Su Pollard

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Su Pollard
Pollard in Lincoln, 2005
Born
Susan Georgina Pollard

(1949-11-07) 7 November 1949 (age 75)
Nottingham, England
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • author
Years active1974–present
Spouse
Peter Keogh
​
(m. 1984⁠–⁠1992)​
Websitesupollard.com

Susan Georgina "Su" Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is a British actress, singer, songwriter and author whose career has spanned over 50 years. Pollard is most known for her role in the sitcom Hi-de-Hi! She also appeared in the sitcoms You Rang, M'Lord? and Oh, Doctor Beeching!

Pollard has appeared in over 35 stage plays and musicals, as well as over 40 pantomimes. As a singer, she scored a UK Singles Chart number two hit with the song "Starting Together" in 1986, and recorded an album, Su. She also authored a memoir, Hearts and Showers.

Early life and education

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Pollard was born in Nottingham, the eldest daughter of Don and Hilda Pollard.[1] Her interest in acting began at the age of six, when she played an angel in a school nativity play.[2]

She lived on Prospect Terrace, off Alfreton Road. Pollard took part in productions at the Nottingham Arts Theatre,[3][4] and was in the Beeston Operatic Society.[5]

Pollard attended Berridge Road School (Hyson Green) and Peveril Bilateral School, Robin's Wood Road[6] (now Nottingham Girls' Academy).

After leaving school at the age of 16, she got a job at the Tennant Rubber Company in Carlton as a shorthand typist, and began singing in working men's clubs. She also performed in charity shows.[7]

Career

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Following an apprenticeship at the Arts Theatre in Nottingham, Pollard appeared on Opportunity Knocks in 1974, singing "I Cain't Say No" from Oklahoma!, and came second to a singing Jack Russell.

She went on to direct the musicals The Desert Song and Rose-Marie with John Hanson. Pollard has also starred in the Cameron Mackintosh West End production of Godspell, played opposite Jack Wild in Big Sin City at the Roundhouse and toured in the musical Grease as part of a company that also included Tracey Ullman. Pollard appeared with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Hugh Paddick in the farce Not Now, Darling, won a role in Andrew Sachs's play Philately Will Get You Nowhere and appeared at the Mermaid Theatre in a celebration of the music of Cole Porter, titled Oh Mr. Porter! She also appeared as the hostess in the 1980 documentary short The Great British Striptease, which was compered by Bernard Manning in Blackpool.

Pollard's first comedy role was in a BBC series screened in 1979, Two Up, Two Down, in which she played a hippy named Flo. Paul Nicholas played her partner, Jimmy, both of whom were squatting in the house of a nice middle-class couple. It only lasted for one series, but later that year came the pilot programme for a new BBC comedy written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft set in a holiday camp. Pollard landed the role of chalet maid Peggy Ollerenshaw in Hi-de-Hi! She continued in this role until the programme's end in 1988. During the run of Hi-de-Hi!, Pollard also had a singing career, and in 1986, she reached No. 2 in the UK singles chart with the song "Starting Together",[1][8] the theme song from the BBC Television 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary series The Marriage. It was her only Top 40 hit; her first single, "Come to Me (I Am Woman)", had reached No. 71 in 1985 and her only charting album, Su, peaked at No. 86 in the UK Albums Chart in November 1986.[8] In 1987, she toured the UK with The Su Pollard Show[1] and co-hosted It's a Royal Knockout.

Pollard starred in the stage production of Hi De Hi! - The Holiday Musical, along with most of the cast from the television series, playing sell out seasons in Bournemouth, London and Blackpool. In 1985, she played Sally in the West End production of Me And My Girl at the Adelphi Theatre, which she appeared in for over a year. This was followed by roles in a national tour of Rodgers and Hart's Babes in Arms, playing Bonny Byrun opposite Matthew Kelly, and the title role in Sweet Charity at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing.

