0:00:02 > 0:00:05Angharad Rees was one of the most glamorous actresses of the 1970s...
0:00:05 > 0:00:08I'm cold...
0:00:08 > 0:00:09and lonely.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14..as the heroine of the original bodice-ripping Sunday night drama Poldark,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18this young girl from Wales captivated the nation.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Married to a dashing star of Dynasty, she had it all,
0:00:22 > 0:00:24but Angharad's life was turned upside down
0:00:24 > 0:00:27when tragedy struck her family.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Angharad Rees was born in 1944.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Her father, psychiatrist Linford Rees, who later became president
0:00:50 > 0:00:54of the British Medical Association came from Burry Port.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Her mother Catherine was a keen amateur artist
0:00:56 > 0:00:58from Alltwen, near Swansea.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Angharad grew up with her sister
0:01:00 > 0:01:04and two brothers in the genteel village of Rhiwbina, near Cardiff.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11My sister was a lot of fun to be with.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14A wonderful sense of humour, a naughty sense of humour
0:01:14 > 0:01:16and we all loved that.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22Angharad and Catrin's great aunt, who lived nearby,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25was the celebrated actress Rachel Thomas.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29For the Rees girls performing was in the blood.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32'She and I were always doing little performances.'
0:01:32 > 0:01:36We'd hide behind the curtains and, you know, present ourselves,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38and always doing shows.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41You know, I was probably part of the chorus
0:01:41 > 0:01:44but she was there being a lovely star.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49The family spent their summers in Larne,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53where Angharad's father would write while her mother painted.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58We stayed in a lovely cottage just down the lane,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02opposite where Dylan Thomas did his writing.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Dylan's daughter Aeronwy wrote in her memoirs,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10"Other summer visitors included Angharad Rees,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13"a girl younger than me but with the same interests.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16"She had long, light brown hair, which she wore around her shoulders,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20"like a pashmina, with no awareness of her blossoming beauty.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23"We immediately liked each other."
0:02:23 > 0:02:28One of the funny memories that we all laughed about a great deal was...
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Angharad wanting to go to the loo and opening the door,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and seeing Dylan Thomas sitting there reading The Beano.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37When Angharad was around eight
0:02:37 > 0:02:40her father got a job as a consultant at a London hospital.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44The family left Rhiwbina, although they returned regularly to Wales,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and to Larne, and the Gower Peninsular in particular.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51At her new school Angharad showed a flair for drama
0:02:51 > 0:02:55and at the age of 16 she got a place at the Rose Bruford drama school,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58in Kent, but she first spent two terms studying at one
0:02:58 > 0:03:02of the world's oldest universities, the Sorbonne, in Paris.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06So that was a good way of, sort of, a good growing up process.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11By the time she'd done a year in Paris she was ready for the acting career.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13But life at Rose Bruford wasn't easy,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16with many students falling by the wayside.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19One of those endeavouring to make the grade was Roger Chapman.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Less than 50% would get through the three-year course
0:03:24 > 0:03:27so, constantly, people are getting thrown out.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31There's that going on and, at the same time, there's the drama
0:03:31 > 0:03:32of putting on plays, and acting,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and, "Are you going to get a career?", and all of that.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39So, you've got people in a state of tension and high anxiety,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44and they used to turn to Angharad because she had...
0:03:44 > 0:03:47a serenity, I think. And she was a listener.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51But while other students shared their difficulties with Angharad
0:03:51 > 0:03:53she was facing her own challenges.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57I think the staff thought she had everything going for her
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and therefore they were always pushing her
0:04:00 > 0:04:03but she never complained and, of course...
0:04:04 > 0:04:06..she wouldn't give up either.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11She sailed through whereas a lot of people from her background just gave up.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Angharad was committed to becoming an actress.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18When she wasn't studying, she was busy gaining professional experience
0:04:18 > 0:04:21though this caused a brief identity crisis.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24I had a holiday job working in a theatre
0:04:24 > 0:04:26and I had to join Equity,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30and they said, "Oh, Angharad Rees, what a funny name."
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It's a family name, it's my grandmother's name,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35they said, "Oh, change it. Change it to Cathy Rees."
