Sammie Winmill (born Janice Winmill, 28 November 1948) is a British actress who had a number of roles in the 1970s, and is best known for portraying
Carol in the
Sci-fi
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univ ...
series ''
The Tomorrow People
''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979.
The theme music was c ...
''.
Career
Her first noted appearance was alongside
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''.
...
in the comedy ''
Futtock's End'' in 1970. Following small roles with
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian.
Early life
Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...
in the films of ''
Up Pompeii'' and ''
Up the Chastity Belt
''Up the Chastity Belt'' (also released as ''Naughty Knights'' in the United States) is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was a spin-off from the TV series ''Up Pompeii!''
Plot
Eleanor of Aquit ...
'' (1971) she secured a regular part in the sitcom ''
Doctor in Charge'' in 1972 playing Nurse Sandra Crumpton. This role ran for six episodes of the first series. Soon after she appeared as Gretel in the 1972 film ''
The Pied Piper'' starring
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world musi ...
.
In 1973 she was offered the role of Carol in a new children's science-fiction series, ''
The Tomorrow People
''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979.
The theme music was c ...
''. Winmill played the role throughout the thirteen episodes of the first series but declined to continue in the part, despite being offered a three-year contract. This was mainly due to her fear of being typecast and wanting to do more stage work, although the actress now believes that she quit the role too early.
Winmill went on to do much theatre work over the next few years before landing another regular television role in ''
The Duchess of Duke Street
''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama ''Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma ...
'' in 1976. She played the part of Ethel for eleven episodes until 1977. She also appeared in an episode of ''
The Professionals'', but by the early 1980s she had decided to retire from the industry.
Over the next few years, Winmill became involved in other activities such as folk singing (she also plays guitar) and joined the
Template Foundation, due to her interest in the psychic mind. She also organises drama and dance workshops specifically for women with an emphasis on spiritual well-being. In the late 1990s she made a return to acting, appearing in a one-woman show which she wrote herself and starred in a number of science-fiction audio drama CDs.
References
External links
*
Photo gallery of Sammie Winmill at The Tomorrow People fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winmill, Sammie
1948 births
English television actresses
Living people
People from Bognor Regis