Su Pollard has had one of the most colourful careers in British entertainment, and after more than 50 years in the spotlight, she still has stories that will make your jaw drop.
The actress, best known for playing the loveable chalet maid Peggy in the BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names of the 20th century. And some of those encounters are genuinely hard to believe.
Take Paul McCartney, for starters. Pollard recalls meeting the Beatles legend at an event where he was sat casually against a wall with his late wife Linda by his side. Doing a spot-on impression of his Scouse accent, she recounts him saying: ‘Hey Su, how are you? Love the show. Can I have your autograph? For my mother.’ Not many people can say a Beatle asked them for a signature, but then Su Pollard is not most people.
Hi-de-Hi! was a massive deal when it aired, pulling in huge audiences for its comedy set on an Essex holiday camp. Pollard’s Peggy became one of the most recognisable characters on British television, and clearly made an impression on some very famous fans.
Then there was Queen Elizabeth. After a Royal Variety Performance, Pollard came face to face with the monarch and has never forgotten it. ‘She was absolutely marvellous,’ she says. ‘What struck me was her skin. It was all peachified. Beautiful smile, her own teeth. Very regal, very straight-backed, not very tall, and quite a voluptuous bosom.’ It is, safe to say, one of the more memorable descriptions of the late Queen you are likely to read.
But the celebrity encounters do not stop there. Pollard apparently went clubbing with Freddie Mercury, which by any measure sounds like an absolutely brilliant night out. She also claims to have been present at the famous Granita restaurant in Islington where Tony Blair and Gordon Brown struck their legendary deal over the Labour leadership, one of the most talked-about moments in modern British political history.
Pollard has always been a larger than life presence, both on screen and off. She first broke through with Hi-de-Hi! in the early 1980s, and the show ran until 1988, making her a household name. But her career has stretched far beyond that one role, taking in theatre, pantomime, and various television appearances across the decades.
What comes through clearly is that Pollard has lived a genuinely extraordinary life, one filled with chance meetings and memorable moments that most people could only dream about. Whether she is chatting to a Beatle, meeting royalty, or dancing the night away with one of rock music’s greatest ever frontmen, she seems to take it all in her stride with the same warmth and humour that made her famous in the first place.
Now in her 70s, Pollard shows no signs of slowing down or running out of stories. And given the life she has led so far, that is probably a very good thing.