Carolyn Pickles
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Pickles is an English actress who has appeared in West End theatre
and on British television, perhaps most notably in Emmerdale
as Shelly Williams.
, Yorkshire
, England. She is the daughter of the late Judge James Pickles
, a niece of actress Christina Pickles
, and great-niece of Wilfred Pickles
, the TV and radio personality. Pickles grew up in and attended school in Halifax, West Yorkshire. She read drama at the University of Manchester
, taking roles in a number of student productions including Narrow Road to the Deep North by Edward Bond
, and the lead in Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children
.
She played the lead role as Miss Bluebell in the BBC
series of the same name in 1986. She also appeared in The Bill
as DCI Kim Reid, as Simone Trevelyan in May to December
, and in The Tales of Para Handy
as Lady Catherine Ramsay. Pickles also appeared in the cult BBC children's educational drama series Through The Dragon's Eye
. She was a leading character (12 episodes in 1982) in the TV series We'll Meet Again. She has appeared in a number of films, including Roman Polanski
's Tess
, Agatha
and The Mirror Crack'd
. She appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 as the Muggle Studies teacher, Charity Burbage.
She is married to artist Tarquin Butler and has two daughters, Hettie and Lucy.
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and on British television, perhaps most notably in Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
as Shelly Williams.
Life and career
Pickles was born in WakefieldWakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England. She is the daughter of the late Judge James Pickles
James Pickles
Judge James Pickles was an English Circuit judge famed for his "no nonsense" approach and many controversial decisions, who later became a tabloid columnist.-Early life:...
, a niece of actress Christina Pickles
Christina Pickles
Christina Pickles is an English actress, best known for her long-running role of Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the hospital drama St. Elsewhere, for which she was nominated for four Emmys.-Life and career:...
, and great-niece of Wilfred Pickles
Wilfred Pickles
Wilfred Pickles OBE was an English actor and radio presenter.Born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Pickles was a proud Yorkshireman, and having been selected by the BBC as an announcer for its North Regional radio service, went on to be an occasional newsreader on the BBC Home Service...
, the TV and radio personality. Pickles grew up in and attended school in Halifax, West Yorkshire. She read drama at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, taking roles in a number of student productions including Narrow Road to the Deep North by Edward Bond
Edward Bond
Edward Bond is an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter. He is the author of some fifty plays, among them Saved , the production of which was instrumental in the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK...
, and the lead in Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin...
.
She played the lead role as Miss Bluebell in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series of the same name in 1986. She also appeared in 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...
as DCI Kim Reid, as Simone Trevelyan in May to December
May to December
May to December was a British sitcom which ran for 39 episodes, from 2 April 1989 to 27 May 1994 on BBC1. The series was written by Paul Mendelson and produced by Cinema Verity....
, and in The Tales of Para Handy
The Tales of Para Handy
The Tales of Para Handy was a Scottish television series set in the west of Scotland, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It was a sitcom about a puffer boat and its crew.It ran from 1994 to 1995 on BBC One, a total of nine episodes....
as Lady Catherine Ramsay. Pickles also appeared in the cult BBC children's educational drama series Through The Dragon's Eye
Through The Dragon's Eye
Through The Dragon's Eye is an educational BBC Look and Read production, which was first aired on BBC Two on 19 September 1989, and has been shown regularly ever since....
. She was a leading character (12 episodes in 1982) in the TV series We'll Meet Again. She has appeared in a number of films, including Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's Tess
Tess (film)
Tess is a 1980 romance film directed by Roman Polanski, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed, young peasant girl who finds out she has title connections by way of her old aristocratic surname and who is raped by her wealthy...
, Agatha
Agatha (film)
Agatha is a 1979 drama thriller film directed by Michael Apted, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Timothy Dalton, and written by Kathleen Tynan...
and The Mirror Crack'd
The Mirror Crack'd
The Mirror Crack'd is a 1980 film British mystery film based on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novel The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side...
. She appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 as the Muggle Studies teacher, Charity Burbage.
She is married to artist Tarquin Butler and has two daughters, Hettie and Lucy.