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(August 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) | (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Victoria Wicks Born| Beverly Victoria Anne Wicks (1959-04-18) 18 April 1959 (age 63) Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, UK Occupation| Actress Spouse| Peter Williams (m. 1984; div. 2004)​ Children| 1 Victoria Wicks (born Beverly Victoria Anne Wicks; 18 April 1959) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Sally Smedley in Channel 4's comedy series Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998), Mrs. Gideon in The Mighty Boosh (2004), and the College Director in Skins (2007–08). Her film appearances include The Imitation Game (2014) and High-Rise (2015). She is an associate of Howard Barker's theatre company, The Wrestling School. ## Contents * 1 Biography * 1.1 Early life and education * 1.2 Career * 1.3 Personal life * 2 Credits * 2.1 Work for Howard Barker * 2.2 Television * 2.3 Film * 2.4 Theatre * 2.5 Radio * 3 References * 4 External links ## Biography[edit] ### Early life and education[edit] Wicks was born Beverly Victoria Anne Wicks in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, to Brian and Judith Wicks. Wicks's mother, Judith Bates, born 1933, was the second child of the writer H. E. Bates. Wicks is the niece of Jonathan Bates, a sound editor who died in 2008, and the television producer Richard Bates, who produced the television adaptation of The Darling Buds of May. Wicks is a director of Evensford Productions Ltd, the company set up in 1955 to protect and promote H. E. Bates's work.[1][2] Wicks trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama where she was awarded the Pernod and Bisquit Award for the most promising graduate. ### Career[edit] Her first job was as acting assistant stage manager at Northampton Rep for a year, before going to Bristol Old Vic, Regent's Park and then the RSC. In 1988 Wicks was in Andy Hamilton's black comedy Tickets for the Titanic, and then went on to play Sally Smedley in all six series of Drop the Dead Donkey.[3] The Mighty Boosh (a radio, television and stage show created by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt) featured her in Series 1 as Mrs Gideon, the Head of Reptiles at the Zooniverse. Wicks also played Harriet Lawes, the Head of College in the first three series of Skins. Wicks joined 'The Wrestling School' in 1996. The company was formed in 1988 for the sole purpose of performing the work of the dramatist Howard Barker. Since joining the company Wicks has appeared in nine plays by Barker, performing in London, Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Adelaide and also in Rouen, Grenoble, Le Mans and Paris for the co-production of Les Animaux en Paradis, which was performed in French by four British and five French actors. Wicks is an associate of The Wrestling School. In 2010 Wicks was invited to the Segal Theatre Center in New York as guest of Theatre Minima to celebrate a day-long event on the work of Howard Barker.[4] Wicks played the high priestess of the Sybillines in The Fires of Pompeii, a 2008 episode of Doctor Who. In 2014, she played Dorothy Clarke in The Imitation Game and Susannah Marshall in the E4 drama Glue (2014). ### Personal life[edit] In 1984 Wicks married Peter Williams (divorced 2004); they have one daughter, Madelaine Rose, born 1985. ## Credits[edit] ### Work for Howard Barker[edit] Year | Title | Role | Notes | | | 1996 | Uncle Vanya[5] | Helena | London, Berlin, Stockholm 1998 | Ursula; Fear of the Estuary[5] | Mother Placida | London, Birmingham, Copenhagen 1999 | Scenes From an Execution[5] | Rivera | BITE Festival, Barbican Theatre (London) 2000 | The Ecstatic Bible[5] | Mrs Golllancz | Adelaide Theatre Festival (Australia) 2000 | He Stumbled | Turner, The Queen | Riverside Studios (London) and Samuel Beckett Theatre (Dublin) 2001 | The Swing at Night | Klatura | Marionette Theatre for Puppet Theatre Barge 2002 | Gertrude – The Cry[5][6] | Gertrude | Elsinore Castle (Denmark), Birmingham Rep and Riverside Studios (London) 2003 | 13 Objects[7] | Cruel Cup, Kind Saucer, The Ring, Blue Shoe, The Drum | Birmingham Rep, Everyman Theatre (Liverpool) and Riverside Studios (London) 2005 | The Fence in Its Thousandth Year[5] | Algeria | Birmingham Rep, Oxford Playhouse, York Theatre Royal 2005 | Les