View source for Wendy Craig

{{Short description|British actress (born 1934)}}
{{about||the psychologist|Wendy Craig (psychologist)|the economist|Wendy Craigg}}

{{EngvarB|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = 
| name               = Wendy Craig
| honorific_suffix   = {{postnom|country=GBR|size=100|CBE}}
| birth_name         = Anne Gwendolyn Craig
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1934|6|20}}
| birth_place        = [[Sacriston]], [[County Durham]], England
| occupation         = Actress
| alma_mater    = [[Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Jack Bentley (musician)|Jack Bentley]]|1955|1994|end=d}}
| yearsactive        = 1955–present
}}

'''Wendy Craig''' (born '''Anne Gwendolyn Craig'''; 20 June 1934)<ref name=mbc>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=craigwendy|title=Craig, Wendy&nbsp;– British Actor|first=David|last=Pickering|work=Museum.TV|publisher=The Museum of Broadcast Communications|location=Chicago, Illinois, USA|access-date=9 January 2012|archive-date=7 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507134925/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=craigwendy|url-status=dead}}</ref> is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''[[Not in Front of the Children (TV series)|Not in Front of the Children]]'' (1967–1970), ''[[...And Mother Makes Three]]'' (1971–1973), ''[[...And Mother Makes Five]]'' (1974–1976) and ''[[Butterflies (TV series)|Butterflies]]'' (1978–1983). She played the role of Matron in the TV series ''[[The Royal]]'' (2003–2011).

Craig was nominated for the [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles]] for her performance in [[The Servant (1963 film)|''The Servant'']] (1963) and won the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Actress|BAFTA Award for Best Actress]] in 1969 for ''[[Not in Front of the Children (TV series)|Not in Front of the Children]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Most Promising Newcomer To Leading Film Roles |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/film/most-promising-newcomer-to-leading-film-roles |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Actress |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/television/actress-television |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Anne Gwendolyn Craig was born on 20 June 1934 in [[Sacriston]], [[County Durham]],<ref name=mbc/> the daughter of farmer George Craig and his wife Anne ({{née|Lindsay}}).<ref name=Gazette20100409>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/local-news/actress-wendy-craig-talks-up-3700251|title=Actress Wendy Craig talks up Teesside|first=Mike|last=Morgan|date=8 August 2010|website=gazettelive}}</ref> She attended [[Durham High School for Girls]], initially as a day pupil and later as a boarder, which she revisited in October 2007 to open a new building that had been named after her.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1762378.a-few-butterflies-as-children-meet-actress/|title=A few Butterflies as children meet actress|website=The Northern Echo |date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> She passed the [[11-plus|11+]] examination and went to [[Darlington High School]]. When she was twelve years old the family moved to [[Picton, North Yorkshire]] and she attended nearby [[Yarm School|Yarm Grammar School]].<ref name=Gazette20100409/> She trained as an actress at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]],<ref name="cssd">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cssd.ac.uk/alumni/our-alumni/high-profile-alumni|title=Central School of Speech and Drama High Profile Alumni|work=cssd.ac.uk|access-date=3 March 2025|archive-date=6 May 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220506015319/https://www.cssd.ac.uk/alumni/our-alumni/high-profile-alumni|url-status=live}}</ref>  then based in the [[Royal Albert Hall]], London.<ref>V&A, Theatre and Performance Special Collections, Elsie Fogerty Archive, THM/324</ref><ref name="Hallam">Julia Hallam [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/499897/index.html Wendy Craig profile], screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2014.</ref>

In 1956, Craig appeared in the [[West End theatre|West End]] alongside [[Robertson Hare]] in [[John Dighton]]'s farce ''[[Man Alive! (play)|Man Alive!]]''.

