Alison Bettles
Encyclopedia
Alison Bettles is an English
television actress. She is best known for playing Fay Lucas in BBC's Grange Hill
for six series (1982–1987).
. As a child, Bettles appeared in various television advertisements, which included a "Public Information Film" for the Green Cross Code
with Bob Carolgees
in 1981.
She is most famous for her childhood role in the Children's BBC drama, Grange Hill
. Bettles played the prominent character Fay Lucas between 1982 and 1987, who was most notable for having an affair with one of her teachers, Mr King (David Straun). Bettles was one of various Grange Hill actors to feature in the UK's Just Say No
anti-drug campaign. The cast recorded a song (also entitled "Just Say No"), which was released as a single, and reached number 5 in April 1986. Bettles was also featured on a special music album released by the Grange Hill cast, with songs written by Steve Wright, who composed the theme tune for Channel 4's Brookside
. Bettles sang a solo track entitled "School Love", which was based on her character's doomed relationship with Mr. King. In 2005, Bettles was reunited with some of her former Grange Hill castmates in Justin Lee Collins
's Channel 4
documentary, Bring Back...Grange Hill, which saw them perform their top ten hit, Just Say No, in front of an audience at the Hammersmith Palais
.
Aside from her Grange Hill music projects, Bettles also sang on the chrarity single "Let It Be", released by Ferry Aid in 1987 to raise money for victims of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. In 1988 Bettles appeared in a spin-off of the popular BBC soap opera, EastEnders
. The spin-off, entitled Civvy Street, was set during the second world war, and looked back on the early life of some of EastEnders senior residents. Bettles played a young Ethel Skinner
. Among Bettles' other credits are: ITV
's police drama The Bill
(1988); No Strings (1989); Closing Numbers (1993); Ostatni Accord (1994) and London's Burning
(2001).
Bettles gave up performing for a while in the 1990s to marry and bring up her family. During her time away from acting Bettles qualified as a beauty therapist, and in 2005 she set up a specialist freight forwarding company called Kenvale Recruitment. She has since returned to acting, and in 2006 she appeared in an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom, The IT Crowd
.
, where Bettles attended Aveley Comprehensive.
Bettles is married and has four children—three boys, Harry, Albert and Arthur, and a daughter who was born on New Year's Day 2005. Bettles' children have also taken to performing. Her son Albert Valentine has appeared in the Doctor Who
episodes, The Empty Child
and The Doctor Dances
, and Arthur has appeared in EastEnders.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television actress. She is best known for playing Fay Lucas in BBC's Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
for six series (1982–1987).
Career
Bettles was recruited into acting at the age of eight by Sylvia Young of the Sylvia Young Theatre SchoolSylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent fee-paying stage school, in Westminster, London, named after its founder and Principal, Sylvia Young.-Outline:...
. As a child, Bettles appeared in various television advertisements, which included a "Public Information Film" for the Green Cross Code
Green Cross Code
The Green Cross Code is a brand created by the UK National Road Safety Committee to raise awareness of pedestrian road safety in the UK...
with Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees is a comedy entertainer who appeared on the Saturday morning TV series Tiswas and then later in its adult versions O.T.T. and Saturday Stayback. He is best-known for appearing with a puppet named Spit the Dog.-Career:In the early 1970s Carolgees ran a DJ and modelling school at 11A...
in 1981.
She is most famous for her childhood role in the Children's BBC drama, Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
. Bettles played the prominent character Fay Lucas between 1982 and 1987, who was most notable for having an affair with one of her teachers, Mr King (David Straun). Bettles was one of various Grange Hill actors to feature in the UK's Just Say No
Just Say No
"Just Say No" was an advertising campaign, part of the U.S. "War on Drugs", prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no. Eventually, this also expanded the realm of "Just Say No" to violence and...
anti-drug campaign. The cast recorded a song (also entitled "Just Say No"), which was released as a single, and reached number 5 in April 1986. Bettles was also featured on a special music album released by the Grange Hill cast, with songs written by Steve Wright, who composed the theme tune for Channel 4's Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
. Bettles sang a solo track entitled "School Love", which was based on her character's doomed relationship with Mr. King. In 2005, Bettles was reunited with some of her former Grange Hill castmates in Justin Lee Collins
Justin Lee Collins
Justin Lee Collins, commonly known as JLC, is an award-winning English comedian and television presenter.A Bristolian, he's well known for his strong West Country accent, shaggy appearance and colourful shirts....
's Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary, Bring Back...Grange Hill, which saw them perform their top ten hit, Just Say No, in front of an audience at the Hammersmith Palais
Hammersmith Palais
The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, later simply the Hammersmith Palais, was a ballroom and entertainment venue in London that operated from 1919 until 2007...
.
Aside from her Grange Hill music projects, Bettles also sang on the chrarity single "Let It Be", released by Ferry Aid in 1987 to raise money for victims of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. In 1988 Bettles appeared in a spin-off of the popular BBC soap opera, EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. The spin-off, entitled Civvy Street, was set during the second world war, and looked back on the early life of some of EastEnders senior residents. Bettles played a young Ethel Skinner
Ethel Skinner
Ethel May Skinner is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Gretchen Franklin. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War, where the character is played by Alison...
. Among Bettles' other credits are: ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's police drama The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
(1988); No Strings (1989); Closing Numbers (1993); Ostatni Accord (1994) and London's Burning
London's Burning
London's Burning was a British television drama programme produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network that focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch at a fictional fire station called Blackwall.It was broadcast between 1986 and...
(2001).
Bettles gave up performing for a while in the 1990s to marry and bring up her family. During her time away from acting Bettles qualified as a beauty therapist, and in 2005 she set up a specialist freight forwarding company called Kenvale Recruitment. She has since returned to acting, and in 2006 she appeared in an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom, The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
.
Personal life
Bettles was born in 1969 to mother, June, who worked as a chaperone for the Grange Hill series from its inception in 1978 to 2002. She and her two brothers, Mark and Dean, grew up in EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, where Bettles attended Aveley Comprehensive.
Bettles is married and has four children—three boys, Harry, Albert and Arthur, and a daughter who was born on New Year's Day 2005. Bettles' children have also taken to performing. Her son Albert Valentine has appeared in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episodes, The Empty Child
The Empty Child
"The Empty Child" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 21 May 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episode, "The Doctor Dances", was broadcast on 28 May...
and The Doctor Dances
The Doctor Dances
"The Doctor Dances" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 28 May 2005. It is the second of a two-part story and saw Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, join the Doctor as a companion. The first part, "The Empty Child", was...
, and Arthur has appeared in EastEnders.