Animaux en Paradis | Tenna | Théâtre des Deux Rives (Rouen), Paris, Grenoble and Le Mans 2008 | I Saw Myself | | Premiere reading New End Theatre, Hampstead Unknown | Actress With an Unloved Child | | Premiere reading at Lewis Festival Unknown | Screaming in Advance | | Premiere readings of Concentration and Dying in the Street at The Print Room (London) 2010 | Smack Me | Thing, A Searcher | Premiere reading at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre (London) 1997 | The Love of a Good Man[8] | Mrs Sylvia Toynbee | BBC R3 Drama 1999 | A House of Correction[9] | Lyndsay | BBC R3 Drama 2001 | Knowledge and a Girl[10] | The Queen | BBC R4 Drama ### Television[edit] Year | Title | Role | Notes | | | 1984 | Prisoner of Zenda[11] | Princess Flavia | episodes: 1-6 1985 | Adultery: My Little Grey Home in the West[12] | Janet | Ch4 1986 | Two of Us | Jackie | 1987 | Rumpole of the Bailey[13] | Amanda Gleason | episode: "Rumpole and the Old, Old, Story" 1987 | The Houseman's Tale[14] | Allison Quothquan | episodes: 1-2 1987 | Hold the Dream[15] | Sarah Lowther | episode: 1 1988 | Tickets for the Titanic[16] | Arbuthnot | episode: "Pastoral Care" 1988 | Gems | Elinor Whiteside | episodes: 3.25, 3.26, 3.27 1989 | Storyboard[17] | Virginia | episode: "Snakes & Ladders" 1989 | Snakes & Ladders | Hotel receptionist | episodes: 2 & 4 1990 | Grange Hill | Doctor Burton | episode: 13.17 1990 | Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less[18] | Georgina Oakley | TV movie 1990 | Drop the Dead Donkey | Sally Smedley | Ch4 1991 | Amnesty International's Big 30 | As Sally Smedley | 1993 | Paul Merton: The Series | Emily | episode: 2.3 1993 | Blossom | Jacqueline Renaud | episode: 4.2 & 4.4 (Blossom in Paris) 1993 | Comic Timing | Sarah St. John Walderbury | episode: "No Worries" 1993 | Prince Cinders[19] | Princess Lovelypenny (voice) | Animation 1993 | The Main Event[20] | As herself | BBC game show 1994 | Children in Need[21] | As herself | BBC 1994 | You Bet | As herself | ITV game show ep: 7.13 1994 | Murder Most Horrid[22] | Jocasta | episode: "We all hate Granny" 1994 | Mud[23] | Miss Palmer | 1995 | Smith and Jones | | episode: 8.3 & 8.6 1995 | The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show | | episode: 2.2 1995 | Stick with Me Kid | Christina Samone | 1996 | Delta Wave | Olga Crick | 1996 | Testament: The Bible in Animation[24] | Jezebel (voice) | episode: Elijah 1997 | Bright Hair (About the Bone)[25] | Miss Montrose | TV movie 1997 | Snap | Jane Taylor | 1998 | Late Lunch with Mel and Sue[26] | As herself | Ch4 ep: 2.3 2001 | Peak Practice | Judy | episode: 12.3 2001 | Bernard's Watch | Aunt Rowena | CITV 2002 | Casualty[27] | Connolly QC | 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011–2012, 2015, 2022 | Doctors | Alison Matthews, Marjorie Middleton, Yvonne Diamond, Jenny Rockman, Jocasta Rathbone, Elspeth Manners, Jenny Nicholson[28] | 7 episodes 2002 | My Family[29] | Bex's Mother | Also in 2003, 2005 2004 | The Brief | Magistrate | episode: "So Long, Samanatha" 2004 | The Mighty Boosh[30] | Mrs. Gideon | BBC 3 2004 | Midsomer murders | Helen Callaghan | episode: "Sins of Commission" 2006 | Comedy Connections | As herself | 2007 | M.I. High[31] | Head of MI8/MI9 | 2007 | My Family[32] | Dinner Guest | 2007 | Skins[33] | Head of College (Harriet) | E4 2008 | Midsomer murders | Sarah Stone | episode: 18.6 "Talking to the Dead" 2008 | The Object[34] | Burlap Mum | 2008 | Mistresses[35] | Gemma Grey | 2008 | Doctor Who[36] | High Priestess of The Sybillines | episode: "The Fires of Pompeii" 2009 | No Signal | | episode: 1.8 & 1.9 (You Me 'n' Him) 2009 | Roar | Mother | 2009 | Emmerdale | Mrs. Conway | episode: 1.5420 2009 | Collision[37] | Angela Reeves | episode: 1, 2 & 5 2009 | Poirot[38] | Mrs Swinburne | episode: "The Clocks" 2010 | Sherlock[39] | Margaret Patterson | episode: "A study in Pink" 2010 | At Home with the Georgians / Behind Closed Doors | Lady Stanley | episode: "A Woman's Touch" 2011 | EastEnders[40] | Sandra Halliday | episode: 15 & 16 September 2012 | Silent Witness[41] | Lizzie Fraser | episode: "Death has no Dominion" parts I & II 2013 | Wizards v Aliens[42] | Chancellor Kooth | CBBC 2014 | Glue[43] | Susannah Marshall | E4 2014 | Crackanory | Mrs. Murray, Head teacher | episode: 2.4 (Self Storage & the Obituary Writer) 2016 | Sliding | Bronwen | 2017 | Finding your