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Susan Penhaligon
Susan Penhaligon
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Susan Penhaligon (born 3 July 1949) is a Cornish[1] actress and writer known for her role in the drama series Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976), and for playing Helen Barker in the sitcom A Fine Romance (1981–1984).

Key Information

She appeared in the soap opera Emmerdale as Jean Hope in 2006, and her film appearances include Under Milk Wood (1972); No Sex Please, We're British (1973); The Land That Time Forgot (1974); The Uncanny (1977); Paul Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange (1977) and as Lucy Westenra in Count Dracula (1977). She has also had a substantial stage career.

Tagged the "British Bardot" in the 1970s, she was described by Clive Aslet in The Daily Telegraph as "the face of the decade".[2]

Early life and education

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Penhaligon is the eldest child of Bill, an engineer for the Shell Oil Company and Jean Penhaligon who ran a bed and breakfast. Born in Manila, where her father was working, Penhaligon returned with her family to the UK aged six and spent her formative years living in St Ives and Falmouth in Cornwall. Aged 11, she was sent to boarding school in Bristol where her acting ambitions were encouraged. She has two brothers and a sister in the US. After her parents divorced, her father went to live in San Francisco. She is a cousin of David Penhaligon, a former Liberal member of parliament in Cornwall.[3]

While training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art,[4] Penhaligon shared a flat with Peter Hammill; she is mentioned in the lyrics of the Van der Graaf Generator song "Refugees" and the Hammill song "Easy to Slip Away".[5]

Acting career

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Theatre

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Penhaligon's first appearance in the theatre was playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing in a two weekly repertory company.[6]

In the West End she appeared in a 1987 production of Three Sisters at the Albery Theatre.[7] In 1982, she played a leading part in The Real Thing at the Strand Theatre, Aldwych (now called the Novello). She appeared in The Maintenance Man at the Comedy Theatre in 1987, and played Curley’s Wife in a 1984 production of Of Mice and Men at the Mermaid Theatre.[8] She has toured the UK extensively, appearing in productions of The Constant Wife (Richmond Theatre, 2004),[9] Mrs. Warren's Profession (Richmond Theatre, 2009),[10] Death Trap (Theatre Royal, Norwich, 2002),[11] Agatha Christie's Verdict (Floral Pavilion Theatre, 2011),[6] Dangerous Obsession with Simon Ward (Theatre Royal, Bath, 1989),[12] and Lord Arthur Saville's Crime by Oscar Wilde (Richmond Theatre, 2005).[13]

She was in Time and the Conways, Lower Depths and The Cherry Orchard, and played a leading part in Arthur Miller's Broken Glass at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

In the Edinburgh Festival Fringe she appeared in the premiere of Dario Fo's Abduction Diana and she appeared in a critically acclaimed production of Misery at the King's Head Theatre and Keeping Up With the Joans with her friend Katy Manning.

Television

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Her television credits include Public Eye (1975) (as Tuesday Simpson, a lesbian, would-be seductress of Julian Bradley, played by Ronald Lewis), Count Dracula (1977) with Louis Jourdan, Bouquet of Barbed Wire, Upstairs Downstairs, Tales of the Unexpected, Bergerac, Remington Steele, Wycliffe, Doctor Who, The Taming of the Shrew by the BBC Shakespeare series, Heart of the Country, A Kind of Loving, A Fine Romance, three episodes of Doctors, three episodes of Casualty, and UK soap Emmerdale (in which she played Jean Hope).[14]

Being Cornish, there was one particular role Penhaligon badly wanted and auditioned for, that of the miner's daughter and servant girl Demelza in Poldark; she lost out to Welsh actress Angharad Rees.[15] ,

Film

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Penhaligon had roles in films such as Say Hello to Yesterday (1970); Private Road (1971); Under Milk Wood (1972) as Mae Rose Cottage; No Sex Please, We're British (1973); The Land That Time Forgot (1974); House of Mortal Sin (1976); Nasty Habits (1977); Paul Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange (1977) as a British military officer; The Uncanny (1977); Leopard in the Snow (1978); Patrick (1978); The Masks of Death (1984) and Top Dog (2014). She also played the role of the sole survivor of LANSA Flight 508, Juliane Koepcke in the film Miracles Still Happen (1974), directed by Giuseppe Maria Scotese.