0:04:35 > 0:04:38So I, for some reason, listened to them
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and changed my name to Cathy Rees for about eight weeks,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44but it didn't help because I was the ASM, which was the dogsbody.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Whenever anyone shouted for Cathy I certainly didn't go,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I didn't know who they were talking about.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The name Angharad Rees would soon be up in lights.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58After graduating, Angharad got minor roles in television series
0:04:58 > 0:05:02such as The Avengers but her big break came in 1969
0:05:02 > 0:05:07when she appeared in Catch My Soul, a rock musical based Othello
0:05:07 > 0:05:10starring trouser splitting pop star PJ Proby.
0:05:10 > 0:05:16Everybody carried microphones with great long leads around the stage
0:05:16 > 0:05:21and she was playing Desdemona opposite the wild man of the time!
0:05:23 > 0:05:26PJ and Angharad were soon more than just colleagues.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29We shared a flat in Chelsea, which was such fun,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33and he used to come and stay sometimes, but also bringing
0:05:33 > 0:05:37all his paraphernalia that a cowboy would bring.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43Like saddles and boots, cowboy boots, and all sorts of things and...
0:05:43 > 0:05:48But think my parents weren't quite aware of the situation.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52So, every time they visited Angharad and I would dash around,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57kicking things under the bed and hiding bits of evidence.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04In 1971, at the age of 26, Angharad returned to Wales
0:06:04 > 0:06:07to appear in a BBC play about a troubled pair of lovers
0:06:07 > 0:06:08from The Valleys.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Why don't you take your trousers off then, boy, and do the job properly?
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Better than you standing there
0:06:15 > 0:06:17like someone who's escaped from a nuthouse.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Dai, you listening? Dai?
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Dai Williams, if you think that muck's
0:06:26 > 0:06:30going to wash out without soap, you got another think coming.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Don't get your pants wet, use a bit of common, the God's sake!
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Oh, chuck them over, Dai.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Oh!
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Now, what memories have you got of that play, then?
0:06:43 > 0:06:47I'd only just started in the business and I remember working from,
0:06:47 > 0:06:48you know, about six clock in the morning
0:06:48 > 0:06:51until about 7.30 at night,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and I was tired so I just went to the director and I said,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56"Oh, Clive, I'm tired now, can we stop?"
0:06:56 > 0:06:59And he said, "Oh, Angharad, if you wouldn't just mind going
0:06:59 > 0:07:03"on a little bit longer?" I thought you just stopped when you got tired!
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Of course, it's not like that at all.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09You go on until the director says you stop.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Around this time, at a dinner party,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Angharad was introduced to a fellow actor,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19an Eton educated son of a brigadier called Christopher Cazenove.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23He was the handsomest man I'd ever seen in my life, when he was young,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26and women appeared, and jobs appeared,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30and things just, kind of, rolled down the hill towards him, you know?
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Life just fell into place for him.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36But Christopher would have to work hard to woo Angharad.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40After four months of turning up on her doorstep with flowers,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44notes and romantic gifts, he finally won her over.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47The couple were married in 1973
0:07:47 > 0:07:51at St Bartholomew the Great Church, in London.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53It was a marriage of two young actors
0:07:53 > 0:07:56who were making their mark on the scene.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Her career at the beginning was really quite an interesting one
0:08:00 > 0:08:01and she was...
0:08:02 > 0:08:06..doing plays, she was picked up pretty early on,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10and was doing plays by Alan Plater, and Johnny Speight, and...
0:08:11 > 0:08:13..Dennis Potter was a big one.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16In the play Joe's Ark,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19written by one of the most talented television dramatists of the time,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Angharad played a young Welshwoman who is terminally ill.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26- Do you remember our first walk? - By the river, yeah.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- You were... I'll never forget it. - Unforgettable, it seems.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32You were going on a bit about Wordsworth and Coleridge,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34the weird way they regarded each other and so on.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36I don't care for that sort of detail any more.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38But I... No?
0:08:38 > 0:08:42- It's quite a relief, really. - What do you care about now, Lucy?
0:08:42 > 0:08:44What sort of things do...
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- SHE WHIMPERS - Lucy?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49'It was a big, big success, you know?'
