Watch Take Three Girls – Zoë’s BBC debut from 1971

28 November 2024 11:55

There’s a treasure waiting for Zoë Wanamaker fans on YouTube: you can now watch her BBC TV debut, which is also, as far as I know, her earliest surviving TV appearance. A very young Zoë plays Jackie, a shy, somewhat awkward secretary, in an episode from the second series of bold drama Take Three Girls, which originally aired in 1971.

Although the episode’s title, ‘Jenny: Kitsch, or Protocols in a Chinese Laundry’, is tricky to fathom, the storyline is compelling (some plot spoilers ahead). Jackie works for talented, up-and-coming newspaper journalist Jenny (Carolyn Seymour), who’s part of the trio of strong-minded young women at the heart of the show. Jenny finds herself being pursued – and, to some extent, manipulated – by a flash entrepreneur, Sidney Barnes (played by the legendary comedian Bob Monkhouse, no less).

Sidney suggests that he’s incredibly wealthy, showers Jenny with fancy gifts and more or less promises her a job with a top broadsheet. She allows herself to be taken in while he feeds her stories about his business ventures for publication and tries to milk her for information about rival companies known to her employer. Jenny initially dismisses Sidney as ‘a joke’, but to modern eyes his actions look very much like harassment.

In Zoë’s main scene (which begins just under 23 minutes into the episode), it becomes clear that Sidney has also manipulated Jackie, in order to exert his influence over Jenny’s personal life as well as her career. Jackie admits that Sidney turned up at the office when Jenny was out (‘Listen, Jenny, I haven’t been quite honest with you...’). He persuaded her to hand over Jenny’s home address and phone number. Jackie also reveals that phoney information from Sidney has got Jenny into trouble with her boss.

We’re extremely fortunate to be able to watch this programme; most of the other episodes of Take Three Girls were wiped from the TV archives, as so often happened back then. Although Zoë’s role is relatively small, it’s sensitively acted, especially when Jenny is drawing a confession out of the secretary. And, of course, it paved the way for numerous other TV roles.

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Happy 22nd birthday, zoewanamaker.com!

29 July 2024 18:39

It’s almost impossible to believe, but 30 July will mark 22 years since I launched this website for Zoë Wanamaker fans! The site started life on Geocities before moving to zoewanamaker.com a few years later.

Zoë by @karodoodle

One of the most enjoyable aspects of running a website about my favourite actor is having the opportunity to get to know and become friends with other fans of Zoë and her fantastic work. For the site’s 22nd anniversary, I want to highlight a particularly special friend, Karoline (aka @karodoodle). She’s extremely kind, bright and creative with a strong social conscience and sense of justice; in other words, she possesses many of the qualities numerous fans around the world admire in Zoë.

Speaking of fans, I’m a huge fan of Karoline’s striking, stylised portraits. So I was over the moon when she agreed to create the above image of Zoë especially for this anniversary. (You can click on it to see a bigger version; there’s also a big version without the text). Karoline has a gift for capturing a person’s likeness with relatively few lines. I’m reminded of the way Zoë excels at capturing a character - by the time she’s spoken just a few lines, you have an unforgettably strong sense of that individual, from Madam Hooch to Ranyevskaya.

If you’d like to see more of Karoline’s amazing art, including this portrait she created for me last year (I told you she’s kind!) and images of her favourite band, Sparks, check out her Instagram profile @karodoodle.

Sending much love and gratitude to Zoë, her PA Vanessa, and my family and friends for their enthusiasm and support. And thank YOU for visiting this website! I’ll do my best to make the next 12 months of zoewanamaker.com as fun and memorable as possible.

And let’s conclude this celebratory post with a recent, delightful press photo of Zoë and her husband, Gawn Grainger :)

Liz xx

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Zoë filming new version of classic TV drama Bergerac

9 July 2024 17:37

This month Zoë begins filming a reimagined version of the hit 1980s detective drama Bergerac. Here she is at a read-through for the new six-part series, alongside Damien Molony. The latter has been cast as recently widowed detective Jim Bergerac, with Zoë playing another key role, Charlie Hungerford. (You can click on the photo to see a larger version.)

The press release from UKTV, the company that’s commissioned the series for its U&DRAMA channel (formerly called Drama) and streaming service, points to the difficult relationship between these two characters. ‘[Bergerac’s] mother-in-law, Charlie (Wanamaker), is concerned Jim isn’t putting his daughter Kim first’ following the tragic death of his wife.

Metro highlights the fact that Zoë, who the newspaper describes as a ‘Harry Potter legend’, is in the cast. There are also enthusiastic articles about the Bergerac reboot from the Radio Times, ITV News and Televisual, to name but a few.