When Hi-de-Hi! ended in early 1988, writers Perry and Croft chose Pollard to star as Ivy Teasdale in their new sitcom You Rang, M'Lord?, which featured her Hi-de-Hi! co-stars Paul Shane and Jeffrey Holland. This period sitcom ran from 1988 to 1993. In 1990, she hosted the short-lived ITV game show Take the Plunge, which was cancelled after one season. In 1993, she won the "Rear of the Year" award. From 1993 until 1996, Pollard starred opposite Gorden Kaye in For Better or for Worse, a BBC Radio 2 sitcom about an engaged-to-be-married couple.[9][10]

From 1995 to 1997, Pollsrd played Ethel Schumann in another David Croft sitcom, Oh, Doctor Beeching! From 1989 to 1990, she voiced the lead character in the BBC children's television series Penny Crayon.

In 2001, Pollard made a guest appearance in Gimme Gimme Gimme and voiced Noisy in Little Robots. The same year, she presented Songs of Praise three times. She has made four appearances on Just a Minute, and also regularly appears in pantomimes and other stage shows,[1] including Annie and The Pirates of Penzance. In 2008, Pollard starred in the musical Shout! alongside Claire Sweeney. From April 2009, Pollard appeared in the London transfer of Shout! at the Arts Theatre. In December 2010, Pollard had a guest role in the Christmas special of ITV's sitcom Benidorm, playing herself. In December 2011, she appeared as a guest on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing.

In the 2012 film Run For Your Wife, she had a cameo role as a shopkeeper. She took part in Who's Doing the Dishes? in September 2016, and in 2018 she appeared in ITV's reality series Last Laugh in Vegas.

In pantomime, Pollard appeared regularly as the Wicked Queen in Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, in 2014 in Sunderland,[11] 2015 in Blackpool,[12] Tunbridge Wells in 2016,[13] Aylesbury in 2017[14] and in Malvern in 2018.[15] In 2019, Pollard starred as Queen Rat in Dick Whittington in Wolverhampton, alongside her Hi-de-Hi! co star Jeffrey Holland.[16]

Pollard was one of a group of seven celebrities who appeared in Pilgrimage: The Road Through Portugal, a BBC Two series journeying to Fátima, Portugal.[17]

Personal life

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Pollard was married to Peter Keogh from 1984 to 1992.[18] In 2014, Keogh published his memoir, My Hi-de-High Life: Before, During and After Su Pollard.[19]

Pollard is a supporter of Nottingham Forest football club.[1]

Theatre

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Filmography

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Feature films

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  • Hostess, The Great British Striptease, documentary short, 1980
  • Shopkeeper, Run For Your Wife 2012

Television roles (acting)

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Television appearances (as herself)

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Discography

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Singles

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Albums

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  • November 1986: Su (UK No. 86)[8]
  • 2001: The Collection[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Great Nottinghamians:Su Pollard". BBC. November 2002.
  2. ^ "Su Pollard". Tv.com. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  3. ^ Nottingham Evening Post Saturday 4 July 1970, page 12
  4. ^ Nottingham Evening Post Tuesday 3 October 1989, page 6
  5. ^ Nottingham Guardian Saturday 31 May 1969, page 7
  6. ^ "THE BEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE? Su Pollard, actress". Heraldscotland.com. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Su Pollard". U-reds.com. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 431. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ^ Craig, Mike. "RADIO DRAMA REVIEWS ONLINE: For Better or for Worse". RadioDramaReviews.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  10. ^ Lavalie, John. "epguides.com: For Better or For Worse: a Titles & Air Dates Guide". Epguides.com. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Hi-de-hi star in Sunderland show". The Northern Echo. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Grand Ambassador Review - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Blackpool Grand Theatre. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Su shows her wicked side for panto". Kent Online. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Hi De Hi! Su Pollard will star as the Wicked Queen in this year's Aylesbury Waterside panto". Bucksherald.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Malvern Theatres. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Su Pollard and Jeffrey Holland all set for Wolverhampton panto". Expressandstar.com. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. ^ "BBC Two - Pilgrimage". BBC.
  18. ^ "Details of Publication - Apex Publishing Ltd". Apexpublishing.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  19. ^ Keogh, Peter (6 June 2014). My Hi-de-High Life: Before, During and After Su Pollard. Apex Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1910295045.
  20. ^ "Su Online : The Collection – 17 Tracks on CD!". Supollard.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
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