From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brigit Forsyth (born July 28, 1940, in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British actress, who is best known for her long-running role as the beautiful Thelma Ferris in the BBC comedies The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads.

After leaving school, Brigit trained as a secretary, before enrolling at RADA, where she studied for three years. She then joined various repertory companies, including Lincoln, Edinburgh, Salisbury, Cheltenham, Hornchurch, and Watford.

She toured in My Fat Friend, and performed in the West End productions of The Norman Conquests; and Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi.

Her film work includes The Wrong Side of the Blanket (1970), as Miss Wiggins Teape; The Roadbuilder (1971), as district nurse; The Likely Lads (1976), as Thelma Ferris; and Crystalstone (1988), as Isabel.

Forsyth came from a musical family, who all sang and played instruments. She played the cello from the age of nine, abandoning it once she went to drama school. This expertise came in handy, when, in 2004, Brigit took the lead role in The Cello And The Nightingale, a play about the internationally-acclaimed cellist Beatrice Harrison that was premiered at York Theatre Royal.

Television programs in which Brigit has had a leading role include Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, as Thelma; The Glamour Girls (1980), as Veronica Haslett; The Practice, as Dr. Judith Vincent; Sharon and Elsie (1984), as Elsie Beecroft; Dark Season (1991), as Miss Maitland; and Boon (ITV, 1989), as Helen Yeldham. She has guested on The Bill; Doctor Who; Dr Finlay's Casebook; Wycliffe; Agatha Christie's Poirot; and also appeared in The Sinners; Holly, as the title character Holly Elliot; Adam Smith; Bizarre and Rummage; The Master of Ballantrae; Jackanory; Holding The Fort; Tom, Dick, and Harriet; Waiting; Dangerfield; Running Wild; The Visit; Graham's Gang; I Told You, Didn't I?; Stanley's Vision, as Hilda Spencer; My World; Henry; Nice Town (1992) as Rosemary Dobson; Murder Most Horrid (episode: A Life Or Death Operation) (BBC2, 1996) as Mrs. Osman; Spark (1997) as Mrs. Wells; and Playing the Field (BBC1, 1998) as Francine Pratt.

In March, 1998, she made a one-episode guest appearance in Coronation Street as Ken Barlow's dating agency client, Babs Fanshawe.

Forsyth was married to Coronation Street director Brian Mills from 1975 until his death on June 3, 2006. Although the couple had separated in 1999, they remained good friends until the end. They had two children together: Zoe and Ben.

• Brigit Forsyth at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Brigit Forsyth in the Northern Echo
• Interview with Brigit Forsyth in Scotland on Sunday