Wanda Ventham British actress Date of Birth: 05.08.1932 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Wanda Ventham

Wanda Ventham, a British actress, was born on August 5, 1935, in Brighton, a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Her parents were Gladys Francis (née Holtam) and Frederick Howard Ventham. Initially, Wanda pursued her dream of becoming an artist and attended art school for a year. During school holidays, the future actress worked as a set designer at the Connaught Theatre in Worthing. The theater environment inspired Ventham to leave art school and pursue acting. She enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama, where she studied alongside Judi Dench and graduated in 1996.

Ventham's first role in a feature film was in the drama "My Teenage Daughter" in 1956, starring Anna Neagle and Sylvia Syms. She appeared in the comedy "Carry On Cleo" in 1964 and landed a role in the adventure comedy "Carry On... Up the Khyber" in 1968. Ventham became the lead actress in Frederic Goode's crime detective "Death is a Woman" in 1996, starring alongside Mark Burns.

Her most recognizable role came after starring in the cult science fiction TV series of the 1970s, "UFO," where she played Colonel Virginia Lake, the deputy commander to Ed Straker, portrayed by Ed Bishop. Ventham received acclaim for her roles as Fiona Westin in "Heartbeat," Margaret Bolshaw in "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates," and Shirley in "The Rag Trade." She also portrayed Beryl, Arthur Daley's love interest, in the TV series "Minder," Susan's mother in "Coupling," and Deborah's mother in "Men Behaving Badly."

Ventham played one of the main roles in the TV series "The Lotus Eaters" from 1972-1973, which consisted of 15 episodes. Ian Hendry was another star of the show. As a guest star, Ventham appeared in the sketch show "Rutland Weekend Television," for which Eric Idle wrote the scripts. Soon after filming an episode of "Danger Man," Ventham joined the ensemble cast of Patrick McGoohan's allegorical spy series "The Prisoner." She went on to act in sitcoms such as "Executive Stress" and "Next of Kin" and appeared in the comedy sketch show "The Two Ronnies."

Ventham participated in the cult British series "Doctor Who" three times over three decades. She portrayed Jean Rock in the episode "The Faceless Ones" in 1967, Thea Ransome in "Image of the Fendahl" in 1977, and Faroon in "Time and the Rani" in 1987. Ventham later worked with Denis Lill, who was also involved in the episode "Image of the Fendahl," in the sitcom "Only Fools and Horses."

In 2014, Ventham and her husband Timothy Carlton played the parents of the famous London private detective Sherlock Holmes in the popular BBC series "Sherlock," starring Benedict Cumberbatch. In the series "Holby City," she portrays Myrtle McKee, a patient leading a double life. Ventham appeared in the comedy "Mrs. Caldicot's Cabbage War," played a girl on a bus in the comedy "Run for Your Wife," and recently acted in the crime comedy "Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie."

Ventham married James Tabernacle in 1957, and they had one daughter, Tracy Tabernacle. The couple divorced on November 12, 1974. Her relationship with actor Timothy Carlton began in 1970 during the filming of the drama series "A Family at War." They married in April 1976.

Apart from their joint appearances with their son in "Sherlock," Ventham and Carlton also acted together in the TV series "The Lotus Eaters" in 1973.