Cleo Rocos
Encyclopedia
Cleo Rocos is a UK-based comedy actress and television/theatre producer and presenter, best known for appearing on The Kenny Everett Television Show. She is of Greek
and English
descent. Her father was Greek, and her mother was English.
to being a roving reporter for the consumer affairs show That's Life!
. She was most frequently seen in Everett's BBC
series The Kenny Everett Television Show, in which her glamorous and curvaceous figure was often used to comic effect as a focus for drooling, lascivious men - a role echoed by her similar appearances in the 1985 TV sketch series Assaulted Nuts. She also appeared alongside Everett in BBC1 science quiz series Brainstorm, playing a white-coated lab assistant.
Rocos' autobiographical book Bananas Forever: Kenny Everett and Me (co-authored by Richard Topping
) detailing her relationship with Everett, was published in 1998 but later reissued under the title Kenny and Me.
In the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Rocos starred in a Welsh comedy show on S4C
called Pobol y Chyff. Rhys Ifans
and Meirion Davies played the main characters.
An occasional sidekick to 'shock jock' DJ James Whale
on late-night ITV in the early 1990s, she fulfilled a similar role with TV critic Garry Bushell
on ITV nocturnal TV-review series Bushell on the Box. She also made a few appearances in the Ugly Bloke slot, as an incongruously glamorous escort to facially-challenged males, on Chris Evans' Channel 4 series TFI Friday
in about 1996.
Other TV credits include an acting role in US drama series Highlander
, presenting and co-producing a short channel Five series on Princess Diana's
dresses, participating in BBC
game shows such as Wipeout, Blankety Blank
and Ready, Steady, Cook
, and partaking in Five's karaoke
show Night Fever.
Films include 1980s comedy horror spoof Bloodbath at the House of Death
(with Kenny Everett) and Babyjuice Express.
She produced a revival of The Seven-Year Itch for the London stage, starring Darryl Hannah, in 2000 and also starred in Leigh Francis
' TV series Whatever I Want as herself, as did Big Brother host Davina McCall
. Rocos later appeared again with Francis, AKA zany celebrity-stalker character Avid Merrion, on Bo'! in the USA, the US version of Bo' Selecta!
.
Although her television work became lower-profile after Everett's death, during the late 1990s she presented quirky reports from exotic locations for the long-running ITV travel show Wish You Were Here...?
. In 2002-3 she presented and produced a travel show for Five called Cleo Worldwide, and she spent much of summer 2006 recording a new travel show for television about the wonders of the world
.
In 2005, Rocos produced
...Sex Actually, a special episode of The Comic Strip Presents in which a murder occurs amongst a group of swingers
. She is an occasional presenter for BBC London 94.9FM radio.
Dabbling in print journalism, she has contributed travel articles to publications such as The Daily Telegraph
.
She has collaborated on a few pop music singles, such as Love Dilemma in the mid-1980s - a traditionally-crooned number with the Enrico Valdez Orchestra - and 1993 dance track Back to Love with the band Vertigo. She is not named on the latter's sleeve, beyond a small co-writing credit.
In 2007, Rocos entered the Celebrity Big Brother
house and remained in the house until the final week. She was voted off the show on 26 January 2007 as part of a surprise joint eviction along with singer Jo O'Meara
, a former member of pop group S Club 7
.
In March 2007, she was announced as the first Patron of the charity London's Air Ambulance.
On 30 December 2007, Rocos was interviewed on Sky News
as a "friend of Benazir Bhutto
", the recently-assassinated Pakistan politician.
On 2 January 2010, she appeared on the BBC celebrity special of Total Wipeout
and on 2 May 2010, she appeared on the Watch
game show, Scream If You Know the Answer. In October 2011, she was a participant in Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me
and was joint winner with the pop singer Pete Burns
.
, but he says their engagement ended because Rocos kept bringing her mother with her on dates.