==Career==
One of her early TV appearances was in an episode of the ''[[Danger Man]]'' series called "The Gallows Tree" (1961).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b696b083d|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013142826/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b696b083d|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2019|title=The Gallows Tree (1961)|website=BFI}}</ref> In the 1960s Craig appeared in British films such as ''[[The Servant (1963 film)|The Servant]]'' (1963) and ''[[The Nanny (1965 film)|The Nanny]]'' (1965) with [[Bette Davis]], but it was her appearances in [[British sitcom]]s of the late 1960s/1970s which led to her becoming a household name, usually playing a scatty middle class housewife.<ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f03f92a|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401003157/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f03f92a|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 April 2016|title=Wendy Craig|website=BFI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.britishclassiccomedy.co.uk/not-front-children|title=Not In Front Of The Children|date=14 July 2008|accessdate=7 March 2023|website=British Classic Comedy}}</ref> She went from the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Not in Front of the Children (TV series)|Not in Front of the Children]]'' (1967–1970) to [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''[[...And Mother Makes Three]]'' (1971–1973), in which she played a single parent, which evolved into its sequel ''[[...And Mother Makes Five]]'' (1974–1976).<ref name="Hallam"/> Then came ''[[Butterflies (TV series)|Butterflies]]'' (1978–1983), a successful comedy on [[BBC Two|BBC2]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1180242/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Butterflies (1978-83)|website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref>

Craig returned to drama with the series ''[[Nanny (TV series)|Nanny]]'' (1981–1983), a series she created, and wrote some episodes herself as Jonathan Marr,<ref name="Hallam"/> a pseudonym she had used before when writing episodes of ''...And Mother Makes Five''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b824a22ca|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013151321/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b824a22ca|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2019|title=Sally's Diary (1976)|website=BFI}}</ref> Twenty years later, she played Matron in ITV's ''[[The Royal]]'' (2003–2011)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fgenome%2Fentries%2Fdaee8c95-09af-43e2-a159-36e56d6c6273|title=The Sunday Post: Wendy Craig|date=4 December 2016|website=BBC}}</ref> and she also made several appearances in the 2002 adaptation of [[John Galsworthy]]'s novel ''[[The Forsyte Saga]]''. However, she has continued to be associated with comedy, having taken one of the leading roles as Annie in ''[[The Brighton Belles|Brighton Belles]]'' (1993–1994), the UK's short-lived version of ''[[The Golden Girls]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7c259f24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013145113/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7c259f24|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2019|title=Brighton Belles (1993)|website=BFI}}</ref> She appeared as Reggie's mother in the [[BBC One]] comedy ''[[Reggie Perrin]]'' (2009–2010), an update of the 1970s' series ''[[The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w5ct9|title=BBC One - Reggie Perrin, Series 2, Episode 6|website=BBC}}</ref>

In 2012 Craig appeared as a guest in an episode of the cookery series ''[[MasterChef (UK TV series)|MasterChef]]'', along with many other 1970s sitcom stars.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01d8nz6|title=BBC One - MasterChef, Series 8, Episode 12|website=BBC}}</ref> In 2014 she appeared in an episode of the [[BBC]] drama ''[[Waterloo Road (TV series)|Waterloo Road]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03srf5c|title=BBC One - Waterloo Road, Series 9, Episode 14|website=BBC}}</ref>

