Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress. She played Chrissy Plummer in the ITV sitcom Man About the House from 1973 to 1976, and also had roles in TV shows such as The Lovers, Miss Jones and Son, The Queen’s Nose, The Smoking Room, Emmerdale, Mount Pleasant, Boomers, Upstart Crow and Girlfriends. From 2020 to 2023, Wilcox appeared as Elaine Jones in Coronation Street.
Early life Wilcox was born in Manchester on 13 December 1949 to Joseph and Mary Wilcox.
Career Wilcox joined the National Youth Theatre aged seventeen. Her early television appearances included a headline role in one episode of the series Hadleigh in 1969. She was then offered her first leading television role in The Lovers, a Granada sitcom produced for the ITV network, largely written by Jack Rosenthal and co-starring Richard Beckinsale. There were two series of The Lovers, plus a feature film. She appeared in an episode of The Benny Hill Show (Thames) broadcast on 23 February 1972.
Wilcox was cast in one of the lead roles of Man About the House (Thames, 1973–1976) as Chrissy Plummer, who was regularly in a flirtatious battle of wits with her male flatmate Robin, played by Richard O'Sullivan. The series ran for six series and the main cast also featured in the spin-off feature film. Her follow-up role was as the eponymous single mother in Miss Jones and Son (1977–1978).
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 become a series. She appeared in several series of The Queen’s Nose (1995–2001), and also played small roles in the films The Higher Mortals (1993) and the Woody Allen movie Scoop (2006).
She was cast as Lilian in the BBC Three sitcom The Smoking Room which ran from 2004 to 2005.
On 27 October 2006, Wilcox appeared in the 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 two episodes of Rock and Chips, playing Edward “Grandad” Trotter's estranged wife Violet. In 2007, Wilcox joined the cast of Emmerdale as Hilary Potts, mother of the vicar's wife, Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy).
In 2008, Wilcox portrayed Bette Davis in a play, Whatever Happened to the Cotton Dress Girl?. In 2010, she portrayed a mother of a gay son in the play Canary.
In November that year, Wilcox took the leading role as a Liverpudlian private eye in Following from the Front, a BBC radio play first broadcast in November 2010 and again in January 2015
Wilcox played Pauline Johnson in the Sky One sitcom series Mount Pleasant from 2011 to 2017.
In addition to her other work, Wilcox has made guest appearances in programmes such as Footballers' Wives, Holby City and Down to Earth.
From 2014 to 2016, she had a starring role in the comedy series Boomers. In 2015, she had a role in an episode of Still Open All Hours.
In 2017, Wilcox filmed series 3 of Upstart Crow, the Shakespearean sitcom starring David Mitchell and penned by Ben Elton.
That year, Wilcox filmed the last episode of Mount Pleasant after seven years.
Wilcox's theatre credits include Chris Hannan's play What Shadows about Enoch Powell's famous "Rivers of Blood" speech on immigration. This was performed at the Birmingham Rep, Edinburgh Lyceum and the Park Theatre, London in 2016 and 2017.
Other theatrical work by Wilcox includes Great Expectations (Vaudeville Theatre); Canary (Liverpool Everyman / Hampstead Theatre); Dreams of Violence (Soho Theatre) and La Cage aux Folles (Playhouse Theatre).
Wilcox has also performed radio and voiceover work, and read the audiobook Three Things About Elsie written by Joanna Cannon.
Wilcox appeared in Coronation Street from 2020 to 2023, playing the role of Elaine Jones, a former abuse victim and first wife of Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) and mother of established character Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine). She previously appeared in Coronation Street in 1969 as Ray Langton's sister Janice.