In the John Nettles-led classic BBC series, Charlie (Terence Alexander) was the divorced Bergerac’s former father-in-law and a loveable rogue. It’ll be fascinating to see what effect portraying the character as a woman who (like Bergerac) is grieving in the new version will have. In another change, the updated Bergerac will feature one murder mystery rather than continuing with the one-case-per-episode format familiar to 80s Bergerac viewers.

One aspect of the show that remains the same, however, is the setting: beautiful Jersey. The new Bergerac will be made there and in the UK.

Other cast members include Philip Glenister and Pippa Haywood. The main writer is Toby Whithouse. Bergerac is a UKTV Original series produced by BlackLight TV (part of Banijay UK) and Westward Studios with support from Visit Jersey.

It’ll be screened in the UK in 2025. The press release also hints at international distribution plans.

Thanks to Janet for her help :)

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News round-up: The Big Issue, Inside No. 9, and celebrating Sam Wanamaker

25 June 2024 15:33

The Big Issue interview

Zoë is interviewed in the latest edition of The Big Issue (dated 24 June 2024), the magazine that supports homeless people in the UK.

With major elections on the horizon here and in the US, it’s not surprising that politics is the focus. Although Zoë is described as being ‘exasperated’ with the political landscape, she emphasises that kindness rather than physical/mental divisions is the way forward. ‘Our society should be helping each other [...] We can’t put walls up again.’

The article also highlights Zoë’s support for Causeway, which helps marginalised and vulnerable people. You’ll hear her voice towards the conclusion of this inspiring video for the charity’s Breaking Cyles: Building Lives campaign, which aims to help people who had deeply troubled upbringings free themselves from trauma and criminality.

The magazine is available to buy from your local Big Issue seller in the UK. You can also buy it on various digital magazine websites. (It’s currently sold out in The Big Issue’s online shop.)

Final episode of Inside No. 9

You’ll surely remember Zoë starred in a characteristically witty, weird and wonderful episode of Inside No. 9 in 2018. ‘And the Winner Is’ sees her playing Paula, an actress who’s invited to join the judging panel for a major acting awards ceremony but turns out to be less than familiar with the nominees’ work... (If you haven’t seen it, you’ll be pleased to hear you can watch the episode on the BBC iPlayer or buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.)

The final – and similarly brilliant – episode of the BBC Two series by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton (who’s previously said Zoë gave his favourite theatre performance of all when she starred in 1994’s Dead Funny), ‘Plodding On’, was broadcast on 12 June this year. Blending fiction and reality, it takes place at a party being held to mark the end of the programme. And Zoë, appearing as herself this time, is among the party guests drawn from the nine series.

This episode is also on the BBC iPlayer.

Shakespeare’s Globe celebrates Sam Wanamaker

The beautiful Shakespeare’s Globe in London marked what would’ve been its founder Sam Wanamaker’s 105th birthday on 14 June. Here’s the theatre’s touching tribute, as well as lovely words from one of his many fans, on X/Twitter.

A fantastic interview with Zoë’s dad from a 1984 documentary came to my attention a couple of days later – on Father’s Day, in fact.

In the video, which was shared by the BBC Archive, he talks so passionately about The Globe project and bringing his vision to life. Even though building work hadn’t yet begun when the documentary was made, Sam Wanamaker emphasises that ‘I’ve seen the theatre here for 15-odd years; no, absolutely see it.’

How fortunate we are that Zoë’s dad’s vision did indeed become reality and we now have both Shakespeare’s Globe and the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to enjoy.

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Wishing Zoë a wonderful birthday! ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

13 May 2024 12:03

It’s 13 May, and I’m sure Zoë Wanamaker fans all over the world will want to join me in wishing our very favourite actress an incredibly happy, magical birthday!

To celebrate, here’s a striking portrait of Zoë as Adriana in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s bold 1983 revival of The Comedy of Errors, which took place in what the RSC calls a ‘zany circus world’. I love the artist Amelia Hastings’ beautiful line work and flourishes. In fact, I think she’s captured not only Zoë’s likeness but also her energy and exuberance, don’t you?

(Click on/tap the picture to see a larger version.)

And there’s a lovely gesture from BBC Radio 4 Extra. The radio station is celebrating Zoë’s birthday by bringing one of her most fondly remembered radio series, The Older Woman (1993), back to the airwaves. In this witty, six-part comedy-drama, Zoë plays a tough, fortysomething teacher who catches the eye of her thirtysomething former student, who’s played by Martin Clunes. Toyah Wilcox also features.

Thanks to a scheduling quirk, the show won’t actually be on today – you can listen to episode one on Friday (17 May) instead! It’ll air at 7am, 12 noon and 6pm then 2am the following morning (all UK times) and be available on BBC Sounds. So wherever you are in the world, there’s bound to be a convenient time to catch it. The other episodes of The Older Woman will follow on subsequent Fridays.

With thanks to Zoë and Vanessa for info about the portrait

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