Harriet Amelia Thorpe (born 8 June 1957) is an English actress. Thorpe trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. She is known for her roles in the British sitcoms, '' The Brittas Empire'' (1991–97) and '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992–2012) and has also starred in the West End musicals, ''

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 dinin ...

'' (2006), '' Wicked'' (2008) and ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' (2010).

Career

TV

She appeared in the mid-to-late 1990s British television sitcom '' The Brittas Empire'', playing Carole Parkinson, the receptionist who was prone to depression and fits of emotion who permanently kept her children with her in drawers under her desk, and would sometimes be seen feeding them or washing their clothes. Thorpe also starred in a celebrity edition of ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

'' as Madame Morrible, in which she was voted off in the first round. Thorpe played Fleur in '' Absolutely Fabulous'', an eccentric and somewhat odd work-colleague. Along with working extensively with

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show '' French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Sau ...

and Jennifer Saunders, she has appeared in BBC2's '' Alexei Sayle's Stuff'', '' A Bit of Fry and Laurie''; BBC's '' Casualty'', '' Material Girl'' and ITV's ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'' and the sitcom ''

Me, You and Him ''Me, You and Him'' is a British television sitcom, that aired on ITV from 30 July to 3 September 1992. It was made for the ITV network by Thames. It was written by and starred Hugh Dennis, Nick Hancock and Steve Punt, all previously known ...

''. She played Beverley Osman in the BBC children's comedy drama '' No Sweat'', starring boyband North and South. She made a guest appearance in Channel 4 soap opera, '' Hollyoaks'' as Elizabeth. In 2020 she played Nanny Ribble in an episode of '' Father Brown'' and in 2021 she guest starred in another episode of ''

'' and in episode of '' Doctors''. In September 2021, Thorpe played Miss Newell in '' Endeavour''.

Film

Thorpe has appeared in numerous films, such as '' Calendar Girls'' as the rather patronising and superior head of the Women's Institute;

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Des ...

's '' Life is Sweet''; ''Greystoke''; ''The Calling;'' and ''S.N.U.B''.

Theatre

Thorpe has appeared on stage. She worked extensively at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, in London's West End and two Shakespeare seasons at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. She was in the original revival cast of ''

'' as Fraulein Kost at the Lyric Theatre in London on 22 September 2006. Prior to this, she played

Mrs. Lovett Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story ''Sweeney Todd''. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina ...

in the national tour of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

's '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', originated the role of Ida Arnold in the Almeida Theatre's original musical, ''Brighton Rock'', and played the role of Madame Thenardier in the hit

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

, ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

''. On 14 April 2008, she took over the role of

Madame Morrible ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in ''The Wicked Years'' series, and was followed by ''Son of a ...

from Susie Blake in the West End production of '' Wicked''. She played her final performance on 27 March 2010, and was replaced by

Julie Legrand Julie Legrand (born in Pitlochry, Scotland) is a British television, film, and stage actress best known for her role as Jeanette Dunkley on ''Footballers' Wives''. She has also guest starred in a wide variety of British television shows, as wel ...

. Thorpe took over the role of Tanya from Jane Gurnett in the West End production of ''

'' on 14 June 2010. She returned to the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park to play the parts of Lottie Childs and Patricia Fodor in Timothy Sheader and

Stephen Mear Stephen Leonard Mear (born 1964) is an English dancer, choreographer and director best known for his award-winning work in musical theatre. In the 1990s, Mear taught dance at the London Studio Centre. In 2005 he and co-choreographer Sir Matth ...

's revival of '' Crazy For You'', for which she was nominated for the 2012 Theatregoers' Choice Awardsbr>
Thorpe returned to ''Wicked'' to play Madame Morrible from Monday 22 April 2013 until Saturday 16 November 2013, in place of

Louise Plowright Louise Plowright (1 June 1956 – 1 March 2016) was a British actress who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 19 ...

who withdrew from the role due to illness. In 2018, Thorpe joined the cast of Ruthless! The Musical as Miss Myrna Thorn.

Ambassador

Thorpe is an ambassador fo
Walk the Walk
the UK's largest grant-making breast cancer charit

and the UK's Diversity In Media Awards (DIMAS) Her sister is the actress

Matilda Thorpe Matilda Helen Rachel Thorpe is a British actress. Matilda Thorpe was born on May 1, 1960 in Wood Green, London, England. Thorpe trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. She is known for her roles in the British sitcoms, Mandy in th ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Harriet 1957 births Living people English television actresses Actresses from London