Sheila Fearn

Last updated

Sheila Fearn
Born (1940-10-03) 3 October 1940 (age 83)
Leicester, England
OccupationActress
Years active1957–1988

Sheila Fearn (born 3 October 1940 in Leicester) is an English retired actress best known for playing Audrey, the sister of Terry Collier in BBC situation comedies The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? , and also later on as Ann Fourmile, the next door neighbour in the Thames Television sitcom George and Mildred .

Contents

Early life

Fearn attended Gateway Girls Grammar School on Elbow Lane in Leicester, which closed in 1960.

Career

On film, Fearn appeared in Billy Liar (1963), Catch Us If You Can (1965) and Time Bandits (1981), as well as the film versions of both The Likely Lads (1976) and George and Mildred (1980). Fearn's other television credits include Adam Adamant Lives! , Paul Temple , Crown Court , East of Ipswich by Michael Palin, Emergency Ward 10 , Thriller (1 episode, 1974), Walter , Z-Cars and The Avengers . She also played Freddie, a girlfriend of Ronnie Corbett's character Timothy, in Sorry! She also appeared many times with The Scaffold.

Likely Lads writer Ian La Frenais said of her "she was sexy and funny and she knew John Lennon. Sheila always found time for everyone, and I now think of her and Audrey with great affection". [1]

Fearn retired from acting in 1988 aged 48 after breaking a leg during a fall from a mountain, leaving her with a pronounced limp, which made her believe casting directors would no longer be inclined to employ her.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1963 Coronation Street Gloria Dee2 episodes
1963 Billy Liar TelephonistUncredited
1963–64 Emergency Ward 10 Nurse Elizabeth Benskin7 episodes
1964 A Hard Day's Night Makeup-ladyUncredited
1964–66 The Likely Lads Audrey Collier 9 episodes
1965–76 Z-Cars Greer Hatton / Gwen Newcombe / Josie Benson / Lucy Morrison5 episodes
1965 The Wednesday Play Ann JohnsonEpisode: "Wear a Very Big Hat"
1965 Catch Us If You Can ShirleyUncredited
1965 Dixon of Dock Green Pat RogersEpisode: "The Intruders"
1965–66The Big SpenderPolly6 episodes
1966 Weavers Green Sue Patterson3 episodes
1966 Adam Adamant Lives! SusieEpisode: "Death Has a Thousand Faces"
1966 Drama 61-67 Loretta MaysEpisode: "Drama '66: A Hero of Modern Industry"
1967 Armchair Theatre RomaEpisode: "A World of Time"
1967 No Hiding Place Jennifer HemlynEpisode: "A Murder Is a Murder"
1967 The Beverly Hillbillies Young ladyEpisode: "Clampett Castle"
1967 The Avengers JennyEpisode: "Murdersville"
1968 Public Eye Valerie KitsonEpisode: "If This Is Lucky, I'd Rather Be Jonah"
1968 The Expert Jean ChambersEpisode: "Nice Day"
1969Barrister at LawCatherine BrentTV movie
1969 Special Branch Det. Sgt. Sarah GiffordEpisode: "The Children of Delight"
1969 Hadleigh Shirley SpenceEpisode: "For Those in Peril"
1970 Paul Temple Leda BaileyEpisode: "The Man from the Sea"
1971TrialGwen ChappellEpisode: "Good People"
1972 Thirty-Minute Theatre AudreyEpisode: "An Arrow for Little Audrey"
1972 New Scotland Yard Joan PrenticeEpisode: "And When You're Wrong"
1972–74 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? Audrey Collier 11 episodes
1973 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Barbara11 episodes
1973 Love Story SallyEpisode: "Walter"
1974 Thriller Prudence ClaireEpisode: "Sign It Death"
1975 Spy Trap Mrs. ChurchEpisode: "A Nice Place to Live"
1975 Crown Court Mrs. Deborah ToddEpisode: "A Nice Place to Live"
1976 The Likely Lads Audrey Collier
1976–80 George and Mildred Ann Fourmile38 episodes
1977–78 The Flockton Flyer Kathy Carter6 episodes
1978ParablesCarol WibberleyEpisode: "Neighbours"
1980 George and Mildred Ann Fourmile
1981 Time Bandits Kevin's mother
1982 Sorry! Freddie3 episodes
1987 Screen Two Mrs HargreavesEpisode: "East of Ipswich"
1988 News at Twelve Iris Swindley6 episodes, (final appearance)

Related Research Articles

<i>The Likely Lads</i> British TV sitcom (1964–1966)

The Likely Lads is a 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. However, only ten of these episodes have survived.

<i>Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?</i> British TV sitcom (1973–1974)

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 26 television episodes over two series, and a subsequent 45-minute Christmas special was aired on 24 December 1974. The show won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Situation Comedy in 1974.

