Paula Wilcox - Acting Career

Acting Career

Wilcox first came to public attention while a member of the National Youth Theatre when she was offered her first starring television role in The Lovers, a Granada sitcom produced for the ITV network written by Jack Rosenthal and co-starring Richard Beckinsale. There were two series of The Lovers, plus a feature film.

In Man About the House (Thames), she played Chrissy Plummer, regularly in a flirtatious battle of wits with her male flatmate Robin, played by Richard O'Sullivan. She also starred in the feature film of the same show.

She participated in "The Lonely Miss Fox" sketch on an episode of The Benny Hill Show (Thames) that aired on 23 February 1972. In 1977, Wilcox took the eponymous role in Miss Jones and Son.

In 1991, Wilcox returned to situation comedy as Ros West in a Yorkshire Television sitcom called Fiddlers Three opposite Peter Davison before playing the character of Ivy Sandford in the pilot of Frank Skinner's Blue Heaven on Channel 4 in 1992 - the show then went on to became a series. She appeared in several series of The Queen's Nose (1995–2001).

Wilcox has made guest appearances in programmes such as Footballers' Wives, Holby City and Down to Earth. She was cast as Lilian in the BBC Three cult sitcom The Smoking Room.

On 27 October 2006, Wilcox was seen in Only Fools and Horses spin-off The Green Green Grass as Marlene's sister. She has also played another character in the Only Fools and Horses universe, appearing in 2 episodes of Rock and Chips, playing Edward "Grandad" Trotter's estranged wife Violet. She also had a cameo role in the Woody Allen movie Scoop. In 2007 Wilcox joined the cast of Emmerdale as Hilary Potts, mother of the vicar's wife, Laurel Thomas.

In 2008, Wilcox portrayed Bette Davis in a theatrical play, Whatever Happened to the Cotton Dress Girl?. In 2010, she portrayed a mother of a gay son in a theatrical play, Canary.