Wanda Ventham

Wanda Ventham (born 5 August 1935) is an English actress with many roles on British television since beginning her career in the 1950s.

Wanda Ventham
Born	(1935-08-05) 5 August 1935 Brighton, Sussex, England
Alma mater	Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1956–present
Spouses	James Tabernacle ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1974)​ Timothy Carlton ​ ​ (m. 1976)​
Children	2, including Benedict Cumberbatch
Relatives	Sophie Hunter (daughter-in-law)

She played Colonel Virginia Lake in the 1970s science-fiction television series UFO and had a recurring role as Cassandra Trotter's mother Pamela Parry in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses between 1989 and 1992. Her many other television appearances include The Sweeney, The Avengers, The Saint, Doctor Who, The Gentle Touch, Minder, Heartbeat and Holby City, and she appeared in two Carry On films.

In April 2014, People magazine featured her in its "Most Beautiful People in the World" edition.

Early life

Ventham was born in Brighton on 5 August 1935, the daughter of Gladys Frances (née Holtham) and Frederick Howard Ventham. Originally aspiring to become an artist, she attended art school for a year whilst working as a scenic painter for the Connaught Theatre in Worthing, West Sussex, during her school holidays. The exposure to professional theatre prompted her to leave art school and pursue a career in acting. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, as a contemporary of Judi Dench, graduating in 1956.

Career

Ventham's first film role was in My Teenage Daughter (1956), with Dame Anna Neagle and Sylvia Syms. She also appeared as a debutante in 1962 with a ten-second talking role in the Norman Wisdom film On the Beat and in 1963 as a nurse in the Norman Wisdom film A Stitch in Time – both were uncredited.

She also appeared in Carry On Cleo (1964) and Carry On Up the Khyber (1968). She starred alongside Mark Burns in the mystery film Death Is a Woman (1966). Her best-known role was on television as Col. Virginia Lake, second-in-command to Commander Ed Straker (Ed Bishop), in the cult series UFO.

Ventham's numerous other TV credits include regular roles in Heartbeat as Fiona Weston, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates as Margaret Balshaw, and The Rag Trade as Shirley. She also played a love interest for Arthur Daley in Minder, Susan's mother in Coupling, and Deborah's mother in Men Behaving Badly. She starred opposite Ian Hendry in the 15-part BBC series The Lotus Eaters (1972–73), and made a guest appearance on the BBC Two sketch show Rutland Weekend Television (Se1Ep5). She was in an episode of Danger Man, and the series Patrick McGoohan completed immediately afterwards – the allegorical spy series The Prisoner – as well as the sitcoms Executive Stress and Next of Kin, and the sketch show The Two Ronnies.

She has appeared in Doctor Who on three occasions over three decades; as Jean Rock in The Faceless Ones (1967), as Thea Ransome in Image of the Fendahl (1977) and as Faroon in Time and the Rani (1987). Her appearance in Image of the Fendahl was opposite Denis Lill, with whom she would later act when they were cast as Pamela and Alan Parry in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1989–1992).

In 2014, she and her husband Timothy Carlton appeared in the BBC adaptation of Sherlock as the parents of Sherlock Holmes, who is played by their son Benedict Cumberbatch. Ventham appeared in Holby City as Sheilagh Chiltern, the grandmother of Lofty Chiltern.

Personal life

Ventham married her first husband James Tabernacle in 1957 and they had one daughter, Tracy. They divorced on 12 November 1974. She met actor Timothy Carlton in 1970 while filming sequences for the drama series A Family at War and they have been married since April 1976. The couple appeared together in the second series of BBC drama The Lotus Eaters in 1973, and in the third and fourth series of BBC's Sherlock in 2014 and 2017, where they played the title character's parents, with their son, actor Benedict Cumberbatch starring in the title role of Holmes.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	My Teenage Daughter	Gina
1959	The Navy Lark	Mabel
1961	We Joined the Navy	The "Initiative test" girl
1962	Edgar Wallace Mysteries	Waitress	Solo for Sparrow episode
1963	The Cracksman	Sandra
1964	Carry On Cleo	Pretty Bidder	Uncredited
1965	The Big Job	Dot Franklin
1965	The Knack ...and How to Get It	Gym Mistress	Uncredited
1966	Death Is a Woman	Priscilla Blunstone-Smythe
1966	The Spy with a Cold Nose	Mrs. Winters
1967	Mister Ten Per Cent	Kathy
1968	The Blood Beast Terror	Clare Mallinger	Ventham also provided stunt work for the film and appeared in costume as the giant moth monster.
1968	Carry On Up the Khyber	Khasi's First Wife
1974	Invasion: UFO	Col. Virginia Lake
1974	Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter	Lady Durward
2002	Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War	Victoria
2005	Asylum	Bridie Straffen
2012	Run for Your Wife	Lady on Bus	Cameo
2016	Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie	Violet	Cameo

