[155][r] Later that year, while filming the third series of Sykes, she suffered a cancer scare and lost a considerable amount of weight. DC Thomson Co Ltd 2023. He used to say, Ill just check the obituaries to start to see if Im still here. He had a wicked sense of humour and I knew hed enjoy the joke. Now, speaking for the first time, Brenda, 76, says: 'John was not a good dad - he was never cut out to be a . Tragedy struck when her former RAF officer dad was killed in a flying accident when she was just one and a half. But she was an actress of far greater range than she was ever allowed to employ.. She was born Josephine Jaques (there was no "c" at first) in Kent in 1922. . 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[161] When the show moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Sykes "began to behave rather strangely and he even accused Hattie of not being able to deliver a proper feed line". [Hattie meets John Schofield for the first time when he drives up in a red E-Type Jaguar sports car] John Schofield : Are you all right here, or do you need to sit in the back like the Queen? [67][g] She then directedbut did not appear inthe Players' Christmas pantomime of 1952, Babes in the Wood. An article in The Guardian by Mark Lawson mixed fiction with reality when he wrote that "standards of hygiene have slipped since Hattie Jacques ran NHS wards". When the war did break out, she became a nurse with the Voluntary Aid Detachment eerily echoing a role with which shed later become synonymous and one of the guests on This Is Your Life was her British Red Cross Society Divisional Director Vivienne Catlock. [32] She became so nervous during the audition that Tommy Handley, the show's star, held her hand, which she found made her more nervous. Because a dressing room was arranged that avoided her needing to use stairs, Sykes accused her of receiving special treatment. [173] In November 1995 a blue plaque was unveiled by Eric Sykes and Clive Dunna colleague from her Players' Theatre daysat her former house: 67 Eardley Crescent, Earls Court, London. We want Hattie! roared the crowd. This article related to a British film of the 2010s is a stub. He married the other woman his private secretary Anne Spencer, who was 14 years his junior at St Pancras Register Office, on June 18, 1969, and tried to settle down to a quieter life. I preferred her role as Eric Sykes sister because her weight was never referred to. 'Schofield was earthy, sexy and rough and made her feel young again., The atmosphere was heavy to say the least. In music hall, Hattie was known as the Queen of the Players, and Eric Sykes said: I was intoxicated with the way she was doing it because everyone was singing old vaudeville songs. Save up to 50% on Women's Accessories when you shop now. Instead of sex, Jacques would have to learn to reconcile herself to a career of put-downs from Bernard Bresslaw and his ilk. It was Hattie to whom Schofield turned after the death of the four-year-old in May 1963. Williams is wrestled upside down as Jacquess long-suppressed desires break forth. The biopic, starring Gavin & Stacey star. It was only after she declared openly her love for his rival, that Le Mesurier realised he had lost his wife to her younger boyfriend. She concentrated on the script and its interpretation instead of winning easy laughs by playing 'the fattie'. [186], Gray observes that "Jacques is enduringly associated with the role of hospital matron"[1] and her portrayal of the character in five films had a lasting impact on both her legacy and on the role and view of Matrons in the National Health Service. Hattie ended the marriage in 1965 but John who by that time had proposed to his third wife, family friend Joan allowed her to blame his infidelity so as not to harm her career. Moment commuter blasts eco-zealots, Royal superfans camping on The Mall ahead of King's Coronation, Ukraine drone strike hits major fuel depot in port Sevastopol, Women's rights activists and pro-trans campaigners separated, Russian freight train derails and bursts into flames after explosion, Hundreds of Household Division members rehearse for coronation, Braverman: People crossing Channel are 'at odds with British values', Cambridge students party in the park during annual celebrations, 'You motherf***ers don't understand': Bam Margera details 'turmoil', Historic chairs to be reused by the King for the coronation service. [48], On 6 June 1950 Jacques was cast in the first episode of the weekly radio show Educating Archie as Agatha Dinglebody. [176] She was played by Ruth Jones, who Robin Le Mesurier thought "had captured my mother perfectly". Hattie quickly became besotted with him and, being so unconfident about her own looks, couldnt believe that someone so stunningly attractive could find her equally seductive., Carry On: Ruth Jones as Hattie in the new BBC drama. Eric Sykes resented it when Jacques got bigger rounds of applause or if she had a nicer dressing room. and the offer was raised accordingly. [2] Jacques' son Robin Le Mesurier later described Jones' performance as "(having) captured my mother perfectly".