0:08:49 > 0:08:53And she was considered a really exciting young actress,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56and, in fact, that same quality she had in life,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58which is to be very graceful,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and very beautiful but very strong inside,
0:09:01 > 0:09:06and have this absolute iron core, gave her acting a kind of fillip.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09You know, she was stronger than just the young girl.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Angharad's strength of character shone through the following year
0:09:13 > 0:09:16when she played a society heiress in the comedy Mr Oddy.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22I shall paint whoever I want to paint and I shall go wherever I want to go.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26I shall see whoever I want to see and do whatever I want to do...
0:09:27 > 0:09:30..and I WILL marry you.
0:09:32 > 0:09:33You will?!
0:09:35 > 0:09:36Why?
0:09:38 > 0:09:42You're malleable, that's in your favour,
0:09:42 > 0:09:47but you must promise not to be silly. I hate silly men.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Of course, the man should be cleverer than I am,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53but, quite simply, none of them are.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55She was the strength in that marriage.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00I mean, Christopher was the beauty who was being carried along by life
0:10:00 > 0:10:04and the woman at the helm, you know, was Angharad.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10In 1974 the couple's first child Linford was born.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12He was soon followed by a brother called Rhys.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Angharad worked hard to balance the competing demands of motherhood
0:10:18 > 0:10:20with her increasingly busy career.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26In 1975 she was cast in the role that would define her
0:10:26 > 0:10:28in the eyes of millions.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Poldark was a period drama set in Cornwall,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34based on the historical novels of Winston Graham.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39Angharad auditioned for the role of the heroin, Demelza.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42The head of drama asked me to interview her
0:10:42 > 0:10:43and they sent her across to LWT.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I remember we had a cup of tea on the balcony by the river
0:10:46 > 0:10:50and sat there, and I thought she was absolutely enchanting,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52which she was.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54She had this wonderful pixie quality
0:10:54 > 0:10:57and I thought she'd be dead right for it.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01But when Demelza, the daughter of a Cornish tin miner,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05first meets the dashing young mine owner, Ross Poldark,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07her beauty is far from apparent.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09- What's your name?- Demelza.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Demelza!
0:11:13 > 0:11:15It was a, kind of, personality role
0:11:15 > 0:11:20and the personality that she possessed worked so completely
0:11:20 > 0:11:24well for the role, and for the public, that people adored her.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Oh, it hurts!
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Oh, my poor leg, I twisted it bad.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Oh, oh, my poor leg!
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Oh, oh, oh, oh.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Let me see.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- Does that hurt?- Oh!
0:11:42 > 0:11:43- Or that?- Mm.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47And there?
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Mm?
0:11:53 > 0:11:55I could take them off for a shilling. I done it before.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Well, obviously, she fell madly in love with Ross
0:12:02 > 0:12:04because he was dashing and handsome,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07but all the time there was
0:12:07 > 0:12:12this thing in the background of him loving another woman.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15There were three people in that marriage, as they say,
0:12:15 > 0:12:20and I think that...hurt her very much.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Demelza's rival for Ross's affections
0:12:24 > 0:12:27was his aristocratic ex-fiance Elizabeth.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Remember, it was the '70s and both she and Jill Townsend,
0:12:31 > 0:12:36who played Elizabeth, they started off with modest wigs
0:12:36 > 0:12:41and each episode I'd see them come onto the set, and I thought...
0:12:43 > 0:12:46"It's grown a bit! Something has got bigger."
0:12:46 > 0:12:51And I finally discovered that both ladies had been phoning up to say,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55"Can we just add a little more hair to the wig, please?"
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Because it was the age of bigger and bigger hair.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04With its lavish make-up, costume and scenery, Poldark proved
0:13:04 > 0:13:06so popular that churches in Cornwall
0:13:06 > 0:13:09had to reschedule their Sunday evening services.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13I don't think anybody, least of all her, realised how...
0:13:13 > 0:13:16what a success it was going to be.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Poldark ran for 29 episodes over two series
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and was watched by 13 million viewers a week.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Riding high on the success of this TV phenomenon,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Angharad was cast in another period drama.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33In the Duchess of Duke Street she played the young
0:13:33 > 0:13:35bride of an ageing aristocrat.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40I was faced with having to become the companion of an awful old harridan
0:13:40 > 0:13:42when George saw me in church.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46He doesn't often go so it must have been Easter, or something.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49He kept staring at me from that great big family pew of his,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51with all the coats of arms on it.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Then, after church, he talked to my mother,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57saying how sorry he was that Father had died, and that sort of thing,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00then he invited us for tea,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and then the next Sunday he asked me to marry him.
