Hilary Pritchard

Hilary Pritchard (1942–1996) was a Manx stage, film and television actress, who, according to her obituary in The Stage, was "at one time known as the British Goldie Hawn."

Career She was educated at St Ninian's High School, Douglas and trained as a dancer with Monica Mudie, founder of the Manx Ballet Club. Having completed three years with the Ballet Rambert, she began her acting career in regional rep at Windsor in 1960, followed by similar engagements at Scarborough, Carlisle and York, several of which involved being a choreographer.

On television she became very popular as a performer in the comic mini-sketches included in the BBC consumer programme Braden's Week (1970–72), as well as appearing in such shows as The Avengers (1969), Doctor at Large (1971), Whoops Baghdad (1973), Are You Being Served? (three episodes, 1973–76) and Tropic (six episodes, 1979). She also played Daphne Bentwater from the typing pool and Sir Gregory Pitkin's paramour in the BBC Radio comedy The Men from the Ministry (1973–77).

On stage, she made her West End debut in 1974, playing Frances Hunter in the long-running farce No Sex Please, We're British. Subsequently she appeared in several regional tours, playing opposite Leslie Phillips in To Dorothy, a Son (1976), Trevor Bannister in The Mating Game (1977), Kenneth Connor in Sextet (1978) and Patrick Macnee in The Grass is Greener (1979).

Her film credits included the Ronnie Barker vehicle Futtocks End (1970) and sex comedies like She'll Follow You Anywhere (1971) and Under the Doctor (1976). She was also hired to provide the voice of Princess Yum-Yum in The Thief and the Cobbler, though the decades-long gestation of that project involved her eventually being replaced by Sara Crowe.

She died in 1996, aged 54.

Filmography

Film

Television