Monica Angela Rose (11 February 1948 – 2 February 1994) was a British TV

quiz show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating whe ...

hostess, who appeared on '' Double Your Money'' and '' The Sky's the Limit'', both presented by

Hughie Green Hugh Hughes Green OStJ (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor. Early life Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former British Army ...

. Rose was known for her

Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

accent, a novelty among TV presenters of the time.

Biography and showbusiness career

Rose was born in White City, London in 1948. Her father was a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

train driver and her mother a cleaner at

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

. In 1963, at the age of just 15, whilst working as a young accounts clerk, she was given tickets for a recording of the

quiz show called ''Double Your Money''. The show offered a choice of 42 subjects and offered £1 for the answer to a question given by the host with the chance to double their money from £1 up to a maximum of £32. The top prize was £1,000 (). Rose was plucked from the audience to take part and despite only winning £8 (on her chosen subject of 'Famous Women') she had the strength of personality to persuade Green (he was "impressed by her

cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

charm and manner") to invite her back as a guest hostess on the show six weeks later. She was quoted as saying "Coming from a rough council estate, it was a lot to take in. Being picked up in a Rolls (referring to a Rolls-Royce motor car) and travelling by private plane." She stayed for three years until leaving although returned to the show before it was taken off air in July 1968 as a result of the broadcaster,

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

, losing their franchise later that month. Success for Rose had included a stage act with Green, based on the programme Double Your Money's format. The stage act was popular in summer seasons and their act was even shown in a Royal Variety Performance. In 1965 when Double Your Money was taken to the Soviet Union, the Soviet cultural attache, who was based in London, made it a condition that 'the little cockney girl Monica' had to go with the performance. A year later, in December 1966, Rose performed a duet with her co-presenter

which was recorded on the 'B' side of the single 'Cuddle up Baby' called 'Clap Your Hands'. The music to 'Clap Your Hands' was written by Barrie Gosney a presenter who appeared in many television commercials and advertising magazines. She later worked on The Sky's the Limit which was first broadcast on 10 July 1970 until 5 July 1974. This was a travel-themed version of the show ''Double Your Money''. The questions were based on geography and the top prize was 21,000 air miles and £600 in spending money ().

Personal life

Rose left show business in 1977 and was admitted to hospital three years later suffering from a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. In 1982 she married Terry Dunnell a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

lay preacher and officer of a religious group called the Frontier Youth Trust. Dunnell wrote several books on Christianity including ''Mission and Young People at Risk: a Challenge to the Church'' written in 1985. Rose became a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and settled with him in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

where she worked as a checkout operator in a supermarket. She paid regular visits to a local young offenders' centre up until 1993. After battling depression, Rose took her own life by overdosing on

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include Xerostomia, dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathi ...

s and tranquillisers in 1994.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Monica 1948 births 1994 deaths British game show hosts Television personalities from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Drug-related suicides in England 1994 suicides