Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, best known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to 2006.
Despite being known for her Cockney accent, Richard was born in Middlesbrough. After a childhood in which her father died by suicide, Richard worked in department stores to pay her drama school fees before appearing regularly on-screen from the early 1960s. She played Joyce Harker in The Newcomers from 1967 to 1969. Richard then appeared in two Carry On films. In the television series Dad's Army, she was Private Walker's girlfriend, before being cast as Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? appearing in all 69 episodes from 1972 to 1985. She also reprised the role in the sequel series Grace and Favour (also titled Are You Being Served? Again!) in 1992 and 1993.
After Are You Being Served? ended, Richard starred as Pauline Fowler in the first episode of EastEnders, a main role that she played in over two thousand episodes until she departed in 2006. Richard was awarded an MBE in 2000 and was later awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 British Soap Awards for her role in EastEnders.
After leaving EastEnders, Richard continued to appear on-screen until her death in 2009. Richard was married four times. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996; the disease returned in 2002 and again in 2008; this time it had spread throughout her body. Richard made a documentary detailing the last few months of her life before her death in February 2009. The family later moved to the Isle of Wight and then to London and ran the Shepherds Tavern, Shepherd Market, Mayfair where Elizabeth Taylor and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon are said to have been customers.
Richard enjoyed several family holidays to Jersey and Blackpool before attending the local school, St George's Hanover Square Primary, but her education was interrupted when her family moved again, this time to the Valentine Hotel at Gants Hill, Essex. Another move, to the Streatham Park Hotel, Streatham, south London, followed a few months later. It was there, in December 1954, that Richard's father committed suicide. Richard, then 11, found his body. Beatrice Emerton never remarried and died of liver cancer in May 1972. Richard dreamed of becoming a TV continuity girl or film star from a young age and, after leaving school at 15, she enrolled at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. She helped to pay her way through drama school by working in the fashion department at the Fortnum and Mason department store. She briefly worked at Fenwicks but was sacked after two days for telling a customer a coat did not suit her after the customer asked her for her opinion.
While at the Italia Conti, Richard became a model and picked up several modelling jobs for magazines such as Woman's Own. Still at drama school, she was run over by a car when crossing the road outside the Italia Conti school. Her injuries were so severe that her friend phoned Richard's mother from the hospital thinking she was dead; she had to have thirty-three stitches in her head. In addition, she had a small role as a nurse in Doctor in Clover (1966). but was also voted the 35th "most annoying person of 2006" (being the only fictional character to appear on the list). Pauline has been the subject of television documentaries, behind-the-scenes books, tie-in novels, and comedy sketch shows. On 10 July 2006, the BBC announced that Richard had decided to leave the series after more than 20 years. Until the onscreen death of her character at Christmas 2006, she was one of only two original cast members of that programme to appear continuously from the first episode in 1985, along with Adam Woodyatt, who played her on-screen nephew Ian Beale.
In 2007, Richard was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at The British Soap Awards for her role in EastEnders.
In late 2006, Richard was seen as a guest presenter on the BBC's City Hospital series and on 31 March 2007, she presented the documentary A Tribute to John Inman, for BBC2.
In April 2007, Richard announced that she would be appearing in a new role for the first time since leaving EastEnders, in a new sitcom penned by David Croft called Here Comes The Queen. The project came about after she personally asked Croft to write something for her. Richard had commented: "The part is like an older version of Miss Brahms". A pilot episode was made, which was considered to be poor, and it was never transmitted.
In September 2007, it was announced that Richard would appear in the second series of ITV1's sitcom Benidorm playing a "loud-mouthed, rude" character who used a wheelchair; her episode aired in April 2008.
In January 2008, adverts for The Post Office featuring Richard (as a human cannonball) began to be shown.
In February 2008, she landed the role of Mrs. Crump in the Agatha Christie's Marple episode "A Pocket Full of Rye" starring Julia McKenzie. This was her final role, airing after her death in 2009.
Personal life
Richard was married four times. Her first marriage was to a music publisher, Len Blach, in 1972, which lasted five months. For six years, she lived with advertising director Will Thorpe whom she married in 1980; she left him after 18 months of marriage. She married for the third time, to Paul Glorney, a carpet fitter, in 1990. That marriage ended in divorce four years later. Richard later lived with John Burns, a painter and decorator 20 years her junior, in the Marylebone area of London. They lived together from 1996 and married on 10 October 2008 at a hotel in Mayfair. They remained together until her death four months later. She had no children.