Personal life Wilcox was married to fellow actor Derek Seaton from 1970 until his death in 1979 from a brain haemorrhage aged 35.IMDB biography page, Derek Seaton
In 1991, Wilcox married Nelson "Skip" Riddle, an American businessman and the eldest son of the composer, bandleader and arranger Nelson Riddle.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1973 The Lovers! Beryl Battersby 1974 Man About the House Chrissy Plummer 1993 The Higher Mortals Miss Bird 1998 The Stalker's Apprentice Heather Walwyn 2006 Scoop Garden Party Guest 2007 Outlaw Iris Uncredited role2012 Been Here for Days Ruth Short film2013 Great Expectations Miss Havisham 2023 Dead Ed (unknown) Short film
Television Year Title Role Notes1969 The Wednesday Play Linda Episode: "The Apprentices"Her Majesty's Pleasure Jennifer Bottomley Episode: "All God's Chillun"Coronation Street Janice Langton 5 episodesZ-Cars Joan Episodes: "Lost and Found: Parts 1 & 2"Hadleigh Lolly Episode: "Patron of the Arts"1969, 1970 The Dustbinmen Naomi 2 episodes1970 Kate Rosemary Phelps Episode: "The Love of Two Women"Biography Hilde Episode: "I Measured the Skies"1970–1971 The Lovers Beryl Battersby Series 1 & 2; all 13 episodes1971 ITV Sunday Night Drama Julie Episode: "Turn of the Year: The Girl Upstairs"On the House Beryl Bagley Episode: "Will the Real Harvey Micklethwaite Please Stand Up?" The Onedin Line Agnes Bascombe Episode: "Salvage"1971–1972 The Liver Birds Gloria Titlark 3 episodes1972 The Benny Hill Show Carol Fox Episode: "Show 12"Scene Trish Episode: "Quiet Afternoon"Z-Cars Nancy Roberts Episode: "Public Relations"Thirty Minutes Worth Various characters Episode: #1.11973 Full House Alice Episode: #1.121973–1976 Man About the House Chrissy Plummer Series 1–6; all 39 episodes1977 The Cost of Loving Thelma Baynes Episode: "The Human Element"1977–1978 Miss Jones and Son Elizabeth Jones Series 1 & 2; all 12 episodes1978 Play for Today Miss Selby Episode: "The After-Dinner Joke"1980 Peter Cook & Co. Various characters Television film1981 Crown Court Gillian Seymour Episodes: "Leonora: Parts 1–3"1984 Let's Parlez Franglais (unknown) Episode: #1.61985 The Bright Side Cynthia Bright All 6 episodesMrs. Capper's Birthday Maureen Television film1988 Boon Dorothy North Episode: "Topspin"1991 Fiddlers Three Ros West All 14 episodes1992 Brookside Angela Heery QC 4 episodes1993 Casualty Rosalind Paynter Episode: "Getting Involved"1994 Smokescreen Sara Bean Mini-series; all 6 episodesBlue Heaven Ivy Sandford All 6 episodes1995–2001 The Queen's Nose Audrey Parker Series 1–5; 24 episodes1996 Life After Birth Sylv All 6 episodesIt Must Be Love Irene Television film1998 The Stalker's Apprentice Marcus's Mother Television film1999 Peak Practice Amanda Blake Episode: "Alone"2002 Footballers' Wives Marguerite Laslett 3 episodesHolby City Helen Johnson Episode: "Touch and Go"2004 Merseybeat Sheila O'Brien Episode: "Distant Vices" The Afternoon Play Kathy Hughes Episode: "Viva Las Blackpool"All About Me Sheila Episode: "The First Mrs. Craddock"2004–2005 The Smoking Room Lillian Series 1 & 2; all 17 episodes2005 Down to Earth Frank's Wife Episode: "Trouble 'n' Strife"Murder in Suburbia Wendy Archer Episode: "Estate Agents"2006 Doctors Selena McKinnon 2 episodes The Green Green Grass Pertunia Lane Episode: "Brothers and Sisters"2007 Blue Murder Dr. Pamela Halliwell Episode: "Desperate Measures"2007–2008 Emmerdale Hilary Potts Regular role; 71 episodes2007–2010 The Large Family Linda Large (voice) Series 1 & 2; all 52 episodes. English version2008 A Touch of Frost Gloria Collingham Episode: "Mind Games"2010 Moving On Gail Episode: "Rules of the Game"2010, 2011 Rock & Chips Violet Trotter 2 episodes2011 Doctors Sue Gillen Episode: "Spite Club"2011–2017 Mount Pleasant Pauline Series 1–7; 49 episodes2014 Jonathan Creek Hazel Prosser Episode: "The Letters of Septimus Noone"2014–2016 Boomers Carol Series 1 & 2; all 13 episodes2015 Still Open All Hours Linda Episode: #1.62016–2018 Upstart Crow Mary Shakespeare Series 1–3; all 21 episodes2017–2019 Living the Dream Maureen Series 1 & 2; 9 episodes2018 Moving On Aggie Episode: "Lost"Girlfriends Carole Hardcastle 5 episodes2020 Grantchester Diana Series 5; 4 episodes2020–2022 Trying Sandra Ross Series 1–3; 11 episodes2020–2023 Coronation Street Elaine Jones Regular role; 128 episodes2024 Avoidance Shirley Episode: #2.4The Cleaner Sue Episode: "The Committee"2026 The Fortune Linda Blakefield 4 episodes
References
External links
https://www.greatexpectationstheplay.com/cast_creatives.html