‘Goodbye campers!’ Tributes to ‘one of a kind’ Ruth Madoc as Hi-de-Hi! Star dies
Hi-de-Hi! actress Ruth Madoc has died aged 79, her agent has confirmed in a statement.
Best known for playing Gladys Pugh in 1980s holiday camp sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, she had been due to star in the Christmas pantomime Aladdin in Torquay, but had been forced to pull out earlier this week following a fall.
Hi-de-Hi! stars (L-R): Su Pollard, Simon Cadell, Michael Knowles and Ruth Madoc
Phil Belfield of talent agency Belfield & Ward Ltd, described her as “one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many”.
He said: “It is with much sadness that we have to announce the death of our dear and much-loved client Ruth Madoc.
“Ruth passed away on the afternoon of Friday 9 December while in hospital following surgery for a fall she had earlier in the week, which had led her to have to withdraw from panto in Torquay.
“From film work such as Fiddler On The Roof and Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton and her iconic TV performance as Gladys Pugh in Hi De Hi! and more recently in Little Britain and on stage with Calendar Girls (the play and the musical), plus recent acclaim in short films Skinny Fat and Cardiff, she was truly a national treasure and was looking forward to getting back on the road in 2023 with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
“A real legend of the British entertainment scene, she was one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many. She is gone far too soon. Our hearts are broken!
“Thoughts are with her daughter Lowri, her son Rhys and all of her family.”
One of the first stars to pay tribute was Blackadder actor Sir Tony Robinson, who had performed with her in 2009.
Robinson wrote on Twitter: “So sad to hear my lovely friend Ruth Madoc has passed. She was not only funny and highly intelligent, she was smart, kindly, a loyal trade unionist, and wore her heart on the left. She’ll be much missed.”
Madoc had a lead role in long-running BBC comedy Hi-de-Hi!, for which she was BAFTA-nominated. Set in the late 50s in the fictional holiday camp Maplins, the show ran for nine series, and 58 episodes, from 1980 to 1988.
Her character, Gladys, was the chief Yellowcoat, famed for her camp tannoy announcements preceded by three signature notes played on a mini xylophone, followed by her saying, “Hello campers,” and then the title phrase, “Hi-de-Hi!”
Her recurring storyline centred around her unrequited love for camp entertainment manager Jeffrey Fairbrother, played by Simon Cadell. She later played the role in a touring stage version of the show.
Calling her “a very lovely person” and “wonderfully gifted actress,” broadcaster Gyles Brandreth wrote on Twitter: “I was lucky enough to get to know her through my best friend from school, Simon Cadell.
“In Hi-De-Hi they were irresistible. RIP Ruth Madoc & thanks for the memories. Goodbye campers!”
Former Family Fortunes presenter Les Dennis wrote on Twitter: “So very sad to hear that lovely Ruth Madoc has passed away. She was such a talented and lovely woman. Thoughts with her family.”
Madoc had been due to play the empress in the pantomime Aladdin, which at the Princess Theatre in Torquay, alongside EastEnders actor Ricky Norwood and X Factor star Jay Edwards, but she had to withdraw from the role the week before opening night after suffering a fall.
The theatre had tweeted on Thursday: “Following an accident earlier this week, after medical assessment, regretfully Ruth Madoc is no longer able to appear in this year’s pantomime of Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay.”
Madoc arriving at the press night for the Full Monty in 2014
Following news of her death, they wrote: “We are devastated to hear of the news of Ruth’s passing. Everyone at the theatre and ATG are sending all our love to Ruth’s family.”
A panto veteran, she had appeared in over 30, playing roles including principle boy in Dick Whittington in Edinburgh, the bad fairy in Sleeping Beauty in Rhyl and the fairy godmother in Cinderella in Mansfield.
A star of the stage and screen she had starred in an array of roles in theatre and musicals around the world, including Phantom of the Opera, Gypsy and Annie.
In 2018, she performed in the ladies’ version of The Real Full Monty alongside stars including Coleen Nolan, Victoria Derbyshire and Michelle Heaton, raising awareness about breast cancer.
A year later, she broke her hip in a fall while rehearsing for her role in Calendar Girls, but confounded doctors with her speedy recovery.
Born in April 1943 in Norwich, Madoc was brought up in Llansamlet near Swansea, largely by her grandparents.
She went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and got her break-out role playing Fruma Sarah in the film version of the musical Fiddler On The Roof in 1971.
Aside from Hi-de-Hi!, other highlights of her career include Mrs Dai Bread Two in 1972 comedy film Under Milk Wood and later the role of the mother of Daffyd Thomas, played by Matt Lucas, in the second series of Little Britain.
In 1984 she was presented with the big red book when she was the subject of a This Is Your Life episode.
Swansea University awarded her an honorary degree in 2006, and she was also a fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
She married twice, first to Welsh actor Philip Madoc, with whom she had her two children. Married for 20 years, they divorced in 1981. Her second husband, John Jackson, died last year.
She had been due to join stars including Belinda Lang, Paul Nicholas and Tessa Peake-Jones in UK theatre tour of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, about a group of British retirees in India, in January 2023.
Madoc is survived by her daughter Lowri her son Rhys.