0:14:02 > 0:14:03And you said yes?
0:14:04 > 0:14:09Well, yes, he lived in a great house and a lovely park,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12and everybody said how rich he was.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15My poor mother was so pathetically pleased.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17And you really married for your family's sake?
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Well, that was a kind thing to do.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Well, not really, I married to spite my sister,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26if you really want to know, because she was so jealous.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Wasn't that wicked?
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Also appearing in the Duchess of Duke Street
0:14:30 > 0:14:32was Christopher Cazenove.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Together, he and Angharad were becoming and A list couple.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Angharad's star status was confirmed when she was invited to appear
0:14:40 > 0:14:44in the 1977 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47one of the most watched programmes in British television history.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51From Poldark, Angharad Rees!
0:14:51 > 0:14:53APPLAUSE
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Don't hang about, love, were waiting for Angharad Rees to come on.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10ERIC SQUEALS
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Angharad, lovely to see you.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Wonderful. Look at Eric, look at him. He's absolutely SHATTERED.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Good Lord.- He's... You're one of his favourites.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- Am I, Eric? I didn't know I was one of your favourites.- Good Lord.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26He's completely nonplussed. Look at him, he's all embarrassed.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30- It's lovely to have you on the show, Angharad.- Thank you.- Eric?- Yes?
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- Your hand.- I know, I've got another one here.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37He's watched all of your series, really.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38I didn't know you are a fan, Eric.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Excuse me...I'll tell you something, hand grenade...
0:15:47 > 0:15:51- ..I was thrilled when I realised that you'd escaped.- Escaped?
0:15:51 > 0:15:52From Colditz.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57The following year Angharad appeared in the BBC production
0:15:57 > 0:16:00of Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04She played Celia, whose cousin Rosalind, played by Helen Mirren,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07is infatuated with a handsome, young nobleman.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Proceed!
0:16:10 > 0:16:14There lay he, stretched along, like a wounded knight.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Oh, though it be pity to see such a sight.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Yet, it well becomes the ground.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Cry 'holla' to thy tongue, I prithee. It curvets unseasonably.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27He was furnished like a...hunter.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Oh, ominous, he comes to kill my heart!
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I would sing my song without a burden.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Thou bringst me out of tune.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41Do you not know I am a woman? When I think I must speak. Sweet, say on.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42You bring me out.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Soft! Comes he not here?
0:16:47 > 0:16:48It is he.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Slink by and note him.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Oh!
0:16:59 > 0:17:02But just as Angharad's career was going from strength to strength,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05she found herself faced with a dilemma.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09She thought, "Now, am I going to be a really successful actress
0:17:09 > 0:17:11"and, 'Oh, yes, she's got children,'
0:17:11 > 0:17:16"or is the family going to play a central role?" And she made
0:17:16 > 0:17:21the decision that she was going to give motherhood her best shot.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25A few years after Poldark, I cut the work right back
0:17:25 > 0:17:27and just looked after the children.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Gave up nannies and did it myself for quite a few years.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32It supposed to be the death of an actress, though, isn't it?
0:17:32 > 0:17:35To not be seen on screen for a while. Do think it was actually...?
0:17:35 > 0:17:39But it's the making of a woman. I mean, it's the best...
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Oh, you can't, everybody knows, who has children, it's just the most
0:17:42 > 0:17:45lovely thing bringing up your children so it's better than any part.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48There is that slight trace of a lost career
0:17:48 > 0:17:54because she was on track to be one of the big stars of that period.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Instead, Angharad poured her creative energy into her home life.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04'When Angharad Rees designed her kitchen,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07'this is one of the gadgets she most wanted room for.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10'The computer doesn't help her cooking,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13'but it does mean she sees a lot more of her children.'