Richard was a supporter of the Conservative Party. She was particularly supportive of Margaret Thatcher and her policies. During her early years on EastEnders, scriptwriters gave Richard a script in which Pauline Fowler launched into a tirade against Thatcher, but Richard refused to perform it.
Illness
In 1996, Richard was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery and was given the all-clear, but experienced a recurrence of the disease in 2002. Her cancer went into remission after years of treatment and she was given a clean bill of health in 2005. Richard later said she left because of stress and that she had been stress-free since leaving the show. She kept in touch with co-stars Bill Treacher, Natalie Cassidy, Todd Carty, and James Alexandrou.
In January 2008, cancer cells were found in her left armpit, and it was reported in the Sunday Express on 5 October 2008 that she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Further investigation showed that it had metastasised to her left kidney and bones, including her spine and left ribs. It was reported the actress had planned her funeral and written her will. She made a half-hour programme, Wendy Richard: To Tell You the Truth, documenting the last three months of her life, which was broadcast on BBC One on 19 March 2009.
Death
thumb|180px|A [[commemorative plaque at The Chesterfield Arms in London in memory of Richard]]
Richard's agent, Kevin Francis, reported she had died on 26 February 2009 of breast cancer, aged 65, at a clinic in Harley Street, London. Her husband, John Burns, was at her bedside. Francis said: "She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humour right to the end." On the day of her death, that evening's episode of EastEnders and a memorial programme, both dedicated to Richard, were broadcast on BBC One. Actor Bill Treacher, Richard's on-screen husband Arthur Fowler in EastEnders, said the actress was a "true professional."
Richard's funeral, on 9 March 2009 at St Marylebone Parish Church, was attended by figures from the media industry, along with many fans. Her body was later cremated at a private service at Golders Green Crematorium. In July 2009, David Croft, the creator of Are You Being Served?, unveiled a commemorative plaque at The Shepherds Tavern (since renamed The Chesterfield Arms) in Shepherd Street in London's West End, which Richard's parents had run. A number of entertainers were there to pay their respects on the occasion.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1963
| The Contact
| Joyce
| Uncredited role
|-
| 1966
| Doctor in Clover
| Nurse with False Eyelashes
| Uncredited role
|-
| 1970
| No Blade Of Grass
| Clara
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1971
| On the Buses
| Housewife
|
|-
| Gumshoe
| Anne Scott
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1972
| Bless This House
| Carol
|
|-
| Carry On Matron
| Miss Willing
|
|-
| 1973
| Carry On Girls
| Ida Downs
|
|-
| 1975
| Naughty Girls
| Girls' Voices
| Voice, uncredited
|-
| 1977
| Are You Being Served?
| Miss Shirley Brahms
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1961
| Spectacular
| Girl
| 1 episode: "Sammy Meets the Girls"
|-
| rowspan=4|1962
| Dixon of Dock Green
| Jean Davis
| 1 episode: "The Outlaws"
|-
| Harpers West One
| Susan Sullivan
| 5 episodes
|-
| Bulldog Breed
| Mandy Bradshaw
| Episode #1.7
|-
| The Arthur Haynes Show
| Uncredited
| Episode #10.3
|-
| rowspan=4|1963
| ITV Television Playhouse
| Brunette factory girl
| 1 episode: "The Wedding Dress"
|-
| BBC Sunday-Night Play
| Ida Green
| 1 episode: "The Holly Road Rig"
|-
| First Night
| Carol
| 1 episode: "The One Night of the Year "
|-
| ITV Play of the Week
| Miss Bufton
| 1 episode: "London Wall"
|-
| rowspan=4|1964
| HMS Paradise
| Genevieve
| 1 episode: "Call Me Madam and I'll Punch You on the Nose"
|-
| Danger Man
| Sue
| 1 episode: "Don't Nail Him Yet"
|-
| Don't I Look Like a Lord's Son?
