alt Delete, Young People Fucking, and Fido as well as the television series Godiva's and Cold Squad. In 2014, Bennett made her screenwriting debut with Preggoland in which she also starred.
Eva Rebecca Pope is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of longest-serving headmistress Rachel Mason in Waterloo Road, and appearances in Coronation Street, Dream Team, Baby Boys and Hetty Feather.
Lady Godiva Rides Again is a 1951 British comedy film starring Pauline Stroud, George Cole and Bernadette O'Farrell, with British stars in supporting roles or making cameo appearances. It concerns a small-town English girl who wins a local beauty contest by appearing as Lady Godiva, then decides to pursue a higher profile in a national beauty pageant and as an actress.
Tom Chadbon is an English actor who has spent much of his career appearing on British television. Although principally a character actor, he has occasionally had leading or recurring roles.
Georgie Glen is a Scottish actress, known for her film and television work in both dramatic and comedic roles. Among her most popular performances are the running characters of Miss Higgins in the BBC One period drama series Call The Midwife from 2018 onwards, and of history teacher Audrey McFall in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road from 2012 to 2015.
The Godiva Procession is an annual procession in the city of Coventry, England, which re-enacts the story of Lady Godiva. Godiva Processions have been held in Coventry since the 17th century.
Lady Godiva is a 2008 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Vicky Jewson. The film, starring Phoebe Thomas, Matthew Chambers, and Natalie Walter, was shot in 2006 but went unreleased for two years. Based on the historic tale of Lady Godiva, it was set in modern-day Oxford.
Phoebe Harriet Dynevor is an English actress. Dynevor is best known for her role as Daphne, the fourth Bridgerton child, in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton (2020–2022).
Hetty Feather is a book by English author Jacqueline Wilson. It is about a young red-haired girl who was left by her mother at the Foundling Hospital as a baby and follows her story as she lives in a foster home before returning to the Foundling Hospital as a curious and bad-tempered five-year-old. There are more books to the "series" of Hetty Feather, which are recommended for ages 9–11 according to the author. CBBC created a TV series based on the book, with Isabel Clifton portraying Hetty. The programme was first aired in 2015. In the United States BYUtv has the US broadcast rights and began airing it in March 2018.
Peggy Ann Jones is an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. During a fifteen-year career with that company, beginning at age 19, she was particularly known for her interpretations of the title role in Iolanthe, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, Phoebe Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Mad Margaret in Ruddigore. She later performed on television, in films and in musicals in London's West End. Jones's best-known recordings include the role of Pitti-Sing on both the 1973 D'Oyly Carte Mikado and the company's 1966 film version of The Mikado.
Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge is an English actress and screenwriter. She is best known as the creator, head writer, and star of the BBC sitcom Fleabag (2016–2019), which was based on her one-woman show of the same name. She was also showrunner, head writer, and executive producer of the first season of Killing Eve (2018–2022), which she adapted for television.
Hetty Feather is a British children's drama series, based on the novel of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. Set in the Victorian era, it focuses on the life of the title character who was abandoned as a baby, lives first in a Foundling Hospital in London, and later works as a maid for a rich family in their home. The first series aired from 11 May 2015 to 6 July 2015. The series began airing in the United States on BYUtv in 2018. The show concluded with a three-part special which served as the series' sixth and final season.
Lady Godiva is a 1911 American silent historical drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced by Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, New York. Its scenario is based on a legendary incident in the life of Godiva, Countess of Mercia, who lived in England during the mid-11th century. Allegedly, the Anglo-Saxon noblewoman rode naked—covered only by her long hair—through the streets of Coventry to protest and abolish an oppressive tax imposed on that town's residents by her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia. The film, copies of which survive today, stars Julia Swayne Gordon in the title role with a supporting cast including Robert Maillard, Harold Wilson, and Kate Price.
