Pauline Collins

Pauline Collins OBE was born 3rd September, 1940 in Devon but was raised near Liverpool.

After working as a teacher for several years, her stage debut came at the age of 22 when she starred in 'A Gazelle in Park Lane'. her performance was received well and three years later, her west end debut came, in 'Passion Flower Hotel'. Various stage roles followed, then in1967, she played Samantha Briggs in 'Doctor Who'. Collins was actually offered the part of the Doctor's companion but she turned the offer down in order to concentrate on other acting projects.

Throughout the 60's Collins played several parts in T.V shows, but it wasn't until the 70's that her face became very well known. She played the character of Sarah in 'Upstairs Downstairs' and acted alongside her husband. The pair would continue to work together on many shows including the sitcom 'No Honestly', the series 'Wodehouse Playhouse' and they both narrated the children's animation 'Little Miss'.

The 80's brought huge success for Collins. She starred in the one woman play 'Shirley Valentine' written by Willy Russell, for which she won awards including the Laurence Olivier Award and TheTony Award, both for best actress. The play enjoyed great critical acclaim and a feature film soon followed, also starring Collins. It tells the story of a down-trodden, bored housewife, who rediscovers herself whilst on holiday on Greece.

After 'Shirley Valentine', Collins played alongside her husband again, this time in a T.V drama called 'Forever Green'. the series ran for three years until 1992.

many varied film and T.V roles followed amongst others, were 'City of Joy', 'My Mother's Courage' and 'Paradise Road'. Collins is never far from our screens and in 2006, she re-appeared in Doctor Who, this time playing Queen Victoria.

Collins has four children, including one who was given up for adoption when Collins was 23. They were reunited 22 years later. Collins has written a book about this experience 'Letter to Louise'. Collins now lives in London with her husband.



What members say | Filmography

Pauline Collins - what members say

Pauline Collins - filmography

5 most recent films

Mount Pleasant - 4.5 stars
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - 3.0 stars
From Time to Time - 3.5 stars
Doctor Who - The New Series - Series 2 - Vol. 2 - 4.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Doctor Who - The New Series - Series 2 - Vol. 2 - 4.0 stars
Upstairs Downstairs - Series 2 - 3.5 stars
Tales Of The Unexpected - Complete Third Series - 3.5 stars
Paradise Road - 3.5 stars
Shirley Valentine - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Forever Green - Series 2 - Complete - 2.0 stars
Naked as Nature Intended/Secrets of a Windmill Girl - 2.0 stars
No, Honestly - The Complete Series - 2.0 stars
Forever Green - Series 1 - Complete - 3.0 stars
Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide - 3.0 stars

Most frequent co-stars

John Alderton - 14 times - show films
John Castle - 5 times - show films
Thora Hird - 5 times - show films
Graham Cull - 5 times - show films
Maria Charles - 5 times - show films

Most frequent directors

David Askey - 6 times - show films
John Davies - 5 times - show films
Bill Bain - 5 times - show films
Dere - 5 times - show films
Cyril Coke - 5 times - show films