[3]. [154], In 1974 Jacques's sons were arrested for possession of cannabis, and her house was searched by police. [31], In August 1947 Ted Kavanagh, the scriptwriter of the BBC Home Service show It's That Man Again (ITMA), visited the Players' and invited Jacques to audition for the series, which she did on 18 September, for a fee of five guineas. And her sometime Carry On co-star Patsy Rowlands added: She felt used, she felt so vulnerable, and I think that vulnerability came from the fact that she was a lady who took a lot of personal knocks about her size. Shop the best selection of deals on Fitness now. [78][79][i] Jacques's arrival on Hancock "provided an additional boost to the series", according to television historian Richard Webber. [65] Le Mesurier reported that he was "faintly relieved" when the revue came to an end because of her exertions,[66] added to which she appeared in the 27 episodes of the third series of Educating Archie between September 1952 and June 1953. Playing a never-ending roster of headmistresses, matrons and disappointed virgins, the outsize actress became a national symbol of shocked propriety. Rogers initially chose Joan Sims to play the role of the hospital matron but she declined the part, stating that Jacques's performance of the role in Carry On Nurse could not be bettered. Ruth Jones takes on the role of the larger-than-life Carry On actress Hattie Jacques, revealing how her home life was blown apart by a secret sexual liaison with her handsome young driver while. "[42] The couple wed on 10 November that year, at Kensington Registrar's Office. [122] In 1964 Le Mesurier moved out of the marital home,[123] made a decision to protect Jacques from any negative publicity, and allowed her to bring a divorce suit on grounds of his own infidelity. [148][p], During the course of 1972 Jacques co-starred in the first series of Sykes, in which she played Hattie Sykes, "the wide-eyed, less-knowing but remarkably patient sister-cum-mother-figure";[146][q] at its height, Sykes had 17million viewers. [171] Peter Chapman of The Independent stated that Jacques was "blessed with remarkable grace, delicacy and warmth, giving her an almost unique comic appeal". Schofield slept on the sofa when Le Mesurier was at home and shared Hatties bed when her husband was away on location. "I don't like playing battleaxes, I want to feel protected like any other woman. [175], In 2011 Jacques and Le Mesurier's marriage was the subject of a BBC Four biographical film called Hattie, which focused on Jacques's affair with John Schofield. John Le Mesurier was married to his first wife, actress June Melville, when he began dating Hattie Jacques in 1947. [143] She spent May and June filming Carry On Loving, in which she played Sophie Bliss, released in September that year. After all, we ran an open house with friends popping in unannounced and not infrequently staying with us for days or weeks on end. However, in 1963, after a charity fund raiser for leukaemia, Hattie meets the young and handsome John Schofield, whose son died of the disease. But The Mail on Sunday has discovered that he could not remain faithful to her, either. Though, in the words of the producer Ernest Maxin, a wonderfully sexy comedienne, in matters of the heart Jacquess life was not plain sailing. To feed this lot on Christmas Day meant three turkeys on the go in three ovens. Where is Hattie streaming? He signed to Clapton Orient and Fulham F.C., but his career was cut short when he died in a flying accident on 8 August 1923. He allegedly also became violent towards Hattie although he never hurt his first wife. [39] In the latter performance, The Times commented that Jacques "must surely be among the funniest fairies" in her role as the Fairy Queen Antedotawhich was one of her favourite parts. The "Archie" of the title was the ventriloquist's dummy Archie Andrews, operated by Peter Brough. [188] After complaints about the NHS in 2008, the Western Morning News suggested the government should "clone a Hattie Jacques-type matron to run a tight ship everywhere". Deals and discounts in Nails you dont want to miss. 'A reformed man': John Schofield with his second wife Anne, a year before his death in 2003. When he visited her on location, they had a huge row, in which Schofield admitted he had fallen in love with another woman. Save up to 50% on Swimwear when you shop now. Hatties weight ballooned to more than 20st and with that came arthritis and ulcerated legs, while she also had a couple of cancer scares and surgery for non-malignant tumours on her kidneys. [2] She was the youngest child of Robin Rochester Jaques (18971923), a serviceman in the British Army and later the Royal Air Force, and Mary Jaques (ne Thorn), a nurse who served in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). [166] Her health remained poor, and insurance companies refused to insure her for film work. [75][76], A second pregnancy led to the birth of a son, Kim, "who came rollicking and laughing into the world in October 1956, a trifle before his allotted time", according to Le Mesurier. [92], Jacques began her association with the Carry On series in March 1958[94] with the first film in the series, Carry On Sergeant. Birthdate: February 7th, 1922. Until she