Jenny Logan (born 1942) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

actress, trained dancer and singer. Though she played WPC Sally Reed in the television series ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'' between 1968 and 1969, she is most familiar from her appearances in the TV commercial for the carpet freshener Shake n' Vac, which was shot in 1979 and ran from 1980 to 1986. The advert featured Logan dancing around a typical British

living room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a Dwelling, residential house or apa ...

high heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels (colloquially shortened to heels), are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the we ...

, shaking the powder onto the carpet and vacuuming it up, while singing a musical

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

. The main lyric is "do the Shake n' Vac, and put the freshness back". In 2005, ITV named it one of their best ever commercials as part of its 50th birthday celebrations. At the time this advert was being made Logan was in a leading role at the London West End's

Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, London, Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and const ...

as Velma Kelly in the first British production of ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

''. Logan continued to work in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

both in the West End and in national tours. She appeared in '' Stepping Out'', '' Cowardy Custard'', ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

'', '' Annie'' and

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

's '' Copacabana'' at

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

theatre, and a subsequent production in Denmark directed by Craig Revel-Horwood. She also appeared as a black leather clad policewoman in a comic serial during a run of ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo se ...

'' ("The Worm That Turned"). Other TV acting credits include ''

Edna, the Inebriate Woman "Edna, the Inebriate Woman" is the second episode of the second season of the BBC anthology TV series ''Play for Today'', originally broadcast on 21 October 1971. ''Edna, the Inebriate Woman'' was written by Jeremy Sandford, directed by Ted Kotc ...

'', '' Pennies From Heaven'' as Irene, the friend of Joan (

Gemma Craven Rita Gemma Craven (born 1 June 1950) is a retired Irish actress. She is best known for her roles as Cinderella in the film '' The Slipper and the Rose'' (1976) and as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur ( Bob Hoskins), in the BBC TV drama ' ...

), ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

'', ''

Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. The series starred Windsor Davies (previously known for ''It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'') and Donald Sinden as rival antique dealers, and al ...

'', ''

Park Ranger A ranger, park ranger, park warden, field ranger, or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands and Protected area, protected areas – private, national, state, provincial, or local parks. Their duties include ( ...

'', '' London's Burning'' and the John Sullivan comedy ''

Roger Roger ''Roger Roger'' is a BBC television comedy drama written by John Sullivan. The series was about a minicab firm called Cresta Cabs. The pilot aired in 1996 and there were three subsequent series on BBC1 in 1998–2003. Cast and characters Main ...

''. She also had small roles in the films ''

The Raging Moon ''The Raging Moon'' (released in the US as ''Long Ago, Tomorrow'') is a 1971 British romantic drama film starring Malcolm McDowell and Nanette Newman and based on the book by British novelist Peter Marshall. Adapted and directed by Bryan Forbe ...

'' (1971) and ''

Parting Shots ''Parting Shots'' is a 1999 British dark comedy film starring Chris Rea, Felicity Kendal, Oliver Reed, Bob Hoskins, Diana Rigg, Ben Kingsley, John Cleese and Joanna Lumley. It was the final film directed by Michael Winner. Upon release in the ...

'' (1999). In 2009 she was in the touring show ''

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

'', playing Fraulein Schneider. In 2009, she appeared on ''

The Justin Lee Collins Show ''The Justin Lee Collins Show'' is a British television chat show presented by Justin Lee Collins that aired on ITV2 between 19 March 2009 and 21 May 2009. Collins has a small band on the show and a continuing theme is to mention Labi Siffre ...

'', as a blast from the past. In 2010, Logan was involved in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Shake n' Vac advertisement.

External links

* * http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/about/search-the-company/jenny-logan/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20110810061114/http://thegreen.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/movers-and-shakers-interview-with-jenny-logan-21058/ 1942 births English stage actresses English television actresses Living people {{UK-tv-actor-1940s-stub