Margi Clarke (born 25 May 1954) is a British actress and radio and television presenter. She had a leading role in the film Letter to Brezhnev (1985), a low-budget film which had an international release. Later, Clarke played Jackie Dobbs in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (1998–1999, 2008–2010).
Early life and career
Clarke was born and raised in Kirkby, Lancashire. Her career as a presenter began in 1978 on the late-night television magazine show What's On, broadcast only in the Granada region. From 1978 to 1985, she was the lead singer of various punk rock bands; including, Margox and the Zincs; which initially featured Holly Johnson and Andrew Schofield as guitarists.
In 1983, Clarke appeared as Fran, a CND campaigner, in two early episodes of the Liverpool-set Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, credited as Margi MacGregor. The first episode she appeared in was written by her brother, Frank Clarke.
She featured in the low-budget film Letter to Brezhnev (1985), the screenplay being adapted by her brother Frank from his own play.
In 1989, she was cast as Queenie in the BBC series Making Out, set in a Manchester electronics factory and written by Debbie Horsfield. The show ran for three series. In 1991, she returned to presenting, this time on the late night ITV show The Good Sex Guide which gained audience figures of 13 million. She received a Royal Television Society (RTS) Award In 2005, she began her successful on-line health and beauty range "Soul Rinse" which she runs parallel to her acting career. In 2006–2007, she was heard on the airwaves of North-West radio station 105.4 Century Radio as co-presenter of the breakfast show and their late night phone-in shows.
In August 2007, Clarke was a guest on Big Brother's Big Mouth on Channel 4 with Pete Burns, a Merseyside-born friend and performer for many years. At the end of 2007 it was reported in the Liverpool Echo that Clarke would be playing the role of Kath in a revival of the Joe Orton play Entertaining Mr Sloane, as part of the city's Capital of Culture celebrations for 2008.
On 11 January 2008, as part of the opening night celebrations of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year, Clarke was one of around a hundred local celebrities hoisted hidden in a blue container by a crane 30 feet into the air, landing on the main stage at St. George's Hall in the city. The celebrities stepped out of the container marked "Precious Cargo" to rapturous applause. The same evening Clarke appeared as a panel guest on the BBC Two late-night show Newsnight Review, talking about her home town's Capital of Culture celebrations.
In January 2008, Clarke joined Liverpool's talk radio station City Talk 105.9, presenting a late night show on Saturday evenings.
Clarke returned to a prime-time starring role in the second series of the British sitcom Benidorm on ITV in 2008 and reprised her role as Jackie Dobbs in Coronation Street on 2 January 2009, and again on 22 February 2010.
Also in February 2010, Clarke appeared with her daughter Rowan in an episode of the BBC's Celebrity Cash in the Attic.
Clarke appeared in Scousers in St Helens on 26 October 2010 alongside Tina Malone, Billy Butler and several others. In late 2010, she recorded numerous music tracks such as Like a Memory and Holographic Disco which are available on iTunes and in November 2010 she released her autobiography Margi Clarke – Now You See Me.
She appeared in an episode of the BBC drama series Waterloo Road in May 2011 and participated in Celebrity MasterChef in 2011. She also appeared in the Christmas edition of Come Dine With Me in December 2012.