<i>Auf Wiedersehen, Pet</i> British television comedy drama series (1983–2004)

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in Düsseldorf. The series was created by Franc Roddam after an idea from Mick Connell, a bricklayer from Stockton-on-Tees, and mostly written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who also wrote The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Porridge. It starred Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Christopher Fairbank, Pat Roach and Gary Holton, with Noel Clarke replacing Holton for series three and four and the two-part finale. The series were broadcast on ITV in 1983–1984 and 1986. After a sixteen-year gap, two series and a Christmas special were shown on BBC One in 2002 and 2004.

<i>George and Mildred</i> British TV sitcom (1976–1979)

George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from Man About the House, and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple George and Mildred Roper. The premise of the series had George and Mildred leaving their flat as depicted in Man About the House and moving to a modern, upmarket housing estate in Hampton Wick. Their arrival horrifies their snobbish neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile, a middle-class estate agent who fears the Ropers' presence will devalue his home.

Dick Clement is an English writer, director and producer. He became known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais for television series including The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Ian La Frenais is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge and its sequel Going Straight, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

James Christopher Bolam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Arthur Gilder in Born and Bred, Jack Halford in New Tricks and the title character of Grandpa in the CBeebies programme Grandpa in My Pocket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carole Ann Ford</span> British actress (born 1940)

Carole Ann Lillian Ford is a British actress best known for her roles as Susan Foreman in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and as Bettina in the 1962 film adaptation of The Day of the Triffids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Bewes</span> British actor (1937–2017)

Rodney Bewes was an English television actor and writer who portrayed Bob Ferris in the BBC television sitcom The Likely Lads (1964–66) and its colour sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973–74). Bewes' later career was of a much lower profile, but he continued to work as a stage actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigit Forsyth</span> British actress (1940–2023)

Brigit Dorothea Mills, better known by her stage name Brigit Forsyth, was an English-born Scottish actress, best known for her roles as Thelma Ferris in the BBC comedy Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Helen Yeldham in the ITV drama Boon. From 2013 to 2019, Forsyth appeared in the BBC comedy Still Open All Hours.

Stephanie Turner is an English actress. She is best known for the lead role of Inspector Jean Darblay in the first three series of the 1980s television BBC police drama Juliet Bravo (1980–82).

<i>The Likely Lads</i> (film) 1976 British comedy film directed by Michael Tuchner

The Likely Lads is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Michael Tuchner, starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. It is a spin-off from Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, although it shares its title with the earlier 1960s British television series The Likely Lads, of which Whatever was the sequel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Collier</span> Fictional character

Terence Daniel Collier is a character in British sitcoms The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, and The Likely Lads film. He is played by Sunderland-born actor James Bolam.

<i>George and Mildred</i> (film) 1980 British comedy film by Peter Frazer Jones

George and Mildred is a 1980 British comedy film directed by Peter Frazer Jones. It was an adaptation of the television series of the same name, with Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy reprising their roles as the two title characters. It was written by Dick Sharples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audrey Hepburn on screen and stage</span>

Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) was a British actress who had an extensive career in film, television, and on the stage. Considered by some to be one of the most beautiful women of all time, she was ranked as the third greatest screen legend in American cinema by the American Film Institute. Hepburn is also remembered as both a film and style icon. Her debut was as a flight stewardess in the 1948 Dutch film Dutch in Seven Lessons. Hepburn then performed on the British stage as a chorus girl in the musicals High Button Shoes (1948), and Sauce Tartare (1949). Two years later, she made her Broadway debut as the title character in the play Gigi. Hepburn's Hollywood debut as a runaway princess in William Wyler's Roman Holiday (1953), opposite Gregory Peck, made her a star. For her performance, she received the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. In 1954, she played a chauffeur's daughter caught in a love triangle in Billy Wilder's romantic comedy Sabrina, opposite Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. In the same year, Hepburn garnered the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for portraying the titular water nymph in the play Ondine.

Audrey Collier is a character in the television series The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads and the film adaptation of The Likely Lads. She is portrayed by Sheila Fearn throughout the series.

<i>Thick as Thieves</i> (TV series) 1974 ITV television series

Thick as Thieves is a British sitcom which was broadcast on ITV between 1 June and 20 July 1974 and produced by London Weekend. It was created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 8 episodes over one series and starred Bob Hoskins, John Thaw and Pat Ashton.

<i>Porridge</i> (2016 TV series) British TV series or programme

Porridge is a British television sitcom, starring Kevin Bishop, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC One. The show is a sequel to the original 1974 series of the same name, which both Clement and La Frenais wrote. The sitcom focuses on prison inmate, Nigel Norman Fletcher, the grandson of Norman Stanley Fletcher, who is sent to Wakeley Prison to serve a five year sentence for cyber crimes.

References

  1. Webber, Richard with Clement, Dick and La Frenais, Ian (1999). Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads. Orion. ISBN   0-7528-3793-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)