Ysanne Churchman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ysanne Churchman (born 14th May 1925) worked as an actress and narrator on British radio, TV and film for over 50 years (1938-1993). She achieved national fame as 'Grace Archer' in the eponymous long running BBC drama series, when Grace perished in a fire on the night when ITV launched in 1955.
Ysanne Churchman was born on 14th May 1925 in Sutton Coldfield to Andrew Churchman and Gladys Dale, well-known stage and radio performers in London.
In 1938 Ysanne appeared on both BBC radio Children's Hour and in a BBC TV play Gallows Glorious. She trained as a dancer at Cone-Ripman College. After learning repertory and theatre she specialised in radio and voice work for film and television. This lead to national fame as Grace in the long running radio series The Archers when Grace perished in a fire on the night of the ITV launch in 1955. She went on to voice five other Archers characters over the years.
Along with many story telling and reading roles on the BBC she also performed as: Sara in the series Space Patrol, the voice of Alpha Centauri in the series Doctor Who, and Soo the computer in Dominick Hyde. She was the first actress employed by Capital Radio, reading a serial book.
She married Tony Pilgrim MBE in 1951 and they celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in 2001. She retired in 1993, but still does occasional voice-over and television appearances.
[edit] Selected Credits
- Children's Hour, BBC Radio, 1938
- Gallows Glorious, BBC TV, 1938
- The Railway Children, BBC TV, 1957 - Ruth
- The Archers, BBC Radio, 1951-1985 - Jennifer Archer, Grace Archer, Barbara Drury, Joan Ilverton, Jocelyn Page, Mary Pound.
- Sense and Sensibility, BBC Home Service (Radio 4), 1959/60 - Marianne Dashwood
- Sara & Hoppity, ITV, 1960, - Sara & other voices
- Sherlock Holmes, BBC Radio, 1969 - Mary Sutherland
- Crossroads, ITV 1960s/1970s - 4 different appearances
- Doctor Who, 1972, The Curse Of Peladon - Voice of Alpha Centauri
- Doctor Who, 1974, The Monster Of Peladon - Voice of Alpha Centauri
- Doctor Who, 1974, The Planet Of The Spiders - Spider Voices
- Les Douze travaux d'Astérix, 1976 - Voice Artist, English Version
- Beasts, ITV 1976, Special Offer - Joyce
- Softly, Softly, BBC 1970s - 4 appearances
- Shoestring, 1979, Knock For Knock - Woman's Voice
- A Dance to the Music of Time, 1979 - Milly
- The Flipside of Dominick Hide, 1980 - Soo (Computer)
- Another Flip for Dominick, 1982 - Soo (House Computer)
- Ghost in the Water, 1982, - Mrs. Parkes
- Amy, TV, 1984 - Lilly
- Starlings, TV, 1988 - Mrs Grimshaw
- Pyramid, Film Documentary, 1988 - Voice Artist
- Prostitute, 1991 - Magistrate
- Lipstick on Your Collar, TV, 1993 - Mrs Atterbow
- Oliver Twist, TV, 1999 - Woman in street