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962–1963	The Rag Trade	Shirley	Series regular; 18 episodes
1964	Thorndyke	Maud	1 episode
1964–1965	Danger Man	Stella Dorset Penny	2 episodes
1964–1966	The Saint	Laura Stride Penny Pearson	2 episodes
1965	The Likely Lads	Angela	1 episode
1965	The Avengers	Nurse Spray	1 episode
1967	The Prisoner	Computer Attendant	Episode: “It's Your Funeral”
1968	The Caesars	Ennia	1 episode
1967–1971	The Troubleshooters	Moira Hart	Recurring; 4 episodes
1967 1977 1987	Doctor Who	Jean Rock Thea Ransome/Fendahl Core Faroon	Serial: "The Faceless Ones" (6 episodes) Serial: "Image of the Fendahl" (4 episodes) Serial: "Time and the Rani" (3 episodes)
1969	The Gold Robbers	Dee Lattery	1 episode
1969	Department S	Leila Rankin	1 episode
1970	Z-Cars	Mrs. Owen	1 episode
1970–1971	A Family At War	Jenny Graham	Recurring; 3 episodes
1970	Doctor at Large	Maggie Weston	1 episode
1970–1973	UFO	Col. Virginia Lake	Series regular; 9 episodes
1971	Thirty-Minute Theatre	Jasmine	"Walt, King of the Dumper"
1972–1973	The Lotus Eaters	Ann Shepherd	Lead role; 15 episodes
1975	The Sweeney	Brenda	1 episode
1975	Rutland Weekend Television	Various characters	2 episodes
1976	Emmerdale Farm	Heather Bannerman	Recurring; 6 episodes
1977	Crown Court	Sybil Halstead	2 episodes
1978–1979	Fallen Hero	Dorothy Hopkins	Lead role; 11 episodes
1980	The Two Ronnies	Jack	2 episodes
1982	Minder	Beryl Murdoch	1 episode
1982	Union Castle	Ursula, Lady Thaxted	7 episodes
1982	The Further Adventures of Lucky Jim	Veronica Allen	1 episode
1982	The Brack Report	Kate Randall	1 episode
1982	Only When I Laugh	Fiona	1 episode, Series 4, Episode 2: "Conduct Unbecoming"
1984	Killer	Dorothy Routledge	1 episode
1986–1987	Executive Stress	Sylvia	Recurring; 4 episodes
1988	All Creatures Great and Small	Mrs. Ridge	Series 5, Episode 11
1989	Capstick's Law	Madge Capstick	Recurring; 6 episodes
1989–1992	Only Fools and Horses	Pamela Parry	Recurring; 4 episodes
1995–1996	Next of Kin	Rosie	Recurring; 6 episodes
1996–1997	Heartbeat	Fiona Weston	Recurring; 4 episodes
1997	Men Behaving Badly	Deborah's Mum	1 episode
2001	Coupling	Edna	1 episode
2005	Midsomer Murders	Romany Rose	1 episode
2007	Lewis	Eleanor Mallory	1 episode
2014–2017	Sherlock	Mrs. Holmes (Sherlock Holmes' mother)	3 episodes
2018	Holby City	Sheilagh Chiltern	Recurring; 10 episodes
2018	Father Brown	Ellen Jennings	Series 6, Episode 4: "The Angel of Mercy"
2019	Departure	Wendy	2 episodes
2020	Penance	Fay	3 episodes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue
1960	Watch It, Sailor!	Daphne Pink	Apollo Theatre, London
1979	Julius Caesar	Portia	Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester
1990	Out of Order	Pamela	Shaftesbury Theatre, London
1992	It Runs in the Family	Rosemary Mortimore	Playhouse Theatre, London
2002	One for the Pot	Amy Hardcastle	Theatre Royal, Windsor
2012	Quartet	Cissy	Theatre-on-the-Bay, Cape Town
2014	Entertaining Angels	Ruth	Theatre-on-the-Bay, Cape Town

External links

• Wanda Ventham at IMDb