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Susan Penhaligon

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Susan Penhaligon
Born (1949-07-03) 3 July 1949 (age 75)
Manila, Philippines
OccupationActress
Years active1971–present
Spouses
Nicholas Loukes
​
​
(m. 1971; div. 1972)​
​
​
(m. 1974; div. 1981)​
​
​
(m. 1986; div. 1992)​
PartnerDuncan Preston (1997–present)
Children1
RelativesDavid Penhaligon (cousin)

Susan Penhaligon (born 3 July 1949) is an English actress and writer known for her role in the drama series Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976), and for playing Helen Barker in the sitcom A Fine Romance (1981–1984).

She appeared in the soap opera Emmerdale as Jean Hope in 2006, and her film appearances include Under Milk Wood (1972); No Sex Please, We're British (1973); The Land That Time Forgot (1974); The Uncanny (1977); Paul Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange (1977) and as Lucy Westenra in Count Dracula (1977). She has also had a substantial stage career.

Tagged the "British Bardot" in the 1970s, she was described by Clive Aslet in The Daily Telegraph as "the face of the decade".[1]

Early life and education

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Penhaligon was the eldest child of Bill, an engineer for the Shell Oil Company, and Jean Penhaligon who ran a bed and breakfast. Born in Manila where her father was working, Penhaligon returned with her family to the UK aged six and spent her formative years living in St Ives and Falmouth in Cornwall. Aged 11 she was sent to boarding school in Bristol where her acting ambitions were encouraged. She has two brothers and a sister in the USA. After her parents divorced, her father went to live in San Francisco. She was a cousin of the late David Penhaligon, a former Liberal member of parliament in Cornwall.[2]

While training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art,[3] Penhaligon shared a flat with Peter Hammill; she is mentioned in the lyrics of the Van der Graaf Generator song "Refugees" and the Hammill song "Easy to Slip Away".[4]

Acting career

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Theatre

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Penhaligon's first appearance in the theatre was playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing in a two weekly repertory company.[5]

In the West End she appeared in a 1987 production of Three Sisters at the Albery Theatre.[6] In 1982, she played a leading part in The Real Thing at the Strand Theatre, Aldwych (now called the Novello). She appeared in The Maintenance Man at the Comedy Theatre in 1987, and played Curley’s Wife in a 1984 production of Of Mice and Men at the Mermaid Theatre.[7] She has toured the UK extensively, appearing in productions of The Constant Wife (Richmond Theatre, 2004),[8] Mrs. Warren's Profession (Richmond Theatre, 2009),[9] Death Trap (Theatre Royal, Norwich, 2002),[10] Agatha Christie's Verdict (Floral Pavilion Theatre, 2011),[5] Dangerous Obsession with Simon Ward (Theatre Royal, Bath, 1989),[11] and Lord Arthur Saville's Crime by Oscar Wilde (Richmond Theatre, 2005).[12]

She was in Time and the Conways, Lower Depths and The Cherry Orchard, and played a leading part in Arthur Miller's Broken Glass at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

In the Edinburgh Festival Fringe she appeared in the premiere of Dario Fo's Abduction Diana and she appeared in a critically acclaimed production of Misery at the King's Head Theatre and Keeping Up With the Joans with her friend Katy Manning.

Television

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Her television credits include Public Eye (1975, as Tuesday Simpson, a lesbian, would-be seductress of Julian Bradley, played by Ronald Lewis), Count Dracula (1977) with Louis Jourdan, Bouquet of Barbed Wire, Upstairs Downstairs, Tales of the Unexpected, Bergerac, Remington Steele, Wycliffe, Doctor Who, The Taming of the Shrew by the BBC Shakespeare series, Heart of the Country and A Kind of Loving. In A Fine Romance, she played Helen Barker. She has been in three episodes of Doctors and three episodes of Casualty. She also played Jean Hope in UK soap Emmerdale, for a year.[13]

Being a proud Cornish woman, there was one role Penhaligon badly wanted and auditioned for, that of Demelza in Poldark. She lost out to Welsh actress, Angharad Rees for the part of the miner's daughter and servant girl Demelza, who marries her master Ross Poldark.[14]

Film

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Penhaligon had roles in films such as Say Hello to Yesterday (1970); Private Road (1971); Under Milk Wood (1972) as Mae Rose Cottage; No Sex Please, We're British (1973); The Land That Time Forgot (1974); House of Mortal Sin (1976); Nasty Habits (1977); Paul Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange (1977) as a British military officer; The Uncanny (1977); Leopard in the Snow (1978); Patrick (1978); The Masks of Death (1984) and Top Dog (2014). She also played the role of the sole survivor of LANSA Flight 508, Juliane Koepcke in the film Miracles Still Happen (1974), directed by Giuseppe Maria Scotese.