Feet[44] | Pru - Swimmer | 2018 | The Royals | Ingrid | episode: "Confess Yourself to Heaven" 2019 | Welcome to the Powder Keg | Lois | 2019 | Mary in the Mirror | Therapist | 2021 | The Larkins (2021 TV series) | Mrs Fothergill | Also credited as SCRIPT EDITOR Unknown | The Ward | Barbara | Unknown | No Worries | Sarah | Unknown | Streetwise | Mrs Daniels | ### Film[edit] Year | Title | Role | Notes | | | 1986 | Ping Pong[45] | Maggie Wong | Alan's wife 1990 | Strike It Rich | Jane Truefit | 2003 | What A Girl Wants[46] | Henry's Secretary (Caroline) | 2014 | The Imitation Game[47] | Dorothy Clarke | Joan's mother 2015 | High Rise[48] | Miriam | 2015 | Notes on Blindness[49] | Sally (Librarian) | 2016 | The Brother[50] | Vendor | ### Theatre[edit] Year | Title | Role | Notes | | | 1980 | Quartet to Murder | | Theatre Royal, Northampton 1980 | Mother Goose | | Theatre Royal, Northampton 1981 | Whose Life is it Anyway? | | Theatre Royal, Northampton 1981 | Cinderella[51] | | Bristol Old Vic 1981 | Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui[52] | | Bristol Old Vic 1981 | The Country Wife[53] | Mistress Squeamish | Bristol Old Vic 1982 | Taming of the Shrew[54] | A Haberdasher | Regents Park Open Air Theatre 1982 | A Midsummer Night’s Dream[55] | Helena | Regents Park Open Air Theatre 1983 | From War to War with Love[56] | | New End Theatre, Hampstead 1983 | Twelfth Night | Olivia | Royal Shakespeare Company 1983 | Julius Caesar | Portia | Royal Shakespeare Company 1983 | Measure for Measure[57] | | Royal Shakespeare Company 1983 | A New Way to Pay Old Debts[58] | Waiting Woman | Royal Shakespeare Company 1984 | Space Invaders[59] | Shar | Royal Shakespeare Company 1985 | Chinamen | Jo, Bee, and Alex | Latchmere, Battersea 1986 | Charley's Aunt | Amy Spettigue | Theatre Royal, Plymouth 1992 | As You Like It | Rosalind | Ludlow Festival 1993 | Blithe Spirit[60] | Elvira | Cheltenham Everyman Theatre 1994 | Dilemma for Murder | | Watermill Theatre, Bagnor 1995 | Mind the Gap by Meredith Oakes | Ginny | Hampstead Theatre 2006 | A Woman of No Importance[61] | Rachel Arbuthnot | Salisbury Playhouse 2008 | Quartermaine's Terms[62] | Melanie Garth | Touring production. Kenwright 2015 | The One that Got Away | Madame Latour | Theatre Royal, Bath Unknown | As You Like It | Hymen | ### Radio[edit] Year | Title | Role | Notes | | | Unknown | Anything Legal | Doreen | By Wally K. Daly 1982 | The Cask of Amontillado[63] | First Lady | (BBC R4) By Nick Fisher 1982 | It's Disgusting at Your Age[64] | Penny | (BBC R4) By Jacqueline Wilson 1982 | Get Together[65] | Susy | (BBC R4) By Barbara Clegg 1983 | The Cleverest Man at Oxford[66] | Gillian | (BBC R4) By Geoffrey Parkinson 1984 | Riding to Jerusalem[67] | Amelia Man | (BBC R4) By Elspeth Sandys 1985 | Albert's Extra Parliamentary Activities[68] | Receptionist | (BBC R4) By Nick Fisher 1991 | The Cabaret of Dr Caligari[69] | Anthrax | (BBC R4) By Alan Gilbey 2000 | The Secret Parts[70] | Rosemary Malcolm | (BBC R4) Adapted by David Edgar ## References[edit] 1. ^ "Estates – H. E. Bates". 2. ^ Comdevelopment Ltd. "Beverly Wicks". 3. ^ "TELEVISION VIEW; The News From Britain, Sort Of". 23 July 1995. 4. ^ "Playwright Howard Barker (UK) at the Segal Center" Archived 9 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine, City University of New York, May 2010 5. ^ a b c d e f "Bloomsbury Collections - Howard Barker's Theatre - Wrestling with Catastrophe". www.bloomsburycollections.com. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 6. ^ "Production of Gertrude – the Cry | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 7. ^ "Production of 13 Objects | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 8. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 9. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 10. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 11. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 12. ^ "My Little Grey Home in the West (1985)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 13. ^ "Rumpole and the Old, Old Story (1987)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 14. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 15. ^ "Hold the Dream (1986)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 16. ^ "Pastoral Care (1988)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 17. ^ "Snakes & Ladders (1989)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 18. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 19. ^ "Prince Cinders (1993)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 20. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 21. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 22. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 23. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 24. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 25. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 26. ^ "Late Lunch with Mel and Sue[04/11/98] (1998)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 27. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 28. ^ Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Scarlett Kiernan is out for PAYBACK on Princess!". What to Watch. (Future plc). Retrieved 25 June 2022. 29. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 30. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 31. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 32. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 33. ^ "Skins[10/04/2008] (2008)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 34. ^ "The Object (2008)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 35. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 36. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 37. ^ "Collision[09/11/2009] (2009)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 38. ^ "The Clocks (2011)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 39. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 40. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 41. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 42. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 43. ^ "Glue[06/10/2014] (2014)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 44. ^ "Finding Your Feet (2018)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 45. ^ "Ping Pong (1987)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 46. ^ "What a Girl Wants (2003)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 47. ^ "The Imitation Game (2014)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 48. ^ "High-Rise". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 49. ^ "Notes on Blindness". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 50. ^ "The Brother (2014)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 51. ^ "Production of Cinderella | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 52. ^ "Production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 53. ^ "Production of The Country Wife | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 54. ^ "Production of The Taming of the Shrew | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 55. ^ "Production of A Midsummer Night's Dream | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 56. ^ Barber, John (27 January 1983). ""Everybody clap hands it's the 30s"". Daily Telegraph. p. 15. Retrieved 24 December 2021. 57. ^ "Production of Measure for Measure | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 58. ^ "Production of A New Way to Pay Old Debts | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021. 59. ^ "Production of Space Invaders | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 60. ^ "Production of Blithe Spirit | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 61. ^ "Theatre review: A Woman of No Importance at Salisbury Playhouse". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 62. ^ "Quartermaine's Terms Productions". Simon Gray. Retrieved 20 October 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 63. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 64. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 65. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 66. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 67. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 68. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 69. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. 70. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021. ## External links[edit] * Victoria Wicks at IMDb * BBC Comedy Guide – Victoria Wicks * Kilpatrick, David. Gertrude—The Cry (review). Theatre Journal – Volume 55, Number 4, December 2003, pp. 704–706. The Johns Hopkins University Press * Guardian review of the 2002 production of Gertrude—The Cry *[m.]: married *[div.]: divorced