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I decided to incorporate an area for the children
0:18:17 > 0:18:20because if you have a kitchen that's just a kitchen,
0:18:20 > 0:18:21you never see your children.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24They're now, seven and ten, they have a computer.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29So, I thought that should be in here and television, and my desk
0:18:29 > 0:18:32- because I work a lot at the desk. - She was a great cook.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34You know, she could be out all day,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37she'd be having a dinner party at night,
0:18:37 > 0:18:3940, 50 people and she come back,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43like, 15 minutes before everyone was coming, and I was all a panic,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and, "Oh, don't worry, darling." Bang, bang, bang, done!
0:18:46 > 0:18:50And then she'd float down, ever the consummate actress, you know,
0:18:50 > 0:18:51as she'd been at it all day.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55- Angharad, you've got some friends coming for dinner tonight.- Yes.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Can you show us what you're going to cook for them?
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Yes, well, for starters and giving them this.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03- Would you like to try some? - Thank you, I will, yes.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07Mm, delicious.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10But Angharad would soon have to leave her ideal home.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16In 1986, Christopher got a part in Dynasty
0:19:16 > 0:19:19and the family moved to Los Angeles for two years.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23There Angharad found herself playing the role of Hollywood wife.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28Hollywood is a factory town and, you know...
0:19:30 > 0:19:34..you're either in the factory and it's all about you or you're not.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Christopher relished the Hollywood lifestyle,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42but he and Angharad were very different characters,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and this was causing tensions in their relationship.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48She said, "What you do with a husband who goes to the corner
0:19:48 > 0:19:51"for a newspaper and comes back with an Aston Martin?"
0:19:51 > 0:19:57And even I could see that's pretty difficult when you're trying
0:19:57 > 0:20:02to raise two kids, budget the whole thing and all the rest of it.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05And she had to be the grown-up.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10In 1992, after 19 years of marriage, the couple divorced.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14With her boys growing up, Angharad felt able to return to acting.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20That same year she appeared in the series Trainer,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23about life among the horse racing set.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28I'm very sorry about the bailiffs, I really had no other choice.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Oh, I know that.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32Good.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41- Is this the way you always call in your bad debts?- NO!
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Only with those as attractive as you, Caroline,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46and there aren't that many.
0:20:49 > 0:20:55- How much?- What do you mean?- How much am I worth? You know, for a...
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- You know.- What?
0:20:57 > 0:21:04I need to know, Hugo, how much a time? 50? 60? 100? 200?
0:21:04 > 0:21:05All right, keep your voice down.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Or does it depends on what I have to do? How far I have to go?
0:21:10 > 0:21:16- Come on, Hugo, tell me. You obviously know about these things.- Ssh.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19I think it's a very good idea.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I'll draw up a business plan and present it to my bank manager.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Caroline, I think you're making a big mistake.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Not as big as the one you're making.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Three years later, HTV announced plans
0:21:30 > 0:21:33to film a feature-length Poldark special.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38Angharad and her co-star Robin Ellis were to reprise their roles,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40but negotiations over fees broke down
0:21:40 > 0:21:43and two lesser-known actors were cast instead.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47The Poldark Appreciation Society
0:21:47 > 0:21:50took to the streets to protest to no avail.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54But one member of Angharad's family
0:21:54 > 0:21:57was enjoying happier fortunes as an actor.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Her eldest son Linford looked as if he might follow
0:22:00 > 0:22:02in his parents' footsteps.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06He'd gone to Edinburgh, made a tremendous success there
0:22:06 > 0:22:11and won various things, and he was doing his masters at Cambridge,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14you know, and all that stuff. And...
0:22:16 > 0:22:19..and he directed things, and he was, kind of, a star.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23He was the next star of the family.
0:22:24 > 0:22:25But on 10 September, 1999,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28as Linford was travelling home from Cambridge,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31he was killed in a car accident.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34It was a pretty, pretty horrendous time.
0:22:34 > 0:22:41You know, she was totally heartbroken. Devastated.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48Linford's funeral took place a week later at St Paul's Church, in Knightsbridge.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Even then her senses kicked in
0:22:51 > 0:22:55because she had us all cleaning the church the day before.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58There was an army of us with Hoovers, dusters,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01mops and it just had to be, you know, just right.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05I don't think it would be correct to say...
0:23:08 > 0:23:11..either of them ever got over it. I don't think you do...
