Stars Reunited : BBC1 - Tuesday 29th June : 9.30am

Su, Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc, Nicki Kelly, and surprise guest, Barry Howard spent an hour with Dale Winton reminiscing about the eight years they spent on the show that launched all of their careers. 

Su, looking fantastic, and the other stars, recalled many events that took place, with anecdotes galore keeping viewers and the studio audience highly entertained. They all spoke fondly about all aspects of Hi-De-Hi! and giggled along with old clips and headlines from the newspapers from the era. 

There was also a chance for members of the studio audience to put a question to each of the actors. 

Please click on the pictures for a page of screen captures from the show.

Su also said that she is almost finished her latest WEBLETTER and it should soon be available for inclusion on SuOnline.

The final week will be next week's visit to Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage. It is only the final three weeks of the tour that have been cancelled.

Apologies for any confusion.

This means that the performances at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester, Essex, taking place this week, will be the last.

Scheduled runs at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage, Palace Theatre, Westcliffe-On-Sea, Theatre Royal, Winchester, and Dundee Repertory Theatre will NOT take place.

If you have tickets for any of these, please contact the theatre directly for futher information.

SuOnline apologises for any disappointment or inconvenience this sad decision has caused.

SU Pollard answers the phone like a whirlwind. Her sing-song voice is full of energy and warmth and instantly transports me back 20 years to a happy time when Hi De Hi, Ho De Ho was the coolest comedy catchphrase ever.

Pollard, 54, first burst onto our screens in Opportunity Knocks and after her legendary stint as Peggy Hi De Hi's downtrodden chalet maid the versatile actor has turned her talents to roles in hit TV and theatre shows such as You Rang M'Lord, The Vagina Monologues and Annie.

The Nottingham-born performer, who is renowned for her somewhat manic personality "enthusiastic," she insisted, "let's not say manic" comes to the Orchard Theatre, Dartford, this week.

A Happy Medium is a comedy about a woman who dabbles in the spirit world but Pollard says she has shied away from researching the role.

"I have been tempted to go to a medium myself but I haven't yet. I don't know why. Maybe I'm scared of what is lurking," she said.

"I would definitely ask if there was anybody there I know. I think most people would, whether they believe it or not. There is a certain curiosity there. A lot of people like to be comforted when they have lost somebody. They want to ask Are you all right?' and Where are you?'"

The affable star has only recently finished stints in The Vagina Monologues and Annie, both of which bought her to Dartford. Is she a workaholic?

"I call myself a work enthusiast. I do like touring. It is nice to get out of London and get away from the traffic and meet your friends around the country. I have been down south for about 30 years now. I love it.

"Sometimes you don't go to a theatre for years and then, for some reason, you are back three times in a year so I am looking forward to it."

Pollard cut her teeth in the working men's clubs of the Midlands and, after an apprenticeship at the Arts Theatre, Nottingham, got her big break on Hughie Green's popular talent show in 1974.

In her time the industrious Pollard has provided the voice of Penny Crayon, released several singles and an exercise video and appeared in numerous pantomimes and Royal Variety Galas all light-hearted fare. Would she consider doing something more serious?

"I would if I felt it was a good part. People say I could play the nurse in Shakespeare but it has been done by every single person who is considered a comedy performer.

"I don't want to go down that route just for the sake of it but if something serious came up which was good and I felt it was worthwhile I would certainly give it a great deal of thought. I like to pick and mix work, if you know what I mean. I like to have a go at all kinds of things if I feel it is interesting."

So, in the spirit of Only Fools and Horses and Auf Wiedersehen Pet, would Pollard consider doing a new series of Hi De Hi?

"I don't think so, unless it was stunningly directed and produced or it was done by David Croft one of the series' writers who knows it inside out because it would be a shame to do something which wasn't as good quality as the original.

"I wouldn't like to feel I was going backwards. People want to say, oh it was so good, it was just as good as it ever was, but look what people said about Ab Fab."

Pollard laments the fact some of the old gang and friends such as John Inman will be attending a book launch by Croft without her. "Work comes first on this occasion," she said.

But she is out making new friends and, after a fabulous cameo on Kathy Burke and Jonathan Harvey's cringe-worthy comedy Gimme Gimme Gimme, she is "in talks" with Harvey to appear in a spin-off.

"I love it when you say I'm in talks," she enthused.

Pollard is almost exhaustingly energetic and follows this run with a Christmas season of Annie in Manchester.

She looks great for her age. How does she do it? By getting sweaty to her own fitness video perhaps?

"I have gone off that now, I have moved on. I do three 40-minute sessions a week and I do a lot of skips. It is marvellous. I do really good floor exercises and try to walk wherever I can. I am really careful about what I eat but I like the odd biscuit I do love a biscuit!"

And then the whirlwind is gone and the line goes dead. So I go straight to the biscuit tin in homage to one of Britain's most likeable and enduring performers.

By Mel Wallington.

Duration: 420 mins
Region: 2
Product Ref: 8222429
Release Date: 05/04/2004

There has been some confusion about which episodes are actually included on this latest set, with some websites advertising the set as having 20 episodes. In actual fact there are 13 in total, those being:

Nice People With Nice Manners
Carnival Time
A Matter of Conscience
The Pay-Off
Trouble And Strife
Stripes
Co-respondent's Course
It's A Blue World
Eruptions (45 minute Christmas Special )
The Society Entertainer
Sing You Sinners
Maplin Intercontinental
All Change

These episodes (14 through to 26) ARE series three and four, as stated in SuOnline's Episode Guides, broadcast between February 1982 and January 1983.

NB: 14 - 19 were made as series three and 20 - 26 were made as series four. They were filmed six months apart so the fact that the BBC decided to show them as one long run is coincidental. 

The BBC are offering SuOnline visitors a special offer - the chance to purchase either the DVD or VHS set at a reduced price. There is a similar offer with the recent David Croft autobiography 'You have Been Watching...' too. Further information on these offers can be obtained by contacting carolyn.bartholomew@bbc.co.uk

Many thanks to Carolyn Bartholomew and Rob Cope.

Learn about the connections between some of Britain's best-loved situation comedies by launching the pop-up application.

You'll find a selection of your favourite characters and some of the most successful shows in which they've appeared.

Please click on the picture to visit SuOnline's Hi-De-Hi! The Complete Episode Guides.

Thanks to Carolyn Bartholomew.

The comedy series, first broadcast in 1996, has a tentative release date of 13th September 2004. Further information as and when it becomes available.

Starring Paul Shane, Su Pollard, Jeffrey Holland, Julia Deakin, Barbara New, & Stephen Lewis.

Created by David Croft and Richard Spendlove. Written by David Croft, Richard Spendlove, Paul Minett, Brian Leveson, John Chapman & John Stevenson. Directed by David Croft & Roy Gould, and Produced by David Croft & Charles Garland.

Please click on the picture to visit SuOnline's Oh, Doctor Beeching! The Complete Episode Guides.

Thanks to Carolyn Bartholomew.

Though nothing has been confirmed it does look likely that fans will eventually be able to enjoy this classic series on the digital format.

After the success of the first two collections, it is also likely that there will be a DVD/VHS set of series five & six of Hi-De-Hi! released too. No details on when this will be available to purchase but rest assured any updates will be found on this page.

Please click on the picture to visit SuOnline's You Rang, M'Lord? The Complete Episode Guides.

Thanks to Carolyn Bartholomew.

Su is currently part of the Home-Tek advertising campaign on various television channels.

Home-Tek is a cleaning company, who produce a variety of products, and Su can be seen doing various household chores in the promotional clip (and even sports a spangly evening dress for one scene!).

Please check back soon to SuOnline for a page of screen captures taken from the current advert.

NB: These screen caps have now been added to the Su Telly Archive section. Please click on the picture to view them.

This is in a feature on Matt Lucas, of Little Britain, Shooting Stars and numerous other shows, and his fancy dress birthday party. Matt arrived at the do dressed as Peggy from Hi-De-Hi!

• This evening Su rounds off a week at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, in Guildford, Surrey. She is, of course, there appearing in A Happy Medium.

• Did anyone catch Su on TV over Easter in the new ad campaign? If you did please let us know.

• Pleased do keep your Hi-De-Hi! memories, anecdotes and stories coming. Rob and the gang writing/compiling the new book will welcome all contributions. Have a look at the 'HELLO CAMPERS! - Remembering Hi-De-Hi!' dedicated page for further information on this exciting project.

“I’m having a very nice time this week because I’m commuting, so it’s nice to be at home for a bit,” she said.

“I can potter about and get things done – like cleaning. I’ve had ten cleaners but none of them were very good.

“ I’m much better than them. And the cleaning gets done when you do it yourself.”

I hate cleaning, I told her. “Some people find it very therapeutic,” she pointed out. “I learn my lines when I’m ironing. It’s fantastic. And if I’m supposed to be annoyed in a line, the iron goes beserk!”

So, now you know the secret of Su’s success as an actress – ironing!

Su will be gracing Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre with her presence next week to perform A Happy Medium.

“It’s a really good show, I love it,” she said.

“It’s very visual, there’s lots of special effects, spooky music and things.

“And it’s got a great farce element, things get very manic.”

In A Happy Medium Su plays Ellen Small, who wants to make contact with her dead sister to fulfil a promise made years ago.

“I would say it’s not cerebral,” Su said.

“It’s nice, fluffy entertainment that people come back from thinking, I had a good time tonight.”

So it’s definitely not one of those plays where you come back scratching your head and wondering, what on earth was that all about?

“There’s a place for that kind of entertainment,” Su said. “But I like some of it quite fluffy.”

So what are Su’s views on mediums and psychics? Has she ever been to see one?

“I went to see Madam Petrilenguo, from an old gipsy circus family, at Blackpool,” she said.
“But she said I’d be married four times and have six children.

“That hasn’t come true! I doubt I’d be able to have any children now.”

So Su’s not a believer in all things spiritual then? “I think for some people, if they want to believe in it and it gives them comfort, that’s fair enough,” she said.

“But it’s just so hard to think that people would come back again, or there’s somebody in the room but you can’t see them.

“I don’t know if that’s spooky or comforting, actually.” I tell her for me, it’s spooky, but then I was scared of Ghostbusters.

“I’m exactly the same as you,” she exclaimed.

“When I first watched the Hunchback of Notre Dame, it was just so ugly, I had nightmares and used to wake up screaming.

“And I would have been no good in the war, because I can’t stand pain!”

After A Happy Medium there’s Annie, which Su’s doing instead of panto.

Then she’s off to New York to perform in a supper club as cabaret – and she’s in talks about a new sitcom as well.

I asked Su if she would ever consider stepping away from her lighthearted, comic work and do something more gritty.

“If the role was good, and challenging, and I felt I could get satisfaction out of it, then I would give it some thought,” she said.

Isn’t she worried she wouldn’t be taken seriously because of being seen as a comic actress?

“I think people would accept me. People do assume, quite rightly, that I’m known for comedy, but if it’s good stuff, I could be accepted for that,” she said.

Su will, however, be sticking to comedy with A Happy Medium, at the Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford from Monday to Saturday, May 15. 

Cathy Wallace

A Happy Medium stars Su Pollard (pictured) as a woman who wishes to make contact with her dead sister. She enlists the help of part-time medium, Mr Proudfoot, but their combined dabblings in the spirit world unlocks hidden powers and buried family secrets.

Ghosts from the past surround them, but is Ellen psychic, or just a bit mad? Funny, warm and with a feeling for flawed humanity, the play was co-written by top Scottish comedienne Dorothy Paul, whose distinctively hilarious stage act has gained her a legion of fans north of the border. 

She developed the play, based on one of her comedy characters, and it's received huge acclaim. 

The play also received a plaudit from 007 actor Sean Connery, who said: "I haven't laughed so much in years!"

The happy medium herself is played by Pollard, one of Britain's most popular comedy actresses.

Although still gaining new fans from reruns of '80s comedy classic Hi De Hi, Su is a prolific stage and television performer.

She was recently seen as Miss Hannigan in a national tour of Annie.

Recent television credits include Gimme Gimme Gimme opposite Kathy Burke, and as Noisy in the animation series The Little Robots for CBBC. 

Opening in Glasgow in August, this will be Su's third time playing Miss Hannigan in the much loved production. Su, and the cast, received rave reviews, and played to packed theatres in many cities, when Annie toured the UK in 2002 and 2003.

The dates for the forthcoming UK tour are as follows:

Week Commencing/City/Theatre:
August 23 - Glasgow, Kings Theatre
August 30 - Milton Keynes Theatre
September 6 - Norwich, Theatre Royal
September 13 - Nottingham, Theatre Royal
September 20 - Hull, New Theatre
September 27 - Eastbourne, Congress Theatre
October 4 - tbc
October 11 - tbc
October 18 - Buxton, Opera House
October 25 - Billingham, Forum Theatre
November 1 - tbc
November 8 - Malvern, Festival Theatre
November 15 - Londonderry
November 22 - York, Grand Opera House
December 13 - Ashton Under Lyne, Tameside Hippodrome - 3 weeks

Please note that the Tameside Hippodrome is for the Christmas 2004 season. All tbc dates will be updated as soon as the information is available.

The show is now in its ninth week, and opens this Tuesday (3rd May) at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford, Kent.

There is still plenty of time to catch Su, and supporting cast, in this hilarious production. The tour is yet to visit; Surrey, Eastbourne, Colchester, Stevenage, Westcliffe-On-Sea, and Winchester before the final week in Dundee.

Please click on the picture to visit Su-Online's dedicated section.

And it is Annie!!

Su Pollard heads a fabulous West End cast :: The Ultimate Christmas Treat!

Yes!, all can now be revealed. Su WON'T be in panto this year. Instead she is undertaking another season, her third in as many years, of Annie, playing the thoroughly wicked Miss Hannigan. The production runs from 13th December to 8th January 2005 and is, again, presented by Chris Monero.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 10th May. The booking line is: 0870 602 1175

Further information on this over the coming weeks. In the meantime, please click on the picture for much information on Su's two previous Annie outings.

Many thanks to Alec Kelly for providing the scan.

Gimme Gimme Gimme : UKTV Gold - Thursday 6th May : 10.20pm
Gimme Gimme Gimme : UKTV Gold Plus 1 - Thursday 6th May : 11.20pm
Gimme Gimme Gimme : UKTV Gold - Friday 7th May : 00.55am
Gimme Gimme Gimme : UKTV Gold Plus 1 - Friday 7th May : 01.55am

Singing in the Drain. Series 3, episode 5. Sitcom about two flatmates who have nothing in common apart from their outrageous attitude to life and their taste in men. Linda finally realises her ambition to become a model, while Tom secures an audition for a West End musical. Starring: Kathy Burke, James Dreyfus, Brian Bovell, Beth Goddard, Su Pollard, and Jonathan Harvey.

The writers; Rob Cope, Mike Fury and Carolyn Bartholomew are still seeing contributions from anyone who has memories of the BBC series that ran from 1980 to 1988 and is still entertaining viewers on UK Gold.

Please click on the image for further information @ SuOnline's dedicated 'Hello Campers' page.

The York run of A Happy Medium finishes this evening. Su has enjoyed visiting the historical city again. She also had a ball while visiting Blackpool on the tour, and says "Hi" to everyone who came to see the show at the Grand Theatre.

The BBC would like to exclusively offer all visitors to SuOnline the chance to purchase signed copies of the book.

Further information and details on how to obtain said items can be received from:

carolyn.bartholomew@bbc.co.uk

We have received many positive messages and appreciate each and every one.

Su is thrilled at the response.

As the website approaches its 4th birthday we will continue to bring you all the latest Su news, TV appearances, theatre info, and updates - direct from the lady herself!

Do check back often as updates, particularly to this NEWS page, are frequent.

Please feel free to explore Su Online's various sections too.

