‘Paul McCartney asked for my autograph!’ Su Pollard on Hi-de-Hi! and her amazing celebrity encounters — SkimNews
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- Su Pollard, 76, has published her memoir 'Fully Charged', written with collaborator Paul Boyd, covering her 52-year career across theatre, musicals and TV.
- Pollard recounts that Paul McCartney asked for her autograph 'for my mother' when she met him leaning against a wall with Linda, calling the encounter 'absolutely fabulous.'
- At an Earl's Court club, Freddie Mercury approached Pollard and said 'I could be anybody, dear'; she also recalled being struck by Queen Elizabeth's 'peachified' skin at a Royal Variety Performance, and tap-dancing with Princess Diana.
- Pollard recalls gawking through the window at Tony Blair and Gordon Brown at Granita restaurant in north London — unaware she was at the site of their 1994 Labour leadership pact, where Brown agreed Blair would run for the leadership.
- Pollard's first big professional job was in a touring production of Godspell produced by a young Cameron Mackintosh; her 1974 appearance on Opportunity Knocks ended with her finishing second to a 'singing' jack russell.
- Pollard married Peter Keogh in 1984, a stagehand on the Hi-de-Hi! musical; tabloids hounded the couple over his past relationships during the HIV/Aids crisis, with Pollard recalling years of 'homophobic coverage.'
Why it matters: Pollard, 76 and still president of the Club for Acts and Actors, has logged 52 years from Cameron Mackintosh's touring Godspell to the Royal Variety stage. Her memoir's appeal: celebrity encounters told from the genuine fan's perspective — McCartney asking for her autograph, Mercury joining her dance floor — rather than polished name-dropping. She remains president of the Club for Acts and Actors.
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