DM1ST(^16) DAILY MIRROR THURSDAY 05.03.
ooh... betty & frank still close 40 years on
new role
that year, Edward suffered a massive
heart attack while filming the third
series of The Equaliser in Los Angeles.
He had another seven years later and
in 1996 underwent triple bypass surgery.
S
peaking of those days, Michele
adds: “We moved back from
America to our home in Padstow,
Cornwall. I did bits of TV like
Bramwell, Midsomer Murders and Holby
City but in 2003 Edward was diagnosed
with prostate cancer and, as his health
deteriorated I had to do more caring.”
After a fall he developed pneumonia
and died in November 2009.
Michele says: “Losing my darling boy
broke my heart. It’s such a terrible loss.”
But she used those feelings of isolation
to great effect in her latest role. Michele
young star
cliff stunt
exclusive
by rachael bletchly
Chief Feature Writer
in Tv series McDonald & Dodds
M
ichele Dotrice shot to fame as
the long-suffering wife of TV ’s
most accident-prone bloke,
Frank Spencer.
In the 1970s viewers feared for young
Mrs Spencer’s sanity as her raincoat-clad
spouse fell through ceilings, roller-skated
under articulated lorries and panicked
over cat whoopsies.
Yet those plaintive cries of “Ooh,
Betty” turned beret-wearing Frank –
played by Michael Crawford – into a
national icon and Some Mothers Do ’Ave
’Em won a place in sitcom history.
It also landed the then 24-year-old
Michele a slap across the face from her
actress mother, Kay.
For in health and safety-free 1973 she
had joined Michael in one of his famous
stunts – dangling over the edge of a cliff.
Michele, 71, recalls: “Michael became
famous for doing his own stunts in the
show. In this particular episode Betty
and Frank had gone to the coast for a
picnic in a borrowed car which, of
course, ends up hanging over a cliff.
“They clamber onto the roof, so there
we were, on top of this Morris Minor
perched on the edge of a 200ft drop. I
was in a strappy summer dress, a hat
and high heels and had one bit of cotton
thread tied around my ankle with
someone holding the other end.
“That was my only safety equipment.
When it came out on the Thursday night
I sat down at home with my parents and
two sisters to watch it. But when it
finished Mum got up, came over and
slapped me saying, ‘Don’t you EVER do
anything so stupid again.’
“And, looking back now, I can’t believe
what we got away with.”
Scrapes like that made Frank and
Betty the most famous TV couple of the
era. But Michele’s real husband could
not have been more different to her
wimpy, walking-disaster TV one. She
was married to tough-guy actor
Edward Woodward, star of
crime dramas Callan and The
Equaliser. And, while screen
hubby and real hubby never
actually met, Michele believes
they share a special connection
which ended up with Michael
coming back into her life after
Edward died 11 years ago at 79.
The couple first met in 1959
when Michele was just 11.
Edward, 29, was appearing in
Romeo and Juliet at the Royal
Shakespeare Theatre alongside
her dad, award-winning
thespian Roy Dotrice.
Michele made her own stage
debut at three weeks old –
carried on by her mother as her
parents starred together in rep.
Her two sisters,Yvette, 60, and Karen,
64, are also actors. At the age of 10,
Karen played Jane Banks in the original
Mary Poppins movie.
Michele’s first TV role was in the 1962
adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop
and she also starred in Hammer movie
The Witches and other horror films.
In 1973, as she landed the role of Betty,
Edward was making cult movie The
Wicker Man. The following year they
starred together in a West End play and
fell in love.
He was married with three children
but later got divorced and wed Michele
in New York in 1987.
The ceremony was attended by their
three-year-old daughter, Emily. Later
Actress looking glamorous in 1975
classic 1973 episode of sitcom
on this day
57 years ago (1963)
American country singers Patsy
cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, cowboy
copas and their plane pilot Randy
Hughes were killed when he lost
control and crashed in bad weather.
74 years ago (1946)
On a lecture tour of America,
former PM Winston churchill said
that an “iron curtain” had divided
europe. His speech is now regarded
as the start of the cold War.
51 years ago (1969)
We revealed the Kray twins were
guilty of murdering Jack “the Hat”
Mcvitie and were convicted of the
fatal shooting of George cornell.
They were sentenced to life.
Birthdays
t oday’s giggle
What do elves do after
school? Their gnomework.
■■If you’d like us to mention the birthday
of a loved one, write to Birthdays, Daily
Mirror, One Canada Square, London E
5AP or [email protected]
Training Day actress eva Mendes
is 46. She’s the partner of Ryan
Gosling. Comedian Matt lucas
is also 46. He’s an Arsenal
supporter. I Know Him So Well
singer elaine Paige is 72. She’s
passionate about tennis. Red Hot
Chili Peppers’ guitarist John
Frusciante is 50. He joined the
group at 18. And many happy
returns to Mirror readers ronnie
rone from blyth, Northumber-
land, who is 70 and evan
Stephens from Rhondda Valley,
Rhondda Cynon Taf, 83 today.
elaine, 72
eva, 46
Matt, 46
TOday: thursday, March 5, 2020