Writing career

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Her novel For the Love of Angel, published in 2008 by Truran Books, is set in Cornwall in the 1880s.[15]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1971 Say Hello to Yesterday Girl on train uncredited
1971 Under Milk Wood Mae Rose Cottage
1971 Private Road Ann Halpern
1973 No Sex Please, We're British Penny Hunter
1974 The Last Chapter Penny
1974 Miracles Still Happen Juliane Koepcke
1974 The Land That Time Forgot Lisa Clayton
1976 House of Mortal Sin Jenny Welch
1977 Nasty Habits Felicity
1977 The Uncanny Janet
1977 Soldier of Orange Susan
1977 Count Dracula Lucy Westenra
1978 Leopard in the Snow Helen James
1978 Patrick Kathy Jacquard
1980 The Taming of the Shrew Bianca Minola
1984 The Masks of Death Miss Derwent
1999 Junk Mrs. Brogan
2013 Patrick: Evil Awakens Woman on Radio Cameo; voice
2014 Top Dog Sal
2018 The Dead Room Joan
2020 Long Way Back Angie
2021 Into the Night Mary Richards

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1970 BBC Play of the Month Maid Episode: "The Rivals"
1971 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Judy Episode: "Pandora"
1971 Play for Today Barbara Episode: "O Fat White Woman"
1971 Upstairs, Downstairs Mary Stokes Episode: "A Cry for Help"
1971 Thirty-Minute Theatre Marjory Episode: "Jenkins"
1972 Pardon My Genie Joyce Episode: "If Opportunity Knocks: I'm Out"
1972 Doctor Who Lakis Serial: "The Time Monster"
1972 The Visitors Gisela All 5 episodes
1972 Country Matters Ianthe Forrest Episode: "Craven Arms"
1973 The Regiment Annie Hassock Episode: "Troopship"
1973 Late Night Theatre Barbara Episode: "Barbara's Wedding"
1973 Once Upon a Time Episode: "Ishmael"
1973 Love Story Carol Episode: "My Brother Peter"
1974 BBC Play of the Month Isabella Episode: "The Changeling"
1974 Seven Faces of Woman Christine Episode: "Polly Put the Kettle On"
1975 Public Eye Tuesday Simpson Episode: "The Fall Guy"
1975 Play for Today Lucy Bagley Episode: "Brassneck"
1976 Shades of Greene Julia Episode: "Mortmain"
1976 Bouquet of Barbed Wire Prue Sorenson All 7 episodes
1978 BBC2 Play of the Week Secretary Episode: "Fearless Frank"
1978 Return of the Saint Emma Bartlett Episode: "The Imprudent Professor"
1979 The Dick Francis Thriller Carol Tomes Episode: "Horsenap"
1980 Ramp Ahead Suzy Wilkins TV film
1981–1984 A Fine Romance Helen 23 episodes
1982 A Kind of Loving Donna Pennyman 4 episodes
1982 Tales of the Unexpected W.P.C. Mary Bryan Episode: "Decoy"
1983 Tales of the Unexpected Mary Ashburn Episode: "Hit and Run"
1983 Heather Ann Heather Ann Lewis TV film
1984 Remington Steele Margaret Cable Episode: "Maltese Steele"
1987 Heart of the Country Natalie Harris All 4 episodes
1989 Bergerac Ruth Gardiner Episode: "Natural Enemies"
1991 Trouble in Mind Julia Charlesworth All 9 episodes
1992 Casualty Hattie Kent Episode: "Act of Faith"
1993 Teenage Health Freak Jane Episode: "#2.4"
1994 Wycliffe Mariah Penrose Episode: "The Scapegoat"
1997 The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Beth Fyfield Episode: "Thornapple"
1999 Junk Mrs Brogan TV film
2001 Doctors Carla Halliday Episode: "Kissing Babies"
2002 A Touch of Frost Pam Hartley 2 episodes
2003 Casualty Leila Morrison Episode: "Getting Through"
2006 Emmerdale Jean Hope 13 episodes
2010 Doctors Angela Linkson Episode: "Double Bogey"
2012 Doctors Daphne Morris Episode: "Out Damned Spot"
2013 Casualty Anne Pitney Episode: "Rock and a Hard Place"
2016 Doctors June Collerton Episode: "Clues to My Heart"
2018 The Dead Room Joan TV film
2021 Doctors Alice Price Episode: "Sleeping with Ghosts"[16]

References

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  1. ^ Clive Aslet (29 December 2009). "Susan Penhaligon take note: vanity is worse than a few wrinkles". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Cornish actress Susan Penhaligon quits Lib Dems over reforms". Western Morning News. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ^ Catherine Jones (6 May 2011). "Actress Susan Penhaligon on her role in Agatha Christie's Verdict". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Susan Penhaligon". The Argus. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b Jones, Catherine (6 May 2011). "Actress Susan Penhaligon on her role in Agatha Christie's Verdict". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Theatre collections: record view". University of Kent. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Production of Of Mice and Men". Theatricalia. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  8. ^ Munro, David (2004). "Enjoyable, but not the play that Maugham intended". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Mrs Warren's Profession". 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Soul & Penhaligon Take Levin's Deathtrap on Tour". 2 January 2002. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Production of Dangerous Obsession". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  12. ^ Munro, David (2005). "Lord Saville's Crime is to have siphoned Wildw's wit and sparkle". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  13. ^ gethampshire Administrator (1 August 2007). "Charming cast for Camberley panto". gethampshire. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  14. ^ "Susan looks on the Poldark side". Express.co.uk. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Truran – The Cornish Publisher". Retrieved 19 September 2014. ISBN 1850222223
  16. ^ Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Is Lily Walker STALKING Al Haskey?". What's on TV. Future plc. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
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