Elizabeth Power is an English actress. Power began her career in repertory theatre and went on to appear in several West End musicals. However, she is best known for her work on British television, in particular her role as Christine Hewitt in the BBC soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' (1992–1993). She has since gone on to feature in various stage productions.

Early life

Power was born in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, East Sussex. She began singing and dancing lessons at the age of four, prompted by her mother, who was very keen for her to perform. However, at the age of 14, Power concluded "that she wasn't physically suited to be a dancer", so she decided to take up acting on the advice of her teacher. Power auditioned for a place at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

(RADA) at the age of 17, and was accepted. She has commented "I just glided into it so I was still naive…Rada was good and I realised there was more than just going on stage and being clapped."Stepping out in comic style
, ''TheNorthernEcho''. URL last accessed on 30 September 2007. Power graduated from RADA in 1966.

Career

Power began her acting career on stage, appearing at a young age as Alison in a revival of the Slade-Reynolds Christmas musical, ''The Merry Gentleman'', at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

in 1959.Unsung Heroines
, ''www.musical-theatre.net''. URL last accessed on 30 September 2007. After leaving RADA in 1966, she worked for 18 months at the Belgrade Theatre,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. She had various roles in

repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

theatre during her early career, and has since commented: "I got lots of jobs in rep, learning my craft and playing totally unsuitable roles—old ladies and the sort of stuff you did in those days." Power went on to appear in various West End musicals. In 1969 she played the leading role, Lucy, in ''Two Cities'', a British musical about the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

story ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'', which played at the Palace Theatre, London. She later toured in a production of ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his chor ...

'', and in 1972 she played Avonia Bunn in the Julian Slade musical, ''Trelawny'', which was based on the Pinero play ''Trelawny of the Wells''. The show opened at the Bristol Old Vic, then transferred to

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

and later the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

, with Power staying for its entire run. In 1974 she was cast in the

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

''Cole'', built around the songs of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

, which played at the

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new th ...

. The following year she appeared in ''So Who Needs Marriage?'', a musical written by Monty Norman, which toured for a few weeks in May 1975. ''So Who Needs Marriage?'' ended up being Power's "swansong" in musicals. She has since commented that the musicals of the late 1960s and early 1970s were not the sort of shows that suited her vocal talents: "The musicals were mainly American imports. If you didn't have that big chesty voice, there was no place for you…" Power switched to television acting in the 1970s. One of her first television roles was in the BBC science fiction series '' Doctor Who and the Silurians'' in 1970. She went on to appear in the BBC drama series '' Softly Softly'' (1973); ''The Magician's Heart'' (BBC, 1973); '' Lillie'' (ITV, 1978); ''Hazell'' (1978); a regular role as Celia Travers in ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'' (ITV, 1978–1982); ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...

'' (BBC, 1981), and ''Prince Regent'' (BBC, 1979). Power's most notable television role has been her portrayal of Christine Hewitt in the BBC soap opera ''

''. Power was offered the role by one of the programme's producers, Leonard Lewis, with whom she'd worked previously on ''Juliet Bravo'' and ''Softly, Softly''. She has commented: "I got a call out of the blue asking if I could go up to the BBC at Elstree to meet him. Mrs Hewitt was going to be in five episodes and I thought, 'wonderful'." Mrs Hewitt made her first appearance on-screen in February 1992, as a lonely divorcee who employed the long running character Arthur Fowler ( Bill Treacher) to tend to her garden—used as a plot device to rebuild Arthur's relationship with his son Mark Fowler ( Todd Carty), while they worked together on Christine's garden. Power filmed her scenes for the five episodes and thought that would be the end of it; however, she was subsequently contacted by Leonard Lewis and asked to reprise the role. Power commented: "It was all I could do to stop myself screeching down the phone. They didn't tell me which direction the story was going to take. I got on so well with ill Treacherfrom the word go. We really liked each other." Mrs Hewitt was reintroduced in a storyline that saw her become Arthur Fowler's mistress, but when the affair ended Power left the series, making her final appearance on-screen in October 1993. Power has subsequently appeared in the horror film '' Tale of the Mummy'' (1998), a role that reunited her with actor Bill Treacher on-screen as husband and wife. Power and Treacher were offered the parts by director

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian director of film, television, and music videos. He began his career directing music videos for artists like Elton John and Duran Duran, before making his feature directorial debut with the ...

, who was an "avid fan" of them in ''EastEnders''. Power has commented: " ussell Mulcahywas in Hollywood but used to get friends to video the Arthur and Mrs Hewitt scenes. So he thought it would be a good idea to get us together again. He thought it would be a great joke. We played a caretaker and his wife." Power has also appeared twice in the BBC medical soap '' Doctors'' (2001; 2004), but she has been most active in theatre rather than television post ''EastEnders''. She appeared in

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

's ''

Habeas Corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

'' at

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

in 1993, and in 2001 she starred in

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

' award-winning comedy '' Stepping Out'', as a stern piano teacher, Mrs Fraser. She lent her skills to the International Festival of Musical Theatre in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in 2002, and starred in Trevor Baxter's adaptation of ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...

'', which toured the UK in 2003.The Picture of Dorian Gray
, ''britishtheatreguide''. URL last accessed on 30 September 2007.

Personal life

Power lives in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and is a mother of two. She married the British television personality Michael Aspel in 1977. Their marriage ended in 1994. She is a skilled dancer and piano player, and has used both skills on stage in various productions including ''Stepping Out''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Elizabeth Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British soap opera actresses British television actresses Actresses from Eastbourne Actresses from Surrey Year of birth missing (living people)