Angela Richards (born 18 December 1944 in London) is an English actress. A graduate of

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

, she is also known for her body of work in musical theatre.

Biography

Theatre

Richards has starred in several West End productions such as ''

Robert and Elizabeth ''Robert and Elizabeth'' is a musical with music by Ron Grainer and book and lyrics by Ronald Millar. The story is based on an unproduced musical titled ''The Third Kiss'' by Judge Fred G. Moritt, which in turn was adapted from the play ''The ...

'' (her debut in 1964), ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'' (following

Elaine Paige Elaine Jill Paige (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first profession ...

as Grizabella), ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

'', '' Blood Brothers'', ''

Cole Cole may refer to: Plants * Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed). People * Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole * Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole Companies * Cole Moto ...

'' and the title role in ''

Liza of Lambeth ''Liza of Lambeth'' (1897) was W. Somerset Maugham's first novel, which he wrote while he was a medical student and obstetric clerk at St Thomas's Hospital in Lambeth, then a working-class district of London. It depicts the short life and de ...

''. Later musical theatre work includes: '' Dorothy Fields Forever'' and '' Call Me Merman''. In March 2006, over two nights at the

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. It is the second oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2021, Mark Ravenhill became Artistic Director and the theatre focusses on producing LGBT ...

, Richards returned to the songs she created for '' Secret Army'', in a show entitled ''An Evening at Le Candide'', which was subsequently made into a studio-recorded CD. Between September 2007 and June 2008 she appeared as Fraulein Schneider in the musical ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...

'' in London's West End opposite

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, numerous pantomim ...

and

Amy Nuttall Amy Abigail Nuttall (born 7 June 1982) is an English actress and singer known for playing Chloe Atkinson in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2000 until 2005, and housemaid Ethel Parks in ITV period drama ''Downton Abbey''. Early life Nut ...

Television

Richards is best known to

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

viewers for her leading role in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

drama '' Secret Army'' (1977–79), set during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in which she played Monique Duchamps, member of the

Belgian Resistance The Belgian Resistance (french: Résistance belge, nl, Belgisch verzet) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Be ...

and resident

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engl ...

at the restaurant ''Le Candide.'' She reprised her role of Monique in ''Secret Army's'' follow up series '' Kessler'' (1981). Richards starred as Sheila Jones, private secretary to the roguish Cecil Caine in the ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' episode "Senior Citizen Caine" (1984). Her other television credits include '' Villette'', ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' (a BBC ''

Play of the Month ''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wo ...

'', 1973), '' King of the Castle'' (1977), '' Across the Lake'' (1988) with

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

and ''

Hetty Wainthrop Investigates ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'' is a British crime drama television series, starring Patricia Routledge as the title character, Henrietta "Hetty" Wainthropp, that aired for four series between 3 January 1996 and 4 September 1998 on BBC One. ...

'' (1996).

References

External links

*
Secret Army website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Angela 1944 births Alumni of RADA English musical theatre actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people