Writing career

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Penhaligon's novel For the Love of Angel, published in 2008 by Truran Books, is set in Cornwall in the 1880s.[16]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1971 Say Hello to Yesterday Girl on train uncredited
1971 Under Milk Wood Mae Rose Cottage
1971 Private Road Ann Halpern
1973 No Sex Please, We're British Penny Hunter
1974 The Last Chapter Penny
1974 Miracles Still Happen Juliane Koepcke
1974 The Land That Time Forgot Lisa Clayton
1976 House of Mortal Sin Jenny Welch
1977 Nasty Habits Felicity
1977 The Uncanny Janet
1977 Soldier of Orange Susan
1977 Count Dracula Lucy Westenra
1978 Leopard in the Snow Helen James
1978 Patrick Kathy Jacquard
1980 The Taming of the Shrew Bianca Minola
1984 The Masks of Death Miss Derwent
1999 Junk Mrs. Brogan
2013 Patrick: Evil Awakens Woman on Radio Cameo; voice
2014 Top Dog Sal
2018 The Dead Room Joan
2021 Into the Night Mary Richards
2022 Long Way Back Angie

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1970 BBC Play of the Month Maid Episode: "The Rivals"
1971 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Judy Episode: "Pandora"
1971 Play for Today Barbara Episode: "O Fat White Woman"
1971 Upstairs, Downstairs Mary Stokes Episode: "A Cry for Help"
1971 Thirty-Minute Theatre Marjory Episode: "Jenkins"
1972 Pardon My Genie Joyce Episode: "If Opportunity Knocks: I'm Out"
1972 Doctor Who Lakis Serial: "The Time Monster"
1972 The Visitors Gisela All 5 episodes
1972 Country Matters Ianthe Forrest Episode: "Craven Arms"
1973 The Regiment Annie Hassock Episode: "Troopship"
1973 Late Night Theatre Barbara Episode: "Barbara's Wedding"
1973 Once Upon a Time Episode: "Ishmael"
1973 Love Story Carol Episode: "My Brother Peter"
1974 BBC Play of the Month Isabella Episode: "The Changeling"
1974 Seven Faces of Woman Christine Episode: "Polly Put the Kettle On"
1975 Public Eye Tuesday Simpson Episode: "The Fall Guy"
1975 Play for Today Lucy Bagley Episode: "Brassneck"
1976 Shades of Greene Julia Episode: "Mortmain"
1976 Bouquet of Barbed Wire Prue Sorenson All 7 episodes
1978 BBC2 Play of the Week Secretary Episode: "Fearless Frank"
1978 Return of the Saint Emma Bartlett Episode: "The Imprudent Professor"
1979 The Dick Francis Thriller Carol Tomes Episode: "Horsenap"
1980 Ramp Ahead Suzy Wilkins TV film
1981–1984 A Fine Romance Helen 23 episodes
1982 A Kind of Loving Donna Pennyman 4 episodes
1982 Tales of the Unexpected W.P.C. Mary Bryan Episode: "Decoy"
1983 Tales of the Unexpected Mary Ashburn Episode: "Hit and Run"
1983 Heather Ann Heather Ann Lewis TV film
1984 Remington Steele Margaret Cable Episode: "Maltese Steele"
1987 Heart of the Country Natalie Harris All 4 episodes
1989 Bergerac Ruth Gardiner Episode: "Natural Enemies"
1991 Trouble in Mind Julia Charlesworth All 9 episodes
1992 Casualty Hattie Kent Episode: "Act of Faith"
1993 Teenage Health Freak Jane Episode: "#2.4"
1994 Wycliffe Mariah Penrose Episode: "The Scapegoat"
1997 The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Beth Fyfield Episode: "Thornapple"
1999 Junk Mrs Brogan TV film
2001 Doctors Carla Halliday Episode: "Kissing Babies"
2002 A Touch of Frost Pam Hartley 2 episodes
2003 Casualty Leila Morrison Episode: "Getting Through"
2006 Emmerdale Jean Hope 13 episodes
2010 Doctors Angela Linkson Episode: "Double Bogey"
2012 Doctors Daphne Morris Episode: "Out Damned Spot"
2013 Casualty Anne Pitney Episode: "Rock and a Hard Place"
2016 Doctors June Collerton Episode: "Clues to My Heart"
2018 The Dead Room Joan TV film
2021 Doctors Alice Price Episode: "Sleeping with Ghosts"[17]
2024 Doctors Emily Chandak Episode: "Protest"

References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Susan Penhaligon (born 3 July 1949) is a British actress and writer of Cornish descent, best known for her role as Prue Sorenson in the ITV drama series (1976) and as Laura in the sitcom A Fine Romance (1981–1984). Born in , , to British parents, she launched her acting career in the early with supporting roles in films such as (1971) and The Land That Time Forgot (1975), before gaining prominence in horror and period pieces like Patrick (1978) and a adaptation of (1977). Her work spans British television, theatre, and occasional writing, with a career marked by versatile portrayals of complex female characters in both dramatic and comedic contexts, though she has largely stepped back from acting since the 1990s.