0:23:15 > 0:23:19..get over that, but I think, in a way, they learned to live with it.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24I don't think she wanted to do acting any more. The heart was gone.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29It was ripped out. So it was, it was just a day-to-day...
0:23:30 > 0:23:34..you know, get up and see what the day brings.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38Angharad turned her back on acting and concentrated instead
0:23:38 > 0:23:42on a jewellery design business she'd started the previous year.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47It provided her with something to do,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51something to keep her mind occupied and it was something she enjoyed.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54She'd sit down in the... you know, downstairs
0:23:54 > 0:23:56and potter about with the jewellery.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01She loved it, she absolutely adored her jewellery business.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06I went to a trade fair of gems and pearls, and bought some there,
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and started making them for friends and nieces.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12And people liked them so I kept making them.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15I did brides and things like that
0:24:15 > 0:24:20because the stuff I did was unusual and people quite liked it. It was...
0:24:20 > 0:24:24It was fun and funky, but with beautiful things, you know?
0:24:24 > 0:24:26All precious and semi-precious stones.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29I went to visit some friends in Los Angeles
0:24:29 > 0:24:33and I took some of the pieces I'd been making to show them.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37And at dinner one night, the producer of Frasier was there
0:24:37 > 0:24:41and she loved what I was wearing, and asked if I had more so, said,
0:24:41 > 0:24:46"Come down to Paramount," and she bought them for the girls in Frasier.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49As well as the American sitcom Frasier,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Angharad's jewellery was featured in a number of films and TV dramas.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Away from her business life, she found solace in her
0:24:57 > 0:25:00relationship with a fellow actor who had also suffered a tragic loss.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Alan Bates was very helpful, actually, to Angharad because,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08you know, people in life always say,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10"Oh, my dear, I know exactly what you're going through,"
0:25:10 > 0:25:12but, of course, they don't.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15And he did, you know, his son had died
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and he really did know what she was going through.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22They both had two sons, of whom one had died.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26And, although Alan wasn't right for her or she for him,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29in the longer term I think that relationship,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32for as long as it's lasted, was tremendously helpful.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37The man Angharad chose to spend the rest of her life with was not
0:25:37 > 0:25:40an actor but a builder, David McAlpine.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45David appeared at just exactly the right time.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49I mean, I speak as one who taught Chris, I really did love him,
0:25:49 > 0:25:55but he wasn't really a grown-up and, you know, and David is a grown-up.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59We gathered we were both dyslexic
0:25:59 > 0:26:03and that was a good common bond to start with.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06We started to see each other for dinners
0:26:06 > 0:26:11then she invited me to a party and it seemed to go on from there.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15I don't know, we'd sit around tables gossiping.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18The hours used to float past ever so quickly!
0:26:19 > 0:26:24They made each other extremely happy. They were devoted to each other.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27He is a very lovely, gentle man.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29She had good taste in men.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33You know, when you think, the three great loves of her adult life
0:26:33 > 0:26:36were Christopher Cazenove, Alan Bates and David McAlpine,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40you know, it looks like a pretty good hand in a card game to me!
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Angharad and David were married in 2005.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50Just four years later Angharad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53She underwent a long programme of treatment,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56including radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01As she started to spend more time in bed, there was one morning
0:27:01 > 0:27:03when she, she leapt out of bed.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06She ran out and did a little bit of gardening and I said,
0:27:06 > 0:27:11"I'll do it," she wouldn't trust me with a pair of secateurs. Just, you know...
0:27:11 > 0:27:17And she got, you know, her make-up, her hair, a Vivienne Westwood.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Now, who gardens... Who gardens in Vivian Westwood, for God's sake?
0:27:21 > 0:27:28And, even then, looking her best was important.
0:27:28 > 0:27:35Angharad Rees died on 21 July 2012, aged 68.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40I don't think, to be honest, I've never met anybody that will
0:27:40 > 0:27:43come anywhere close to Angharad because, you know, she was
0:27:43 > 0:27:47very beautiful outside, but she was very beautiful from the inside.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51Always with a twinkle in her eye
0:27:51 > 0:27:58and a smile or wonderful dry sense of humour. Quite, quite enchanting.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I mean, you know, like all...
0:28:00 > 0:28:02great stars, you know...
0:28:04 > 0:28:06..she wasn't quite like anyone else.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd