Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska | |
---|---|
Born | 30 September 1947 |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1965–present |
Spouses | |
Children | 2 |
Rula Lenska (born Roza Maria Leopoldyna Lubienski.
Lenska was married to the actors Brian Deacon (1977–1987) and Dennis Waterman (1987–1998). Both marriages ended in divorce.
Early life
Lenska was born in England in the village of
Her mother was Countess Elżbieta
Early career
Lenska's big break was as the Little Ladies band member "Q" in the British TV series Rock Follies (1976) and its sequel, Rock Follies of '77, the following year. By this time, she had "discarded" her title as a Polish countess; she has said of the decision, "In England it doesn't count, if you'll excuse the pun."[6]
In the late 1970s, Lenska began to appear in commercials for the hair product
Television
Lenska has appeared in the television series
In 1982 Lenska also appeared as a storyteller in
Film
Lenska's film roles have included
Stage
Lenska has toured widely, both in the British Isles and overseas, and has appeared in several West End shows, including The Vagina Monologues and 84, Charing Cross Road, and also in many pantomimes. She is a regular performer (and part of the original cast) of the touring play Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners.[citation needed]
In December 2005, she appeared on stage with the London Gay Men's Chorus for their Christmas Show, Make the Yuletide Gay. She sang and danced while also hosting the show at Symphony Hall in Birmingham, the Dome Concert Hall in Brighton and the Barbican Centre in London.[citation needed]
At the equivalent show in December 2006, Sandi Toksvig corrupted the lyrics of a song to suggest Lenska had a Christmas job in Debenhams. In 2007, she toured alongside Marti Webb and Sheila Ferguson in a new musical about menopause called Hot Flush.[11] and hosted a mini-show at Lutterworth Piano Rooms 3 November 2012.[12]
Radio and voice
On radio Lenska played Lintilla and her clones in the second series of
Celebrity Big Brother
Lenska's work on tour with the
On 13 January 2006, along with fellow housemate, Scottish politician and then-Respect Party MP George Galloway, she attracted the attention of the media by indulging in a role-play task set by Celebrity Big Brother, in which Galloway pretended to be a cat licking milk from her cupped hands, and Lenska stroked his ears and moustache. On another occasion during her time in the Big Brother house, she was accidentally locked in the toilet.
Personal life
Lenska has been married twice, first to actor Brian Deacon (4 June 1977 – 1987), with whom she had one daughter, Lara Parker (née Lara Deacon),[13][14][15] and secondly, to actor Dennis Waterman, from 3 January 1987 until 31 March 1998. Both marriages ended in divorce. She and Waterman met on the set of Minder in 1981 where their characters had a brief love interest. Some years after Lenska's second marriage ended, in a March 2012 interview with Piers Morgan, Waterman said: "It's not difficult for a woman to make a man hit her. She certainly wasn't a beaten wife, she was hit and that’s different."[16][17] Via her friend, Denise Welch on Loose Women, Lenska said that she was relieved that he had now admitted beating her. Lenska had made allegations against Waterman shortly after their split and thought she could no longer be accused of lying.[18]
In 2016, Lenska was sentenced to a 16-month driving ban and ordered to pay a total of £526 after crashing her car while under the influence of alcohol. Her three-year-old grandson was a passenger in the car.[19]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Soft Beds, Hard Battles | Louise | |
1975 | Alfie Darling | Louise | |
Confessions of a Pop Performer | Receptionist | ||
Royal Flash | Helga | ||
1976 | It Could Happen to You | Rita | |
The Deadly Females | Luisa | ||
Queen Kong | Luce Habit | ||
1979 | Jesus | Herodias | Scene cut |
1981 | The Seven Dials Mystery | Countess Radzsky | |
2003 | Paradise Grove | Dee Perry | |
2004 | Fakers | Sylvia Creat | |
2005 | Gypo | Irina | |
2008 | Jack Says | Garvey | |
Agent Crush | Olga Thyburn | Voice role | |
2014 | Bait | Linda | |
2018 | The Exorcism of Karen Walker | Ada | |
2022 | The Huntress of Auschwitz | Amelia Kaminska | |
The Winter Witch | Omi | ||
2023 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Narrator | Voice role |
Alice in Terrorland | Beth |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1965 | Dixon of Dock Green | Policewoman | Uncredited |
1971 | The Doctors | Josee Erlander | 2 episodes |
1973 | Once Upon a Time | Prince Charming | Episode: "Buttons" |
1974 | Special Branch | Lydia | Episode: "Something About a Soldier" |
Marked Personal | Roz | 2 episodes | |
1975 | Edward the Seventh | Hortense Schneider | Episode: "The Invisible Queen" |
