Victoria Wicks

British actress (born 1959)

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Victoria Wicks

Born|

Beverly Victoria Anne Wicks

(1959-04-18) 18 April 1959 (age 66)

Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, UK

Alma mater| Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
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.

## Biography

[edit]

### Early life and education

[edit]

Wicks was born Beverley 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  | The Resistible 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  |
2024  | Drop the Dead Donkey - Revisited  | Sally Smedley  | National tour - multiple venues

### 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. ^ James, Caryn (23 July 1995). "TELEVISION VIEW; The News From Britain, Sort Of". The New York Times.
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.
7. ^ "Production of 13 Objects | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
8. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 9 March 1997. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
9. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 14 February 1999. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
10. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
11. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 23 December 1984. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
12. ^ "My Little Grey Home in the West (1985)". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
13. ^ "Rumpole and the Old, Old Story (1987)". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
14. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 21 March 1987. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
15. ^ "Hold the Dream (1986)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
16. ^ "Pastoral Care (1988)". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
17. ^ "Snakes & Ladders (1989)". BFI. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
18. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 8 April 1990. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
19. ^ "Prince Cinders (1993)". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
20. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 June 1993. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
21. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 25 November 1994. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
22. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 24 March 1994. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
23. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 24 February 1994. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
24. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 6 November 1996. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
25. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 11 October 1997. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
26. ^ "Late Lunch with Mel and Sue[04/11/98] (1998)". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
27. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 5 October 2002. 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.
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38. ^ "The Clocks (2011)". BFI. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
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40. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
41. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. April 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
42. ^ "Episode - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
43. ^ "Glue[06/10/2014] (2014)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
44. ^ "Finding Your Feet (2018)". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
45. ^ "Ping Pong (1987)". BFI. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
46. ^ "What a Girl Wants (2003)". BFI. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
47. ^ "The Imitation Game (2014)". BFI. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
48. ^ "High-Rise". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
49. ^ "Notes on Blindness". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
50. ^ "The Brother (2014)". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
51. ^ "Production of Cinderella | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
52. ^ "Production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
53. ^ "Production of The Country Wife | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
54. ^ "Production of The Taming of the Shrew | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
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.
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.
60. ^ "Production of Blithe Spirit | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
61. ^ "Theatre review: A Woman of No Importance at Salisbury Playhouse". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
62. ^ "Quartermaine's Terms Productions". Simon Gray. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
63. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 4 December 1982. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
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70. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 29 May 2000. 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