The Oscars will be streamed live on YouTube from 2029 after being broadcast on the ABC network for decades.
It means the annual film awards will be available to the video-sharing platform’s two billion users for free around the world in four years.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the deal with Google-owned YouTube on Wednesday, saying the streaming giant will have the exclusive global rights to the Hollywood awards from 2029 to 2033.
YouTube will effectively be the home to all things Oscars, including red-carpet coverage, the Governors Awards and the Oscar nominations announcement.
The Academy Awards ceremony has been broadcast by ABC for most of its history, but 2028 will be its last year showing the Oscars as they celebrate their 100th anniversary.
“The Oscars, including red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes content, Governors Ball access, and more, will be available live and for free to over two billion viewers around the world on YouTube, and to YouTube TV subscribers in the United States,” an announcement on the Academy Awards’ website read.
“We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round academy programming,” said academy chief executive Bill Kramer and academy president Lynette Howell Taylor.
They said the new partnership with the platform “will allow us to expand access to the work of the academy to the largest worldwide audience possible”.
File pic: Reuters
‘Inspiring new generation of creativity and film lovers’
“The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions, honouring excellence in storytelling and artistry,” said YouTube chief executive Neal Mohan.
“Partnering with the academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”
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The awards will be available with audio tracks in many languages, in addition to closed captioning.
Last year’s Academy Awards were watched by 19.7 million viewers on the Disney-owned ABC, a five-year high but far below the show’s biggest audience of 57 million in 1998.
The network has been the broadcast home to the Oscars for almost its entire history. NBC first televised the Oscars in 1953, but ABC picked up the rights in 1961.
Aside from a period between 1971 and 1975, when NBC again aired the show, the Oscars have been on ABC.
Rob Reiner’s son Nick made his first court appearance on Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents.
Wearing a suicide prevention smock and shackles, the 32-year-old did not enter a plea as he appeared from behind the glass wall of a custody area.
His next court appearance will be on 7 January.
As it happened: Nick Reiner makes first court appearance
Nick Reiner makes his first court appearance on murder charges in this courtroom sketch. Pic: Reuters/Mona Edwards
Nick Reiner spoke only to say, “yes, your honour” to agree to the date.
He was charged Tuesday with killing the 78-year-old actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a news conference.
Nick Reiner is being held without bail and could face the death penalty.
Along with the two counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors added a special circumstance of multiple murders, as well as an allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.
Speaking outside the court, Nick Reiner’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, called on the public not to “rush to judgement”.
Mr Jackson pointed to “complex and serious issues that are associated with this case” that needed to be thoroughly and “very carefully dealt with and examined”.
He added that it was a “devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family”.
Rob Reiner, Michele Singer Reiner, Romy Reiner, Nick Reiner, Maria Gilfillan and Jake Reiner. Pic: JanuaryImages/Shutterstock
‘Unimaginable pain’
Nick Reiner’s two siblings Jake and Romy have released a statement, saying “words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day”.
“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience,” they said.
“They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends. We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life.”
The two asked for “respect and privacy” and for speculation to be treated with “compassion and humanity”.
Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killings.
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead from apparent stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles.
The area near Rob Reiner’s home. Pic: AP
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Nick Reiner did not resist when he was arrested hours later near the University of Southern California, about 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) from the crime scene, according to police.
Rob Reiner was a celebrated director, whose work included some of the most memorable films of the 1980s and 1990s, including This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men.
He met Michele Singer, a photographer, movie producer and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, in 1989, while directing When Harry Met Sally.
Warner Bros is reportedly set to reject a hostile $108bn (£81bn) takeover bid from Paramount, with one of the prospective buyer’s financing partners confirming it’s pulled out of the offer.
A spokesman for investment firm Affinity, owned by Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner, told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News “the dynamics of investment have changed significantly”.
It had backed Paramount’s bid, along with funds from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal report the Warner Bros Discovery board are set to advise shareholders to reject Paramount‘s bid – paving the way for Netflix, which had struck a $72bn (£54bn) deal.
If the takeover goes through, it would give the streaming giant the rights to hit Warner franchises like Harry Potter, Batman, and Game Of Thrones, as well an extensive back catalogue of classic films.
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Pic: iStock
It is the latest twist in a takeover saga where the winner will acquire a huge advantage in the streaming wars.
In June, Warner announced its plan to split into two companies – one for its TV, film studios and HBO Max streaming services, and one for the Discovery element of the business, which primarily comprises legacy TV channels that show cartoons, news, and sports.
Netflix agreed a $27.75 per-share price with the firm, which equates to the $72bn purchase figure deal to secure its film and TV studios, with the deal giving the assets a total value of $82.7bn.
However, Paramount said its offer would pay $30 (£22.50) cash per share, representing $18bn (£13.5bn) more in cash than its rival offered. The offer was made directly to shareholders, asking them to reject Netflix’s deal, in what is known as a hostile takeover.
The Paramount deal would involve rival US news channels CBS and CNN being brought under the same parent company.
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The US government will have a big say on the final deal, with the winning company likely facing the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, a federal agency which scrutinises business deals to ensure fair competition.
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