complained, scriptwriters expected her to endure cruel jokes about her weight: Look at her plate piled up there, said Tony Hancock in his radio show. Yet even then he did not move out. In her later career Jacques showed "a comic talent of extraordinary versatility. Here she portrayed a character named Ginger, who was described as a "grotesque figure", with an "insatiable lust for bestsellers on the atrocities of World War Two". John had gone to visit the Players' Theatre in London with fellow actor Geoffrey Hibbert - and Hattie was one of the performers. Worse, for 19 years Jacques was Eric Sykes's on-screen sister. The truth was that she had been in a fight with Schofield he was jealous of Hatties visits to me and felt threatened.. [101] Other characterisations followed, including the formidable maths mistress Grace Short in Carry On Teacher (1959)[102] and the friendly Police Sergeant Laura Moon in Carry On Constable (1960). John Le Mesurier and Hattie Jacques present a united front on This Is Your Life. The BBC Four show, Hattie, focuses on Jacques' affair with car dealer John Schofield while she was married to Dad's Army star John Le Mesurier. Ever the gentleman, he had admitted adultery with Joan to save Hatties reputation. This series would go on to employ the same group of actors who would collectively become known as the "Carry On team". Summaries. [27][40], Tommy Handley died suddenly on 9 January 1949; the BBC decided that he was "so much the keystone and embodiment of the actual performance" of ITMA, that they cancelled the show immediately. [184], Jacques's biographer, Frances Gray, highlighted two aspects of the actress's abilities; in her appearances in the sequence of post-war Dickens adaptations (Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, Scrooge and Pickwick) Jacques "reflected her talent for larger-than-life comedy which never lost its grip on humanity", while in other films, such as Mother Riley Meets the Vampire, she displayed "a broader comic mode". Save up to 50% on Women's Clothing when you shop now. In 1966, Schofield ran off with an Italian heiress. A recurring role for Jacques was a no-nonsense matron which she played in five of the films Carry On Nurse,[87] Carry On Doctor,[88] Carry On Again Doctor,[89] Carry On Camping[90] and Carry On Matron. From 1958 to 1974 she appeared in 14 Carry On films, playing various roles including the formidable hospital matron. Find the best deals on Small Appliances from your favorite brands. I could have walked out but whatever my failings, I loved Hattie and the children and I was certain I had to be certain that we could repair the damage. Location: Kensington, London, UK. She braved the Blitz for trysts with an American soldier who made the earth move. Explore. Hattie arrived one morning with some mail and magazines. [62], Jacques became pregnant in 1952, but worked through most of her pregnancy, appearing in the Players' revue The Bells of St Martins between August and November 1952: she slid down the table and did the splits at the end[63]something The Times thought was "especially good",[64] although The Manchester Guardian considered that she was "monumental of person but surprisingly thin of voice". Although Le Mesurier did not mention the marital situation when being questioned by Andrews, he made the comment that for Jacques "the home comes first", which Merriman considered had been said "rather pointedly". The first series ran for 29 weeks until 19 December. [47] The film critic Geoff Mayer considered that Jacques had "the best scene in the film with her mock seductive dance in front of an angry [Niall] MacGinnis". Hattie Jacques : [coyly] I'd need six months' notice to squeeze my behind in there. [159][s] During the course of the different tours relations between the two stars became increasingly strained and Sykes altered the act several times to ensure he received more acclaim than Jacques. In 1962, the Carry On actress met cockney driver and car-dealer John Schofield, who once chauffeured her to a . He later wrote that she "moved about the stage with an elegance and grace as if she owned it. [112][l] By this time Carry On had become a leading film franchise, with the author Robert Ross describing it as a "phenomenon". [1] As a singer she was also praised; Jonathan Cecil of The Spectator said that her "bell-tone voice with its cut-crystal dictionperfect for radiohad an edge of pain which suggested a greater depth to her talents than she was generally allowed to express". Hattie would often be found in front of the cooker in a long, rather tatty evening dress she wore as a housecoat, at nine oclock in the morning after a raucous party. [36], For much of 1948 Jacques continued to record episodes of ITMA for half the week, while spending evenings in the Players' Theatre; she also found time during the spring to record the role of Flora in No, No, Nanette for the BBC[37] and appear at the Whitehall Theatre in Bates Wharf with the Under Thirty Theatre Group. A chance introduction at The Establishment, a drinking club owned by comedian Peter Cook, was to pave the way for Le Mesurier and Hatties divorce.
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