Liza Goddard

Liza Goddard (born 20 January 1950, in Smethwick, West Midlands, England) is a television and stage actress best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s,and distinctive plummy voice.

Early life

She is the daughter of the British producer David Goddard and attended Farnham Girls' Grammar School, before he moved the family to Australia when she was 15 upon his appointment as Head of Drama at the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

Career

Goddard made an early television appearance in Australia on "Skippy the Bush Kangaroo". After returning to the UK in 1969 as an adult, she appeared as Victoria in "Take Three Girls" (1969), and then its sequel "Take Three Women" (1982). She also had a supporting role in the 1972 movie "Ooh, You Are Awful", which included a brief nude scene. [http://www.cndb.com/actor.html?name=Goddard%2C+Liza Celebrity Nudity Database] Her career breakthrough was as April in "The Brothers" (1972-76), which also featured her first husband, Colin Baker.

A series of comedy roles in sitcoms followed, with parts in "Pig in the Middle" (1980), played a space pirate in the 1983 "Doctor Who" story "Terminus", and appeared in "Roll Over Beethoven" (1985).Goddard appeared in "Woof!", a Children's ITV programme first aired in 1989. This long-running series told the adventures of a schoolboy who turned into a dog at any given time; his efforts to conceal his secret from his parents were aided by his teacher Mrs Jessop, played by Goddard. Her husband, producer and director David Cobham, created this series and showcased Goddard's talents to a whole new generation of fans. She had earlier appeared in the TV adaptation of "Brendon Chase", also produced and directed by Cobham.

For many years, she was also the female team leader on long-running quiz/panel show Give Us A Clue, replacing another actress Una Stubbs in the role.

She appeared as Laurel Manasotti, who had an affair with Jimmy Mulville's character Donald, in the ITV sitcom "That's Love".

She later had a recurring role as Philippa Vale in "Bergerac". Her most recent recurring television role was alongside Dawn French and Catherine Tate in "Wild West". In 2007 she appeared in the "Midsomer Murders" episode "A Picture of Innocence", reuniting her with "Bergerac" star John Nettles.

Personal life

* Goddard was first married to former "Doctor Who" actor Colin Baker (who played the Sixth Doctor), and then to 1970s musician Alvin Stardust; she is now married to producer and director David Cobham, of Tarka the Otter fame. According to her IMDb entry, Goddard "successfully sued a national British newspaper which printed a story alleging (untruthfully) that she and John Nettles were having an affair, because their characters Jim Bergerac and Philippa Vale in "Bergerac" (1981) were romantically linked." [imdb name|0323809|Liza Goddard Internet Movie Database entry]
* Goddard lives in Norfolk, with her husband and a home full of rescued animals. She does work for the RSPCA amongst other charities. [http://www.bowlofcherries.com/live/article_923.cfm?p_section_id=6]
* She suffered and recovered from breast cancer in 1997. [Cite web|title = Big Issue Cymru, March 22-28 2004|url =http://journalism.cf.ac.uk/2005/Student/sjojp/article1.html|accessdate = 2007-03-16]
* Her first child, Thom Goddard, is a film and television producer. He owns All Star Media International and All Star Films and lives in London.
* Her second child, Sophie Jewry, runs a graphic design and printing business and lives in Norfolk.

References