Early life and education

Family background and childhood

Susan Penhaligon was born on 3 July 1949 in , , to parents of Cornish descent, with her father, William Russell Penhaligon, working there as an engineer for Shell. Her family traces its roots to 17th-century , including ancestors who were farm workers, hoopers, and clay pit laborers. At age six, she relocated to , , where her parents' marriage ended soon after; she and her brother then lived with their grandmother for six months before moving with their mother to St Ives. In St Ives, her childhood unfolded amid the bohemian milieu of the local artists' community, marked by sensory impressions of and wine. Her grandmother, known as "Granny Pen," exemplified traditional Cornish culture, teaching Penhaligon to prepare saffron cake and while asserting, "We don’t live in , we live in ." These experiences fostered Penhaligon's enduring self-identification as Cornish over British, grounded in familial heritage and regional customs. She is the second of , the Liberal MP for who died in a car accident on 22 December 1986. Around age 10, her father relocated to , after which contact diminished.

Formal training in acting

Penhaligon enrolled at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in at age 18, undertaking formal training in the late . The institution, under principal Raphael Jago, delivered structured instruction in core disciplines, including voice projection, movement, and character interpretation, tailored to prepare students for professional stage work. The curriculum emphasized classical theatre techniques, fostering aspirations among trainees like Penhaligon to secure roles with major companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company or National Theatre, even as British acting standards began incorporating more experimental methods in the post-war period. This focus on disciplined rehearsal and textual analysis provided foundational skills in , distinguishing the academy's approach from less rigorous contemporary alternatives. Upon completion, Penhaligon leveraged this preparation for initial professional auditions, navigating entry into amid intense competition for opportunities in London's West End and regional venues.

Professional career

Theatre performances

Penhaligon's professional stage debut came in 1971 at age 22, portraying in at the Connaught Theatre in , where she performed in a two-weekly repertory company and drew attention for a nude scene in one production sequence. This regional start emphasized her versatility in classical roles amid the demands of rapid repertory schedules. In the early 1970s, she built experience through additional repertory engagements, including appearances at Theatre Royal, focusing on dramatic character work that developed her vocal projection and physical expressiveness for live audiences. A breakthrough in mainstream theatre arrived in 1982 with her West End portrayal of Annie, the emotionally complex mistress figure, in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing at the Strand Theatre (now Novello), running from 16 November 1982 to 16 February 1985 under Michael Codron's production; the role showcased her command of Stoppard's intellectual dialogue and relational tensions. By 1987, Penhaligon took on Chekhovian depth as Natasha in Three Sisters at the Albery Theatre in the West End, highlighting her ability to convey subtle familial discord, while also starring as Nora in Ibsen's at Palace Theatre from 22 October to 14 November, delivering a nuanced interpretation of the protagonist's psychological evolution. Later productions included a leading role in Arthur Miller's Broken Glass at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in in 2001, where she played Sylvia Gellburg, a character paralyzed amid , requiring sustained physical restriction to a or to underscore themes of emotional . In subsequent years, she returned to touring work, joining the tour of in 2017 as a key ensemble member, and playing Mrs. Boyle in Agatha Christie's tour from July to November 2019, contributing to the production's atmospheric suspense through precise ensemble timing. More recently, in 2021, Penhaligon appeared in Into the Night, a play depicting the 1981 , emphasizing collective heroism in a Cornish coastal context via intimate ensemble delivery.

Television roles and breakthroughs

Penhaligon's early television work included a minor role as the Atlantean handmaiden Lakis in the serial "The Time Monster," broadcast in June 1972 as part of the Ninth Doctor's season. Her breakthrough arrived with the portrayal of Prue Sorenson, the troubled daughter in a dysfunctional middle-class family, in the ITV miniseries Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976), adapted from Andrea Newman's novel. The series, which aired over seven episodes from January to February 1976, drew peak audiences of 26 million viewers for its provocative exploration of incestuous tensions, adultery, and emotional repression, generating widespread public controversy and media scrutiny over its unflinching depiction of bourgeois sexual mores. This role marked her emergence as a leading actress in British television drama, emphasizing raw psychological realism amid the era's shifting social norms. Building on this success, Penhaligon expanded into lighter fare with the role of Helen, the meddlesome sister-in-law, in the sitcom A Fine Romance (1981–1984), which ran for three series and 27 episodes alongside and Michael Williams as the central couple. The program highlighted her comedic timing in scenarios of awkward matchmaking and , contributing to its popularity as a genteel contrasting the intensity of her earlier dramatic work. The original Bouquet of Barbed Wire's influence persisted, evidenced by ITV's 2010 three-part remake starring and Simon Williams, which revisited similar themes of familial betrayal and updated them for contemporary audiences.

