Who's Who Of
The Benny Hill Show

Page 15
(Parsons - Price)

A Special Thanks must go to contributing editor William Brown for submitting these photos and information on each of these actors / actresses. Many of them were regulars and some were actually guest stars. I have added links to the Internet Movie Database where I could find them. Hope you can find many of those stars you've been wondering about and maybe a few you hadn't thought of. If you don't find what you are looking for, fear not. This section will continue to expand. Thanks again to William Brown, who wrote all of the information. I have also taken this section and put all of the entries in alphabetical order. If you are looking for someone specific, simply place your cursor on the links on the right hand side of the page. A caption will pop up letting you know which names that link will take you to. Enjoy!

Nicholas Parsons (b.1923)

IMDB Entry

From his final TBHS appearance on March 13, 1974, is Nicholas Parsons, who filled in ably as Benny's straight man whenever Henry McGee was not available. He has had a long and varied career, but is perhaps most famous in England as the host of the game show Sale of the Century (which, at this point, brought his run with Hill to an end, and which Benny later parodied). Since 1967, he has hosted every edition of the BBC radio series Just a Minute. (NOTE: I detected a link to his official website in the "Links" section).

Yvonne Paul

IMDB Entry

Yvonne Paul, who later became a modeling agent and whose clientele included some girls who appeared on TBHS. Top: from Feb. 24, 1971, and Bottom: from her last TBHS on March 22, 1972. Perhaps her most famous role was as the nurse who plays strip poker with Maurice Dribble (Benny) in the Dec. 25, 1969 "The Short Happy Life of Maurice Dribble" sketch.

Anika Pavel

IMDB Entry

Czech-born model/actress Anika Pavel, here seen as "Midnight" in the April 25, 1979 "The Police Raid in Waterloo Station" sketch. (Her name was misspelled as "Anita" Pavel in the end credits of that show.) She was also one of the harem beauties in the short-lived 1973 Frankie Howerd series Whoops Baghdad, as was Cheryl (Cherri) Gilham.

Mandy Perryment

IMDB Entry

This is Mandy Perryment, as taken in 1980 for The Spotlight. A former child actress who was in the 1973 London Weekend TV production The Death of Adolf Hitler (as "Helga Goebbels"), she appeared on the Dec. 26, 1978 TBHS where she figured in the opening "Coconut Milk" number, and is also believed to be amongst the Hill's Angels as participating in the Jan. 5, 1983 "The Cruise" and opening "We Are the Lifeguards" numbers. Her other credits include The Kenny Everett Video Show and The Little & Large Show (where she was a part of a dance troupe called "Foxy Feeling" which also included once and future Hill supporting player Erica Lynley), and the movie The Music Machine. A well-known vegetarian, Ms. Perryment today is a casting director, and has a website: www.mandy.com.

Jo Peters

IMDB Entry

A screencap of Jo Peters from the end of the March 13, 1974 "Scuttle Escorts" sketch (she was in the magenta/pink dress). Ms. Peters' other credits included a 1973 edition of The Two Ronnies, as well as Confessions of a Sex Maniac (1974, which also featured Cherri Gilham and Zoe Hendry, qv), Confessions of a Window Cleaner (also 1974), and To the Devil a Daughter (1976, her most recent film credit).

Petticoat and Vine

IMDB Entry

The folk-rock quartet Petticoat and Vine, in a full shot vidcap (top) from their only TBHS appearance on Jan. 27, 1971, seen here performing "Welcome To The World Of Love And Laughter." They also accompanied Benny (in place of The Ladybirds) on his opening "Flying South" number, as well as backing him on the first song ("In The Papers") on the "Top of the Tops" sketch. This group was formed along the lines of The Mamas and The Papas, and outside of TBHS they also appeared on shows hosted by Harry Secombe (of Goon Show fame) and Jimmy Tarbuck. One of the band's early members, Joan O'Neill (then known as Joan 'Cathy' Tuffley), still performs today with her own group, but is primarily known nowadays, if at all, as the mother of former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm (a.k.a. Mel C, a.k.a. Sporty Spice); ironically, however, she did not appear with the group on this show. Their lineup at the time of this appearance were: (above) Norman Smeddles, (center) Lesley Eccles, (below) primary lead vocalist Valerie Coughlin, and (bottom) Colin (Sid) Maddocks. Today, Mr. Maddocks and his wife, Barbara, are travel agents; his account of his days with Petticoat and Vine, and their appearance on this show, can be found at www.virtualtravelcast.com.

Duncan Pettigrew

IMDB Entry

Duncan Pettigrew, seen here from the April 27, 1988 "Hill's Angels: Club Chic-A-Go-Go" sequence. He was part of a circus act with Gary O'Bee (qv) in the 1980's.

Christine Pilgrim

IMDB Entry

This is Christine Pilgrim, as seen here in the April 16, 1986 "War and Peace" quickie. She was also amongst the cast of the April 27, 1988 show. She also has her own site now so you can find out more about her at www.christinepilgrim.com.

Marie Ploski

IMDB Entry

From the opening moments of the "Benny Kelly" sketch of Benny Hill Down Under, a shot of Australian dancer/actress Marie Ploski. Her other known credits (one as Marie T. Ploski) were two films, The Pirate Movie (1982) and Rebel (1985). It should be noted that in an article about the then-upcoming BHDU that was published in the Sept. 10, 1977 issue of TV Week (an Australian television magazine), her name was spelled as Marie Polski, but this researcher was unable to find reference to anyone by that particular name on the web.

Nosher Powell (b.1928)

IMDB Entry

Here's the other legendary British stuntman, Nosher Powell, seen here in three shots from the original B&W "Undercover Sanitary Inspector" sketch doubling for (from l.) Benny, Bob Todd and Lesley Goldie, during the fight sequence. Two years after this show, he played Jack Bodell in the "Boxing Tonight" sketch featured in the "Dennis Moore" episode (#37) of Python.

Lisa Price

IMDB Entry

A closeup of Lisa Price, from the Feb. 10, 1982 "Mimed Striptease" routine. Lisa could be considered a "bookend Angel," as she appeared on the very first show to feature the Angels, Feb. 6, 1980 (she was one of the girls in the "Chez Ben Grand Gala" routine), as well as the aforementioned 1982 edition which was the very last to credit individual Angels on the show (she was also one of the dancers in the "Little Dimpton Street Party" number.) Coincidentally, Ms. Price had entries in The Spotlight (London) in each of the years she appeared on TBHS - in the 1980/81 and 1982/83 editions, respectively, with her look pretty much mirroring how she appeared on each of the shows in question.