Petronella Barker (born 12 October 1942 in

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

, Kent) is an English actress.

Life

The daughter of the comedy actor

Eric Barker Eric Leslie Barker (12 February 1912 – 1 June 1990) was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British '' Carry On'' films, although he only appeared in the early films in the series, apart from returning ...

and the actress

Pearl Hackney Pearl Hackney (28 October 1916 – 18 September 2009) was a British actress and the wife of comic actor Eric Barker. She was born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, but spent much of her early life in Liverpool, Lancashire (now Merseyside). A ...

, she grew up in the village of Stalisfield, Kent, and was educated at Ashford School. Barker trained at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

from 1960 to 1963, in her final year winning the Carlton Hobbs Bursary, which gave her a six-month contract with the BBC's

Radio Drama Company The Radio Drama Company is a company of actors formed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War. It is sometimes referred to as RDC, or the Rep, a survival from its original name, the Drama Re ...

. In 1964 she joined the

English Stage Company The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

for three plays: '' Inadmissible Evidence'' (understudy), ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

'' (crowd and understudy), and ''Cuckoo in the Nest'', in which she played Rawlins. During four seasons with the

National Theatre Company 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. In ...

at the

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

between 1964 and 1968 she appeared in: ''Hobson's Choice'' (as Ada Figgins), ''

Mother Courage and Her Children ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' (german: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, links=no) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrica ...

'' (Yvette), ''A Flea in her Ear'' (Eugenie), ''The Storm'' (Glasha), ''The Dance of Death'' (Jenny), '' Othello'' (Crowd), '' Juno and the Paycock'' (Neighbour), ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'' (Mercy Lewis), ''

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Ham ...

'' (Courtier and Attendant), and ''Volpone'' (Androgyno). She played Miss Prue in

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright and poet of the Restoration period. He is known for his clever, satirical dialogue and influence on the comedy of manners style of that period. He was also a mi ...

's play ''

Love for Love ''Love for Love'' is a Restoration comedy written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered on 30 April 1695 at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. Staged by Thomas Betterton's company the original cast included Betterton as Valenti ...

'' at the

with Laurence Olivier, directed by Peter Wood. On 2 September 1966, at St Mary's, Stalisfield, Barker married actor

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 ...

; they have one daughter, the actress and singer-songwriter

Abigail Hopkins Petronella Barker (born 12 October 1942 in Sittingbourne, Kent) is an English actress. Life The daughter of the comedy actor Eric Barker and the actress Pearl Hackney, she grew up in the village of Stalisfield, Kent, and was educated at Ashfor ...

, born in 1968. The couple were divorced in the High Court, London, in 1972.Monica M. O'Donnell, ed., ''Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television'' Volume 1 (1984), p. 254

Selected filmography

*1987: ''The Bretts'' (TV series) — "All Right on the Night" – Miss Brownlie *1983: ''

Dramarama Dramarama is an American, New Jersey–based alternative rock/power pop band, who later moved to Los Angeles. The band was formed in New Jersey in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. The band formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on VH1's ...

'' (TV series) — "Mighty Mum and the Petnappers" – Godmother *1981: ''Roger Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (TV series) — Episode #1.4 – Nanny *1981: ''Jackanory Playhouse'' (TV series) — "The Toy Princess" – Lady-in-waiting *1978: ''

Armchair Thriller ''Armchair Thriller'' is a British television drama series broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980 in two seasons. Taking the form of a sequence of unconnected serials, scripts for ''Armchair Thriller'' were adaptations of published novels and storie ...

'' (TV series) — ''A Dog's Ransom'': Part 5 – Gillian *1976: ''The Molly Wopsies'' (TV series) — "The Initiation" – Gypsy woman *1975: ''

Moody and Pegg ''Moody and Pegg'' was a bittersweet British comedy-drama, produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1974 and 1975, and written by Donald Churchill and Julia Jones. Derek Waring and Judy Cornwell starred in this series that accented comed ...

'' (TV series) — "Roland's Ladies" – Miss Thompkins *1975: ''Armchair Cinema'' (TV series) — "In Sickness and in Health" – The District Nurse *1975: ''

Within These Walls ''Within These Walls'' is a British television drama programme made by London Weekend Television for ITV and shown between 1974 and 1978. It portrayed life in HMP Stone Park, a fictional women's prison. Unlike later women-in-prison TV series, ...

'' (TV series) — "Playground" – Joan Dunn *1973: ''A Pin to See the Peepshow'' (TV series) — Anne Ackroyd (all episodes) *1972–1973: ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'' (TV series) — Angela (2 episodes) / Pat Mason (1 episode) *1972: ''

The Fenn Street Gang ''The Fenn Street Gang'' is a British television sitcom which ran for three seasons between 1971 and 1973. Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, it was a spin-off from their popular '' Please Sir!'' series. Synopsis The series follows the l ...

'' (TV series) — "The Loneliest Night of the Week" – Waitress *1972: ''It's Murder But Is It Art?'' (TV series) — Fanny Templer *1971: '' The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes'' (TV series) — Miss Parrot (2 episodes) *1971: '' Budgie'' (TV series) — "And in Again" – Traffic Warden *1971: '' The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder'' (TV series) — "The Fatal Engagement" – Miss Trottington-Fox *1970: ''The Mating Machine'' (TV series) — "Ada's Last Chance" – Miss Jones *1970: '' Germinal'' (TV mini-series) — Cécile (2 episodes) *1967: ''

A Flea in Her Ear ''A Flea in Her Ear'' (french: La Puce à l'oreille) is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque. The author called it a vaudeville, but in Anglophone countries, where it is the most popular of Feydeau's play ...

'' (TV movie) — Eugénie *1965: '' Othello'' — Company *1964: '' Call the Gun Expert'' (TV series) — "The Green Bicycle Case – 1919" – Bella Wright *1964: ''Detective'' (TV series) – "

Trent's Last Case ''Trent's Last Case'' is a detective novel written by E. C. Bentley and first published in 1913. Its central character, the artist and amateur detective Philip Trent, reappeared subsequently in the novel '' Trent's Own Case'' (1936), and the s ...

" (1964) — Celestine

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Petronella 1942 births Living people English stage actresses English television actresses People from Sittingbourne People from Stalisfield Green