Film roles

Penhaligon entered cinema with supporting roles in early British productions, including Mollie in the romantic drama Say Hello to Yesterday (1971), directed by , and a part in the adaptation (1972), where she portrayed Mae Rose Cottage alongside and . These appearances established her in period and literary genres, though budgets remained modest, with produced on a £250,000 scale typical of independent films at the time. Her output shifted toward international co-productions and horror, reflecting opportunities in cinema amid limited leading roles for British actresses in a industry favoring established male leads. In Paul Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange (1977), a Dutch WWII resistance epic based on Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema's memoirs, she played Susan, the British secretary aiding undercover operations, contributing to the film's multinational cast that grossed over 1.3 million guilders in the upon release. The same year, in the anthology horror The Uncanny (1977), she featured in the "London" segment as Janet, a entangled with a murderous , exemplifying her draw to supernatural thrillers produced by Amicus, known for low-to-mid budget effects-driven narratives. Penhaligon's horror involvement peaked with Patrick (1978), an Australian psycho-thriller directed by Richard Franklin, where she led as Kathy Jacquard, a nurse uncovering the telekinetic abilities of comatose patient Patrick after he murders his mother and her lover. The film, budgeted at AUD$600,000, emphasized psychological tension over gore, securing distribution in the UK and despite modest returns, and highlighted risks in genre work, as her vulnerable protagonist echoed prior damsel archetypes. She also appeared in House of Mortal Sin (1976), a Pete Walker religious horror, as a victim in a tale of clerical , underscoring her recurring supporting turns in British exploitation cinema. Later film credits dwindled, with sparse roles such as in (1978), a romantic drama, and Not Quite Jerusalem (1986, also titled Not Quite Paradise), an Israeli kibbutz comedy where she supported the ensemble. By the and beyond, cinematic output included Junk (1999), a crime drama, and minor parts in The Dead Room (2018) and Long Way Back (2022), signaling a pivot from screen prominence amid industry shifts favoring younger talent and franchise-driven projects. These selections suggest pragmatic navigation of a competitive field, prioritizing viable scripts over lead status in an era of declining mid-tier British film production.

Transition to writing

In the mid-1990s, Penhaligon began exploring authorship by co-writing A Two Hander, an anthology of original poetry, with actress Sara Kestelman; the work, published by Do-Not Press in 1996, drew on their shared performing arts background and was staged in performances that incorporated original songs. This initial foray preceded her debut novel, For the Love of Angel, published in 2008 by Truran Books as a 270-page narrative set in 1880s , , which incorporated authentic depictions of regional mining and social life. The story's focus on Cornish locales and customs aligned with Penhaligon's upbringing in St Ives from age six, channeling an interest in empirically grounded over broader career pivots. In a 2010 interview, she indicated ongoing writing ambitions, having commenced a sequel though it remained unfinished at that time. Penhaligon's motivations emphasized documentation of Cornwall's tangible heritage, evident in the novel's atmospheric rendering of 19th-century details without reliance on speculative reinvention; reception included modest praise for its tender historical eye, though sales figures remain undocumented in available .

Personal life

Marriages and family

Penhaligon has been married three times. Her first marriage was to Nicholas Loukes from 1971 to 1972, ending in . She married director second, from 1974 to 1981; the union produced one son, Truan Munro, and also ended in . Her third marriage was to actor , from 1986 to 1992, similarly concluding in . Preston and Penhaligon reconciled in 1997 without remarrying, maintaining a partnership until a second separation confirmed in early 2025. Penhaligon has one child from her marriages and has prioritized family privacy in later years, particularly after reducing acting commitments, focusing on personal stability despite the demands of prior career phases. Her parents' when she was around 10 led to her father's relocation to the , where he remarried and had two additional children, half-siblings Karen and Greg, with whom Penhaligon reconnected as an adult.