| The Girl
| Television film
|-
| No Hiding Place
| Smiler
| 1 episode: "An Eye for an Eye"
|-
| 1964–1965
| Six
| The Girl
| 2 episodes: "Don't I Look Like a Lord's Son?" & "The Day of Ragnarok"
|-
| rowspan=6|1965
| The Hollywood Palace
| Dancing Extra, Captain Spaulding Scene
| Uncredited role
|-
| The Sullavan Brothers
| Renee
| 1 episode: "Put Them Away for Keeps"
|-
| Londoners
| Patsy
| 1 episode: "Joe Nobody"
|-
| The Likely Lads
| Lynn
| 1 episode: "Last of the Big Spenders"
|-
| rowspan=2|No Hiding Place
| Linda Hooper
| 1 episode: "The Hunted and the Hunters"
|-
| Janet
| 1 episode: "Hi-Jack"
|-
| rowspan=6|1966
| Hugh and I
| Unnamed
| 4 episodes
|-
| Pardon the Expression
| Girl with Dog
| 1 episode: "Rustle of Spring"
|-
| Weavers Green
| Jean
| Episode #1.31
|-
| rowspan=2|ITV Play of the Week
| Girl in Night Club (uncredited)
| 1 episode: "Plays of Married Life #1: A Catching Complaint"
|-
| Betty
| 1 episode: "Plays of Married Life #4: The Bright Side"
|-
| BBC Play of the Month
| Sandra
| 1 episode: "The Making of Jericho"
|-
| rowspan=2|1967
| Turn Out the Lights
| Veronica Woods
| 1 episode: "A Big Hand for a Little Lady"
|-
| The Wednesday Play
| Delphine
| 1 episode: "The Voices in the Park"
|-
| 1967–1969
| The Newcomers
| Joyce Harker
| Main role; 227 episodes
|-
| rowspan=3|1970
| Up Pompeii!
| Soppia
| 1 episode: "The Ides of March"
|-
| Carry On Again Christmas
| Kate
| Television film
|-
| Dad's Army
| Edith Parish
| 2 episodes: "The Two and a Half Feathers” & “Mum's Army"
|-
| rowspan=3|1971
| Dixon of Dock Green
| Barbara Walker
| 1 episode: "Nightmare Hours"
|-
| Please Sir!
| Rita
| 1 episode: "The Pruning of the Hedges"
|-
| On the Buses
| Elsie
| 1 episode: "The Busmen's Ball"
|-
| rowspan=2|1972
| Both Ends Meet
| Maudie
| 7 episodes
|-
| Comedy Playhouse
| rowspan=2|Miss Shirley Brahms
| 1 episode: "Are You Being Served?"
|-
| 1972–1985
| Are You Being Served?
| Main role; 69 episodes
|-
| 1972–1973
| Dad's Army
| Shirley
| 2 episodes: "The King Was in His Counting House" & "My British Buddy"
|-
| rowspan=3|1973
| The Fenn Street Gang
| Myrna
| 1 episode: "Is That a Proposal, Eric?"
|-
| Z-Cars
| Maureen Parker
| 1 episode: "Big Jake"
|-
| Bowler
| Greta
| 1 episode: "Members Only"
|-
| rowspan=3|1975
| Not On Your Nellie
| Doris
| 6 episodes
|-
| The Dick Emery Show
| Uncredited
| Episode #14.6
|-
| Hogg's Back
| Pearl
| 6 episodes
|-
| 1978
| Whodunnit?
| Phyllis Collier
| 1 episode: "A Safe Way to Die"
|-
| 1979
| The Little and Large Show
| Unnamed
| 1 episode
|-
| 1983
| West Country Tales
| Jill-Mother
| 1 episode: "With Love, Belinda"
|-
| 1985–2006
| EastEnders
| Pauline Fowler
| Series regular; 2,058 episodes
|-
| 1992–1993
| Grace & Favour
| Miss Shirley Brahms
| Main role, 12 episodes
|-
| 1993
| Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time
| Pauline Fowler
| Charity special crossover between Doctor Who and EastEnders
|-
| rowspan=2|2007
| Arena
| Listeners' Comments
| Voice role
|-
| Here Comes the Queen
| Lillian Wills
| Pilot episode
|-
| rowspan=2|2008
| Benidorm
| Sylvia
| Episode #2.5
|-
| Agatha Christie's Marple
| Mrs Crump
| 1 episode: "A Pocket Full of Rye"
|}