Virginia Stride

Virginia Stride (lahir Virginia Thomas di Yokohama, Jepang) adalah seorang aktris panggung dan layar asal Inggris yang pertama kali menjadi perhatian publik di televisi pada tahun 1960-an. Dia adalah istri pertama aktor John Stride (1936–2018), yang dia temui ketika mereka belajar di Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), dan pada tahun 1964 dia memperkenalkan program pertama yang ditayangkan di BBC2. Virginia Stride memainkan peran berulang sebagai Gadis BD Katy Hoskins di Z-Cars (1962–64), serial televisi BBC yang sudah lama tayang tentang polisi di wilayah Liverpool. Pada tahun 1964 dia muncul dalam sebuah episode The Avengers sebagai Alice Brisket, sekretaris Quilpie (diperankan oleh Ronald Radd), yang merupakan pengontrol John Steed (Patrick Macnee) dan Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman). Dengan Gordon Rollings Stride menjadi presenter pertama, pada 21 April 1964, Play School, program harian untuk anak kecil di BBC 2. Karena pemadaman listrik bertepatan dengan jadwal pembukaan saluran pada malam sebelumnya, Play School menjadi program pertama yang disiarkan di BBC2. Pada tahun 1966 Stride muncul dalam serial komedi BBC On the Margin, kumpulan sketsa dan lagu yang ditulis oleh Alan Bennett, yang, bersama dengan John Sergeant (kemudian menjadi koresponden politik BBC), juga membintangi pertunjukan tersebut. Enam episode On the Margin diulang dua kali pada tahun 1967, tetapi termasuk di antara banyak program yang "dihapus" oleh BBC pada tahun 1970-an. Sebuah CD berisi ekstrak audio yang masih ada dirilis oleh BBC pada tahun 2009. Peran Virginia Stride yang paling terkenal mungkin adalah sebagai Liz Champion yang "menggoda" di Champion House, serial drama mingguan yang dibuat untuk BBC oleh Hazel Adair dan Peter Ling, yang berkisah tentang bisnis tekstil yang dikelola keluarga di Yorkshire. Liz Champion adalah anggota dewan perusahaan. Dia adalah putri Jack Champion, yang ayahnya, Joe (diperankan oleh Edward Chapman), telah menyerahkan perusahaan itu kepadanya, hanya untuk melihatnya diteruskan, setelah kematian awal Jack, kepada kakak laki-laki tertua Liz, Stephen (James Kerry), yang memiliki gagasannya sendiri yang kurang sesuai dengan arah perusahaan. Episode pertama Champion House ditayangkan pada tanggal 28 Mei 1967 dan ada seri kedua pada tahun 1968. Profil awalnya dibantu oleh liputan langsung pada tanggal 28 Mei tentang kembalinya Sir Francis Chichester dari perjalanan solonya mengelilingi dunia. Virginia Stride muncul di episode sejumlah serial televisi lainnya, termasuk Out of the World (1962), Public Eye (1966), The Baron (1966, sebagai seorang pengusaha hotel yang tersirat "one-night stand" dengan John Mannering, sang "Baron", diperankan oleh Steve Forrest), The Mind of Mr. Reeder (sebagai Margaret Bellman di seri pertama, pada tahun 1969, peran yang dimainkan Gillian Lewis di seri kedua pada tahun 1971), Callan (1972), The Expert (1976), Target (1978) dan A Touch of Spice (1989). Film-filmnya antara lain I Want What I Want (1972), berdasarkan novel Geoff Brown tahun 1966 tentang transeksualisme. Pada awal abad ke-21 Stride tampil bersama Agatha Christie Theatre Company, misalnya dalam tur di The Unexpected Guest (antara lain dengan Simon MacCorkindale dan mantan penyanyi Mark Wynter) pada tahun 2006 Virginia Stride memiliki tiga anak perempuan, Philippa dan Lindsay, dari suami pertamanya, aktor John Stride, dan seorang putri lainnya dari hubungan selanjutnya dengan produser dan ketua sepak bola Bill Kenwright. Dia memiliki empat cucu.

Virginia Stride (born Virginia Thomas in Yokohama, Japan) is a British actress of stage and screen who first came to public attention on television in the 1960s. She was the first wife of the actor John Stride (1936–2018), whom she met when they were studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and in 1964 she introduced the first programme to be seen on BBC2. Virginia Stride played the recurring role of BD Girl Katy Hoskins in Z-Cars (1962–64), the long-running BBC television series about the police in an area of Liverpool. In 1964 she appeared in an episode of The Avengers as Alice Brisket, secretary to Quilpie (played by Ronald Radd), who was the controller of John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman). With Gordon Rollings Stride was the first presenter, on 21 April 1964, of Play School, a daily programme for young children on BBC 2. Because a power failure coincided with the channel's scheduled opening the previous evening,[3] Play School was the first programme to be transmitted on BBC2. In 1966 Stride appeared in the BBC comedy series On the Margin, a collection of sketches and songs written by Alan Bennett, who, together with John Sergeant (later the BBC's political correspondent), also starred in the show. The six episodes of On the Margin were twice repeated in 1967, but were among many programmes "wiped" by the BBC in the 1970s. A compact disc of surviving audio extracts was released by the BBC in 2009. Virginia Stride's best-known role was probably as the "seductive" Liz Champion in Champion House, a weekly drama series created for the BBC by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling,[5] which concerned a family-run textile business in Yorkshire. Liz Champion was a member of the company's board. She was the daughter of Jack Champion, whose father, Joe (played by Edward Chapman), had made the company over to him, only to see it pass, after Jack's early death, to Liz's eldest brother Stephen (James Kerry), who had his own less compliant ideas of the firm's direction. The first episode of Champion House was shown on 28 May 1967 and there was a second series in 1968. Its initial profile was assisted by live coverage on 28 May of the return of Sir Francis Chichester from his solo circumnavigation of the world. Virginia Stride appeared in episodes of a number of other television series, including Out of the World (1962), Public Eye (1966), The Baron (1966, as an hotelier who has an implied "one-night stand" with John Mannering, the "Baron", played by Steve Forrest[7]), The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder (as Margaret Bellman in the first series, in 1969, a role that Gillian Lewis played in the second series in 1971), Callan (1972), The Expert (1976), Target (1978) and A Touch of Spice (1989). Her films include I Want What I Want (1972), based on Geoff Brown's novel of 1966 about transsexualism. In the early 21st century Stride performed with the Agatha Christie Theatre Company, for example on tour in The Unexpected Guest (with, among others, Simon MacCorkindale and former singer Mark Wynter) in 2006 Virginia Stride has three daughters, Philippa and Lindsay, by her first husband, the actor John Stride, and another daughter from a subsequent relationship with the producer and football chairman Bill Kenwright. She has four grandchildren.