Cornish identity and residences

Susan Penhaligon has consistently identified as Cornish rather than British, attributing this to her parents' Cornish origins and her upbringing in the region after moving there at age six from her birthplace in , . In a 2017 interview, she stated that her self-perception as Cornish stems from deep cultural and familial ties, rejecting broader in favor of regional allegiance. This identification is reinforced by her surname's Cornish linguistic roots and her relation as second cousin to , the Liberal for from 1974 until his death in 1986, whose political career highlighted Cornish interests. Despite her Cornish heritage, Penhaligon has maintained long-term residence in , , since completing drama school in the early 1970s, prioritizing proximity to professional opportunities in theatre and television over returning to full-time. For over two decades as of 2019, she has lived on a moored on the River Thames in the area, which she redesigned to include a 20-foot living space, reflecting a practical to urban life while accommodating her family and pets. This choice underscores a balance between regional pride and the demands of her career, without romanticizing rural Cornish living. Penhaligon's engagement with local issues in demonstrates her advocacy against perceived bureaucratic overreach, notably in a campaign from to 2010 challenging the Authority's mooring fee increases for residential houseboats. Following a review, fees for some owners escalated sharply—from £2,787 to as much as £9,400 annually—prompting her to organize fellow boat dwellers under groups like Oplag to contest the hikes through debates and legal appeals. The effort yielded partial success, with the Authority agreeing to reconsider policies, highlighting her role in pushing for equitable treatment of Thames residents amid rising costs.

Reception and legacy

Critical acclaim and notable achievements

Penhaligon's performance as Prue in the 1976 ITV series captured the tensions of dysfunctional family relationships, drawing peak audiences of around 20 million viewers during its original broadcast amid widespread public fascination with its themes. The role's intensity and the series' provocative narrative established it as a landmark in 1970s British television, with an user rating of 7.2/10 reflecting retrospective appreciation for the ensemble's portrayals. In a 2025 Backstage Curry podcast episode, Penhaligon reflected on the production's lasting cultural impact and the challenges of embodying such a manipulative character, underscoring its continued relevance decades later. Her supporting role as Helen in the BBC sitcom A Fine Romance (1981–1984) highlighted her skill in understated comedy, with the sibling dynamic adding layers to the central romance between Judi Dench and Michael Williams; the series earned ten BAFTA nominations, including multiple for Best Comedy Series, and wins for Dench's lead performance in 1982 and 1985, affirming the ensemble's effective timing and rapport. Penhaligon's stage work demonstrated versatility across genres, earning specific praise for commanding presence in revivals like Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap (2019 tour), where reviewers lauded her as "superb" for delivering sharp, laugh-inducing dialogue as Mrs. Boyle. In Glyn Jones's The Bed Before Yesterday (2009 Chichester production), her lead portrayal was similarly acclaimed as "superb," supported by strong ensemble interplay in a farce exploring sexual liberation. As a , Penhaligon achieved niche recognition in Cornish-themed literature with her 2008 debut novel For the Love of Angel, published by Truran Books and set in 1880s , appealing to readers interested in regional amid her established identity as a Cornish figure.

Criticisms and challenges in career

Following her breakthrough role as the provocative Prue Manson in the 1976 ITV series , Penhaligon encountered professional challenges stemming from the production's controversial themes of incestuous undertones, , and family dysfunction, which some contemporaries deemed immoral and overly explicit for broadcast television. Despite attracting moral backlash from critics who viewed its edginess as boundary-pushing to excess, the series achieved peak viewership of approximately 26 million, indicating strong audience engagement that mitigated some reputational risks but highlighted tensions between artistic ambition and industry conservatism in 1970s British TV. In the competitive acting landscape, which historically prioritizes youth and conventional appeal, Penhaligon later faced risks tied to her early association with seductive, youthful roles like Prue, potentially narrowing opportunities for more varied characterizations amid a field dominated by emerging talent. This was compounded by broader industry dynamics favoring younger performers, as evidenced by her own observations on the of substantive parts for women beyond their prime. By the 2010s, at age 61, Penhaligon publicly criticized television executives for and , asserting that broadcasters had "no time" for older actresses and effectively sidelined them from screen work, trapping performers in outdated images or aspic-like preservation expectations. In response, she pivoted to , where roles persisted but imposed ongoing physical demands—such as enduring grueling rehearsals and performances—challenging her amid natural aging processes, though she maintained a pragmatic outlook on intermittent as inherent to the profession. Film opportunities, including international projects like Patrick (1978), often underutilized supporting ensembles despite her lead presence, reflecting sporadic rather than sustained utilization in cinema.

References

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