Rocos's image took a severe turn for the worst after her appearance in Big Brother for those who knew of her. Expecting rapturous applause, she was surprised when she was booed as McCall asked her why, as the senior member of the house, she had done nothing to prevent the bullying of Shilpa Shetti that had caused a national uproar
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
descent. Her father was Greek, and her mother was English.
Career
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Rocos appeared regularly on television, from a minor role in the TV adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January and February 1981 on BBC Two...
to being a roving reporter for the consumer affairs show That's Life!
That's Life!
That's Life! was a magazine-style television series on BBC1 between 26 May 1973 and 19 June 1994, presented by Esther Rantzen throughout the entire run, with various changes of co-presenters. The show was generally recorded about an hour prior to transmission, which was originally on Saturday...
. She was most frequently seen in Everett's 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 The Kenny Everett Television Show, in which her glamorous and curvaceous figure was often used to comic effect as a focus for drooling, lascivious men - a role echoed by her similar appearances in the 1985 TV sketch series Assaulted Nuts. She also appeared alongside Everett in BBC1 science quiz series Brainstorm, playing a white-coated lab assistant.
Rocos' autobiographical book Bananas Forever: Kenny Everett and Me (co-authored by Richard Topping
Richard Topping
Richard Topping started his career as a bar manager at the Beacon Hotel, Tunbridge Wells, and then went on-stage as a stand-up comedian on the London club circuit in the late 1980s. He moved into television in the 1990s, co-hosting several shows including BBC's This Multimedia Business, The...
) detailing her relationship with Everett, was published in 1998 but later reissued under the title Kenny and Me.
In the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Rocos starred in a Welsh comedy show on S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
called Pobol y Chyff. Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
and Meirion Davies played the main characters.
An occasional sidekick to 'shock jock' DJ James Whale
James Whale (radio)
Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
on late-night ITV in the early 1990s, she fulfilled a similar role with TV critic Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Oi! band The Gonads and manages the New York City Oi! band Maninblack. Bushell's recurring themes are comedy, country and class...
on ITV nocturnal TV-review series Bushell on the Box. She also made a few appearances in the Ugly Bloke slot, as an incongruously glamorous escort to facially-challenged males, on Chris Evans' Channel 4 series TFI Friday
TFI Friday
TFI Friday is an entertainment show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2000. The show produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first 5 series. The final series was hosted by a number of Guest Presenters. It was broadcast on...
in about 1996.
Other TV credits include an acting role in US drama series Highlander
Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
, presenting and co-producing a short channel Five series on Princess Diana's
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
dresses, participating in 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...
game shows such as Wipeout, Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank is a British comedy game show based on the 1977–1978 Australian game show Blankety Blanks ....
and Ready, Steady, Cook
Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...
, and partaking in Five's karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
show Night Fever.
Films include 1980s comedy horror spoof Bloodbath at the House of Death
Bloodbath at the House of Death
Bloodbath at the House of Death is a 1983 comedy horror film starring the British comedian Kenny Everett and featuring Vincent Price. It is an over-the-top spoof loosely inspired by The Amityville Horror and other horror films from the same period....
(with Kenny Everett) and Babyjuice Express.
She produced a revival of The Seven-Year Itch for the London stage, starring Darryl Hannah, in 2000 and also starred in Leigh Francis
Leigh Francis
Leigh Szaak Francis is an English impressionist born in Leeds. He is best known for his work as the creator of Channel 4's Bo' Selecta!, and for his portrayal of Keith Lemon for several ITV programmes. Francis lives in Camden Town, London, and on October 31, 2003, at Allerton Castle, North...
' TV series Whatever I Want as herself, as did Big Brother host Davina McCall
Davina McCall
Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
. Rocos later appeared again with Francis, AKA zany celebrity-stalker character Avid Merrion, on Bo'! in the USA, the US version of Bo' Selecta!
Bo' Selecta!
