Ruth Madoc (born Margaret Ruth Llewellyn Baker; 16 April 1943 – 9 December 2022) was a British actress who had a career on stage and screen spanning over 60 years. She was best known for her role as Gladys Pugh in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television comedy '' Hi-de-Hi!'' (1980–1988), for which she received a BAFTA TV award nomination for Best Light Entertainment Performance.

Early life and education

Madoc was born Margaret Ruth Llewellyn Baker on 16 April 1943 in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, daughter of George Baker and Iris (née Williams), who worked in healthcare, her father as an administrator and her mother as a nurse. They ran a "

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

" institution for people with severe learning difficulties. Her parents travelled around Britain for much of her childhood, and she was brought up by her Welsh grandmother Etta Williams and her English grandfather at

Llansamlet Llansamlet is a suburban district and Community (Wales), community of Swansea, Wales, falling into the Llansamlet (electoral ward), Llansamlet ward. The area is centred on the A48 road (named Samlet Road and Clase Road in the area) and the M4 mot ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

. She later trained 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) in London.

Career

In 1971, Madoc played Fruma Sarah in the film version of the musical ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'', and in 1972 she appeared as Mrs Dai Bread Two in the film version of ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh people, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The BBC commissioned the play, which was later adapted for the stage. The first public reading was in New York City in 1953. A Under Milk Wood (1972 film), f ...

''.Marsh, Gary (2008)
Colstars Say Hi-de-Hi to Ruth
, ''Cynon Valley Leader'', 3 July 2008 She appeared regularly in the entertainment programme ''Poems and Pints'' on BBC Wales. She provided one of the alien voices in the Cadbury's Smash commercials in the 1970s, and made a brief appearance in the 1977 film ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...

'' (aka ''Crossed Swords''). Madoc appeared in many theatre productions, including the stage version of ''Under Milk Wood'', ''Steel Magnolias'',

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

thrillers (''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

''), the musical '' Annie,'' and many pantomime parts. She appeared twice at the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

, once in 1982 and again in 1986. Madoc was best known for her portrayal of Gladys Pugh, one of the lead roles in the television sitcom '' Hi-de-Hi!'' (1980-1988), for which she received a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

TV award nomination for Best Light Entertainment Performance. The comedy was set in the fictional 1950s-type

holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...

Maplins. Madoc's recurring role centred on her unrequited love for the camp entertainment manager Professor Jeffrey Fairbrother (

Simon Cadell Simon John Cadell (19 July 1950 – 6 March 1996) was a classically trained English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy '' Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Born in London, he w ...

), and she was notable for her announcements on the camp tannoy with her signature three notes played on a mini xylophone. In 2004 she appeared in the reality television programme ''Cariad@Iaith'' on

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

, in which celebrities went on an intensive course in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

. In 2005 she appeared as Daffyd Thomas's mother in the second series of BBC sketch show '' Little Britain''.Turner, Robin (2009)
Ruth Madoc is Saying Hi-de-Hi to Whole New Audience
, '' Western Mail'', 9 December 2009 In 2007 Madoc appeared in the fourth series of LivingTV reality show ''

I'm Famous and Frightened! ''I'm Famous and Frightened!'' is a Living TV reality TV show in which eight celebrities stayed for three nights in a "haunted" castle. They had to then do terrifying challenges to raise money for charity; each one was evicted until only the wi ...

'' which she went on to win. Also in 2007 she appeared as a fictional version of herself in episode 2 of the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

comedy ''Buy Me Up TV''. In 2008 she appeared at the Pavilion Theatre in

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

, playing the bad fairy in the

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

''Sleeping Beauty'', with Sonia and Rebecca Trehearn. Madoc returned to

situation comedy 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 ...

in 2009 and appeared in '' Big Top'' on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

, alongside

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

, John Thomson and

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...

. In January 2015, Madoc appeared as the fairy godmother in the

''Cinderella'' at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield. In September 2019 she re-joined the cast in the autumn tour of '' Calendar Girls: The Musical'', after recovering from an injury earlier in the year; the show opened at Bournemouth Pavilion on 17 September and ended on 23 November at

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

Recognition and honours

In 1984, Madoc was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' when she was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

. In 1993 she played Mrs Bardell in '' Pickwick'' at the

. Madoc was awarded an honorary degree by

Swansea University Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

in July 2006.

Personal life and death

In 2010, Madoc investigated her family history for the

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

programme '' Coming Home'' and learned that she was a distant cousin of British Prime Minister

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

on her father's side. She had starred in '' The Life and Times of David Lloyd George'' in 1981. Madoc's first husband was the actor Philip Madoc, with whom she appeared in the 1981 TV serial ''The Life and Times of David Lloyd George''. They had a son and a daughter, and were married for 20 years, but divorced in 1981. In 1982, she married her second husband, John Jackson, with whom she bought a home in Glynneath in 2002. They were married until his death in September 2021. In December 2022, Madoc was set to appear in the pantomime ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' at the Princess Theatre, Torquay. However, on 8 December, a statement posted to Madoc's

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account confirmed she had suffered a fall earlier in the week and was unable to appear in the production. After undergoing surgery, Madoc died the following day, 9 December, in hospital, at the age of 79.

Filmography

Television

Films

References

External links

*
Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madoc, Ruth 1943 births 2022 deaths Accidental deaths from falls Actresses from Norwich Actresses from Swansea Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British stage actresses British television actresses Reality show winners 20th-century British actresses 21st-century Welsh actresses Place of death missing