The Brothers | Fiona Lester | Episode: "End of a Dream" | |
Space: 1999 | Joan Conway | Episode: "Alpha Child" | |
1976 | Red Letter Day | Ms. Fandom | Episode: "Amazing Stories" |
Rock Follies | Nancy "Q" Cunard de Longchamps | All 6 episodes | |
1977 | Leap in the Dark | Katerina | Episode: "Dream Me a Winner" |
Rock Follies of '77 |
Nancy "Q" Cunard de Longchamps | All 6 episodes | |
1979 | Return of the Saint | Diana Lang | Episode: "Hot Run" |
BBC Play of the Month |
Gilda | Episode: "Design for Living" | |
1980 | The Cuckoo Waltz | Holly Galinsky | Episode: "A Love That Does Not Dim" |
Leap in the Dark | Harriet | Episode: "Watching Me, Watching You" | |
The Big Show | Herself | Episode 7 | |
1981 | The Seven Dials Mystery | Countess Radzsky | Television film |
Private Schulz | Gertrude Steiner | Series 1: Episode 4 | |
Take a Letter Mr. Jones |
Joan Warner | All 6 episodes | |
To the Manor Born | Mademoiselle Dutoit | Episode: "Cosmetics" | |
1982 | BBC2 Playhouse | Mabel | Episode: "Aubrey" |
Minder | Kate | Episode: "The Birdman of Wormwood Scrubs" | |
1983 | Conversations with a Stranger | Italian Woman | Television film |
1984 | Doctor Who | Styles | Episode: "Resurrection of the Daleks" |
Robin of Sherwood | Morgwyn of Ravenscar | Episode: "The Swords of Wayland" | |
1985 | Minder | Natasha | Episode: "From Fulham with Love" |
1988 | Mr. H Is Late |
Bride | Television film |
Boon | Renata Cartwright | Episode: "Never Say Trevor Again" | |
1989 | Minder | Sandra Last | Episode: "The Last Video Show" |
1991 | Cluedo | Mrs. Peacock | 6 episodes |
Family Pride | Eva | Unknown episodes | |
An Actor's Life for Me |
Marjorie | Episode: "May the Farce Be with You" | |
1992 | Kappatoo | Zeta | 7 episodes |
The Mixer | Lady Pamela Osgood | 2 episodes | |
1993 | Stay Lucky | Isabel Stevens | 2 episodes |
1994 | The Detectives | Duchess | Episode: "Never Without Protection" |
1996 | One Foot in the Grave | Fenella Fortune | Episode: "Starbound" |
2002 | EastEnders | Krystal | 4 episodes |
2005 | Footballers' Wives | Allana | 1 episode |
2006 | Doctors | Vicky Mullen | Episode: "Blaze of Glory" |
2007 | M.I. High | Vanessa Zeitgeist | Episode: "Forever Young" |
2009 | Grandpa in My Pocket | Princess Purpelovna | Episode: "Princess Purpelovna's Plan" |
2009–2011, 2018–2022 | Coronation Street | Claudia Colby |
Regular role; 149 episodes |
2011 | Ideal | The Red King | Episode: "The Red King" |
2016 | Casualty | Vera Vintner | Episode: "Where the Truth Lies" |
Inside No. 9 | Celia Devonshire | Episode: "The Devil of Christmas" |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | The Night of the Rabbit | Phosphera | Voice |
The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief | Baroness von Trebitz | Voice |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Meet the Big Brother celebrities". BBC News. 6 January 2006. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ a b Brooks, Xan (6 January 2006). "Galloway enters Big Brother as unexpected house guest". The Guardian.
- ^ Polish dynastic genealogy, sejm-wielki.pl
- ISBN 978-1849545501.
- ^ Hauptfuhrer, Fred (14 April 1980). "This Is Everything You Wanted to Know About Rooo-La Lenzzz-Ka but Were Too Ashamed to Ask". People. 13 (15).
- ^ Zorn, Eric (18 January 2006). "Rula Lenska? Why, she's just showing some friends around London, of course". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Saturday Night Live archive Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ How to Be Funny by Steve Allen, pg. 243.
- ^ "'What am I good for?' Corrie episode to explore Audrey's sad suicide story". 7 August 2022.
- ^ Blackburn, Anna (17 April 2007). "Hot Flush! Review". BBC News.
- Lutterworth Mail. 30 October 2012.
- ^ "Personal". The Official Rula Lenska Website. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ "Last word with… Rula Lenska". Candis Magazine. Newhall Publications. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ "Lara 'Deacon' Parker Profile". Rummikub (players social network). Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ McAuliffe, Naomi (20 March 2012). "Dennis Waterman and the 'problem with strong, intelligent women'". The Guardian.
- ^ Smith, Joan (21 March 2012). "Blame the victim – a classic with wife-beaters". The Independent.
- ^ "Dennis Waterman accused of trivialising violence against ex-wife". The Guardian. PA. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Rula Lenska banned for drink-drive crash". BBC News. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
External links
- Rula Lenska at IMDb
- Rula Lenska discography at Discogs
- Rock Follies interview
- E-Motion Magazine – Interview with Lenska
- Celebrity Big Brother — transcript of "cat" incident with Galloway
- Rula Lenska out-takes from 'Wild at Art' documentary on YouTube
- American Alberto VO5 commercial on YouTube