Bo' Selecta! is a British sketch show written and performed by Leigh Francis, known for its often deeply surreal, abstract toilet humour, which lampoons popular culture. It was broadcast on Channel 4 and ran for three series between 2002 and 2004, spawning several spin-offs...
.
Although her television work became lower-profile after Everett's death, during the late 1990s she presented quirky reports from exotic locations for the long-running ITV travel show Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...? is a British television show that was first broadcast on 7th January 1974 on ITV. It was a series of 30 minute shows about travel and holidays. The show was broadcast during peak viewing hours and had gained a significant viewing audience in the UK...
. In 2002-3 she presented and produced a travel show for Five called Cleo Worldwide, and she spent much of summer 2006 recording a new travel show for television about the wonders of the world
Wonders of the World
Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural wonders and manmade structures....
.
In 2005, Rocos produced
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
...Sex Actually, a special episode of The Comic Strip Presents in which a murder occurs amongst a group of swingers
Swinging
Swinging or partner swapping is a non-monogamous behavior, in which both partners in a committed relationship agree, as a couple, for both partners to engage in sexual activities with other couples as a recreational or social activity...
. She is an occasional presenter for BBC London 94.9FM radio.
Dabbling in print journalism, she has contributed travel articles to publications such as The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
.
She has collaborated on a few pop music singles, such as Love Dilemma in the mid-1980s - a traditionally-crooned number with the Enrico Valdez Orchestra - and 1993 dance track Back to Love with the band Vertigo. She is not named on the latter's sleeve, beyond a small co-writing credit.
In 2007, Rocos entered the Celebrity Big Brother
Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK)
Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the highly controversial fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. The series was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK , and involved a number of celebrities referred to as 'housemates', who live in the...
house and remained in the house until the final week. She was voted off the show on 26 January 2007 as part of a surprise joint eviction along with singer Jo O'Meara
Jo O'Meara
Joanne Valda O'Meara is an English singer-songwriter, television personality and actress. Formerly one of the lead singers of pop group S Club, she launched a solo single after the group's split in 2003, which cut short the production of a proposed album following an appearance on Celebrity Big...
, a former member of pop group S Club 7
S Club 7
S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, consisting of members Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, de facto lead singer Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens. The group rose to fame by starring in their...
.
In March 2007, she was announced as the first Patron of the charity London's Air Ambulance.
On 30 December 2007, Rocos was interviewed on Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
as a "friend of Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
", the recently-assassinated Pakistan politician.
On 2 January 2010, she appeared on the BBC celebrity special of Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large...
and on 2 May 2010, she appeared on the Watch
Watch (TV channel)
Watch is a general entertainment channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network. The channel launched on 7 October 2008 on satellite through Sky and on cable primarily through Virgin Media.-History:...
game show, Scream If You Know the Answer. In October 2011, she was a participant in Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
and was joint winner with the pop singer Pete Burns
Pete Burns
Pete Burns is an English singer-songwriter, author and television personality who founded the band Dead or Alive in 1980, for which he acted as the vocalist and songwriter, and which rose to mainstream success with their 1985 single "You Spin Me Round "...
.
Personal life
Rocos was for many years in a relationship with Some Bizzare Records supremo Stevo PearceStevo Pearce
Stephen John Pearce, commonly known as Stevo, is the owner of British record label, Some Bizzare Records.-Biography:Pearce was born in 1962 and came from Haverhill. He left school at sixteen without any qualifications and entered a work training placement with ‘Phonogram Records’...
, but he says their engagement ended because Rocos kept bringing her mother with her on dates.
Rocos's image took a severe turn for the worst after her appearance in Big Brother for those who knew of her. Expecting rapturous applause, she was surprised when she was booed as McCall asked her why, as the senior member of the house, she had done nothing to prevent the bullying of Shilpa Shetti that had caused a national uproar
See also
- Kenny EverettKenny EverettKenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...