Popular sections over the past few months have been The Su Pollard Bio, the Gallery, the Hi-De-Hi! Scrapbook, the Annie special, A Song A Frock & A Tinkle, and recently, A Happy Medium.

• They say all good things come in threes - Su may be reprising a successful character, she has played twice previously, for a third time later in 2004. More news on this when details are confirmed. Watch this space - perhaps not "tomorrow" but definitely in the weeks ahead!

A Happy Medium - Cast Details:

Ellen Small : SU POLLARD
Audrey : JEMMA CHURCHILL
Gemma : NATALIE BENNETT
Mr. Proudfoot : STEWART MCLEAN
Mrs. Coldicott : HOPE ROSS

Play.com have the release date as the 12th of April, while Amazon say May 10th.

"Artful Penny could draw anything she wanted with her magic crayon and it would spring into life. A fantastically useful toy to have. Only her best friend friend Dennis knew her secret so the two had acres of fun winding up adults, nosey-parkers, bullies, bad guys, teachers and ne'er-do-wells with her creations, or solving problems for folk, or sketching their way out of tricky situations."

Thanks to Michael at the 'Su Pollard Shrine'.

The Winds Of Change. Series 8, episode 6. 
Jimmy Perry and David Croft's holiday camp sitcom. Peggy finally becomes a yellowcoat - but Alec Foster arrives with bad news. Starring: Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc, Su Pollard and Jeffrey Holland.

"David Croft’s autobiography is to be published on 8th April 2004. David Croft was born into a show business family. His autobiography gives an insiders perspective on the golden-age of British situation comedy - the 1960s to 1980s, as well as insights into his earlier experiences in the second world war. 

With the warmth and humour that characteristically comprise a Croft sitcom You Have Been Watching will delight fans of David’s programmes with anecdotes about some of the stars of his shows and behind-the-scenes snippets of many of Britain’s best loved and most popular television series." 

Thanks also to Michael at the 'Su Pollard Shrine'.

David Croft's Hi-De-Hi! writing partner published his autobiography, 'A Stupid Boy', in November 2002. That is now available to buy on paperback edition:

This is prizewinning TV scriptwriter Jimmy Perry's story: from boyhood in London, through tales of life in the Home Guard, in Burma as a gunner, in a Royal Artillary Concert Party travelling round India and at RADA. Subsequently, these experiences went into the creation of his much-loved comedies.
 

Both highly recommended. Especially to fans of Hi-De-Hi!, Dad's Army, Are You Being Served?, and It Ain't Half Hot, Mum!

Look out Basil... Su's on her way! 

Watch out Blackpool - Su Pollard is hitting town next week! - 

"I've already got the social calendar arranged," says Su, who is starring in A Happy Medium at the Grand next week: "There are five girls in the show, it's quite a small cast. We've let Basil Newby know we're coming!" 

Su Pollard's enthusiasm is infectious. It's quite possibly the first interview I've ever done where the only question I've had to ask is 'how are you?' That sends Su off into a discussion which touches on just about everything - from the luxurious Darlington hotel she is speaking from ("They always look after you") to her two minor criticisms of Blackpool ("You have to change trains in Preston to get there. 

And there is only one restaurant where you can get really nice fresh vegetables.") 

Most importantly, she looks forward to her visit: "I like Blackpool. 

"The people are fabulous, and you get great sandwiches. As I recall, it's lost its way a bit and they are trying to work it out. I hope it doesn't change too much. 

"I can't wait to get back to the ballroom. 

"I like going and watching them all dancing, all the lovely ladies with their silver shoes and their husbands twirling them around." 

Su, last seen in the resort in Annie, is also enjoying her starring role in A Happy Medium, which tells the story of Ellen Small, a woman who wants to make contact with her dead sister to fulfil a promise made years before. "It's a great play," says Su: "It's funny, it's fast, only a couple of hours long and you can take kids as young as six. If you're into Shakespeare it wouldn't be your thing. 

"It's not subtle, it's just good fun. 

"We have already had spiritualists and people who are into the psychic world along to see it and they have really enjoyed it. I can promise a good fun night out."