Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress.
She played Chrissy Plummer in the
ITV sitcom ''
Man About The House'' from 1973 to 1976,
and also had roles in TV shows such as ''
The Lovers'', ''
Miss Jones and Son'', ''
The Queen’s Nose'', ''
The Smoking Room'', ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
'', ''
Mount Pleasant'', ''
Boomers'', ''
Upstart Crow'' and ''
Girlfriends''. From 2020 to 2023, Wilcox appeared as
Elaine Jones in ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
''.
Early life
Wilcox was born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
on 13 December 1949 to Joseph and Mary Wilcox.
Career
Wilcox joined the
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...
aged seventeen. She was offered her first starring television role in ''The Lovers '', a
Granada
Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
produced for the ITV network, largely written by
Jack Rosenthal and co-starring
Richard Beckinsale
Richard Arthur Beckinsale (6 July 1947 – 19 March 1979) was an English actor. He played Lennie Godber in the BBC British sitcom, sitcom ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'' (along with its sequel series ''Going Straight'') and Alan Moore ...
. There were two series of ''The Lovers'', plus a feature film. She appeared in an episode of ''
The Benny Hill Show
''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...
'' (
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
) broadcast on 23 February 1972.
Wilcox was cast in one of the lead roles of ''Man About the House'' (
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
, 1973–1976) as Chrissy Plummer, who was regularly in a flirtatious battle of wits with her male flatmate Robin, played by
Richard O'Sullivan. The series ran for six series and the main cast also featured in the
spin-off feature film. Her follow-up role was as the eponymous single mother in ''
Miss Jones and Son'' (1977–1978).
In 1991, Wilcox returned to situation comedy as Ros West in a
Yorkshire Television
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
sitcom called ''Fiddlers Three'' opposite
Peter Davison
Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...
before playing the character of Ivy Sandford in the
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
of
Frank Skinner
Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...
's ''
Blue Heaven'' on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
in 1992; the show then went on to become a series. She appeared in several series of ''The Queen's Nose'' (1995–2001), and also played small roles in the films ''
The Higher Mortals'' (1993) and the
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
movie ''
Scoop'' (2006).
She was cast as Lilian in the
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
sitcom ''The Smoking Room'' which ran from 2004–2005.
On 27 October 2006, Wilcox appeared in the ''
Only Fools and Horses
''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...
'' spin-off ''
The Green Green Grass'' as Marlene's sister. She has also played another character in the ''Only Fools and Horses'' universe, appearing in 2 episodes of ''
Rock and Chips'', playing Edward "Grandad" Trotter's estranged wife Violet. In 2007, Wilcox joined the cast of ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
'' as
Hilary Potts, mother of the vicar's wife,
Laurel Thomas (
Charlotte Bellamy).
In 2008, Wilcox portrayed
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
in a theatrical play, ''Whatever Happened to the Cotton Dress Girl?''. In 2010, she portrayed a mother of a gay son in a theatrical play, ''Canary''.
In November 2010, Wilcox took the leading role as a
Liverpudlian private eye in ''Following from the Front'', a BBC radio play first broadcast in November 2010 and again in January 2015
Wilcox played Pauline Johnson in the
Sky1 sitcom series ''Mount Pleasant'' from 2011 to 2017.
In addition to her other work, Wilcox has made guest appearances in programmes such as ''
Footballers' Wives'', ''
Holby City
''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...
'' and ''
Down to Earth''.
[
From 2014 to 2016, she had a starring role in the comedy series '' Boomers.'' In 2015, she had a role in an episode of ''Still Open All Hours''.][
In 2017, Wilcox filmed series 3 of ''Upstart Crow'' - the Shakespearean sitcom starring David Mitchell and penned by ]Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...
.
Also in 2017 Wilcox filmed the last episode of the Sky 1 series Mount Pleasant after 7 years of playing Pauline Johnson.
Wilcox's theatre credits include Chris Hannan's play ''What Shadows'' about Enoch Powell's famous " Rivers of Blood" speech on immigration. This was performed at the Birmingham Rep, Edinburgh Lyceum and the Park Theatre, London in 2016 and 2017.
Other theatrical work includes Great Expectations (Vaudeville Theatre); Canary (Liverpool Everyman / Hampstead Theatre); Dreams of Violence (Soho Theatre) and '' La Cage aux Folles'' (Playhouse Theatre).
Wilcox has also performed radio and voiceover work, and read the audiobook ''Three Things About Elsi''e written by Joanna Cannon.
Wilcox has appeared in ''Coronation Street'' since 2020, playing the role of Elaine Jones, a former abuse victim and first wife of Geoff Metcalfe ( Ian Bartholomew) and mother of established character Tim Metcalfe ( Joe Duttine). She previously appeared in ''Coronation Street'' in 1969 as Ray Langton's sister Janice.
Personal life
Wilcox was married to fellow actor Derek Seaton from 1969 until his death in 1979 from a brain haemorrhage aged 35.
In 1991, Wilcox married Nelson "Skip" Riddle, an American businessman and the eldest son of the composer, bandleader and arranger Nelson Riddle.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Paula
1949 births
Living people
English television actresses
English soap opera actresses
English stage actresses
English voice actresses
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
Audiobook narrators
Actresses from Manchester
National Youth Theatre members
People educated at the Hollies Convent Grammar School
https://www.greatexpectationstheplay.com/cast_creatives.html