In 2016, Craig appeared as Mary Goodman in the BBC detective series ''[[Death in Paradise (TV series)|Death in Paradise]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0702b41|title=BBC One - Death in Paradise, Series 5, Episode 5|website=BBC}}</ref> In 2017 she appeared in the second series of the ITV drama ''[[Unforgotten]]''.<ref name=bfi/> Also in 2017 she starred as Miss Bat in the first three series of the CBBC programme ''[[The Worst Witch]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/worstwitch/teachers|title=BBC - Meet the teachers - Media Centre|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> In 2018, she appeared in the ITV soap ''[[Emmerdale]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2018-02-06/emmerdale-butterflies-star-wendy-craig-to-guest-star-in-sandys-exit-story/|title=Emmerdale: Butterflies star Wendy Craig to guest star in Sandy's exit story|website=Radio Times}}</ref> In October 2019, she appeared in an episode of ''[[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]]'' alongside former ''Butterflies'' co-star [[Bruce Montague]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whatsontv.co.uk/news/butterflies-stars-wendy-craig-bruce-montague-naughty-seniors-doctors-594800/|title=Butterflies stars Wendy Craig and Bruce Montague: 'We're playing naughty seniors in Doctors!'|last=Selwood|first=Sarah|date=2019-10-08|website=[[What's on TV]]|language=en|access-date=2019-10-08}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Craig was married to [[Jack Bentley (musician)|Jack Bentley]], a [[trombonist]], scriptwriter and journalist, from 1955 until his death in 1994.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1471554/Mortimers-joy-at-son-with-Wendy-Craig.html|title=Mortimer's joy at son with Wendy Craig|first1=Tim|last1=Walker|first2=Richard|last2=Eden|date=12 September 2004|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London, UK|access-date=9 January 2012}}</ref> During her marriage with Bentley, she had two sons: Alaster, who was later principal oboist for the Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia<ref name="telegraph"/> and, as the result of an affair with [[Sir John Mortimer|John Mortimer]], Ross, an IT consultant.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/jan/16/mortimer-rumpole-dies-obituary|title=Obituary: Sir John Mortimer|first=Geoffrey|last=Robertson|newspaper=The Guardian |date=16 January 2009|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref><ref name=mbc/> In 2004, having heard that the secret was out, Wendy visited Mortimer to reveal formally that their affair had resulted in a son, then 42.<ref>
Valerie Grove, ''A Voyage Round John Mortimer'' (Penguin, 2008), p. 217</ref> She was at the time of the leak appearing in an episode of ''[[Midsomer Murders]]''; series star [[John Nettles]] later said one of his favourite memories of the series was picking up a copy of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' on set during that filming with a headline revealing the secret, remarking that "It just seemed so absolutely Midsomer".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnett |first1=Laura |title=Your next box set: Midsomer Murders: John Nettles My Top Ten |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/feb/25/your-next-box-set |access-date=5 September 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=25 February 2011}}</ref>

Since the 1990s, Craig has lived in [[Cookham]],  [[Berkshire]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=WSgIAQAAMAAJ&q=wendy+craig "Screen International Who's Who 1993"]</ref> She was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[2020 New Year Honours]] for services to drama and charity.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=62866|supp=y|page=N8|date=28 December 2019}}</ref>

==Selected filmography==
* ''[[The Secret Place (film)|The Secret Place]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]'' (1959)
* ''[[The Mind Benders (1963 film)|The Mind Benders]]'' (1963)
* ''[[The Servant (1963 film)|The Servant]]'' (1963)
* ''[[The Nanny (1965 film)|The Nanny]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Just like a Woman (1967 film)|Just like a Woman]]'' (1967)
* ''[[I'll Never Forget What's'isname]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Joseph Andrews (film)|Joseph Andrews]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Run for Your Wife (2012 film)|Run for Your Wife]]'' (2012)
* ''[[The Worst Witch (2017 TV series)|The Worst Witch]]'' (2017–2019)
* ''[[Emmerdale]]'' (2018)
* ''[[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]]'' (2019)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0186048|name=Wendy Craig}}
* {{Screenonline name|499897|Wendy Craig}}
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/craigwendy/craigwendy.htm Wendy Craig at the Museum of Broadcast Communications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123134812/http://museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/craigwendy/craigwendy.htm |date=23 January 2009 }}

{{British Academy Television Award for Best Actress 1960–1979}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Wendy}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]]
[[Category:Alumni of Teesside University]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners]]
[[Category:People educated at Durham High School for Girls]]
[[Category:People educated at Yarm School]]
[[Category:People from Sacriston]]
[[Category:People from Cookham]]
[[Category:Actresses from County Durham]]
[[Category:Actresses from Berkshire]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century English actresses]]
[[Category:Actors from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead]]
[[Category:Actors from County Durham (district)]]