Angharad Rees Welsh Greats

Angharad Rees was one of the most glamorous actresses of the 1970s...

I'm cold...

and lonely.

..as the heroine of the original bodice-ripping Sunday night drama Poldark,

this young girl from Wales captivated the nation.

Married to a dashing star of Dynasty, she had it all,

but Angharad's life was turned upside down

when tragedy struck her family.

Angharad Rees was born in 1944.

Her father, psychiatrist Linford Rees, who later became president

of the British Medical Association came from Burry Port.

Her mother Catherine was a keen amateur artist

from Alltwen, near Swansea.

Angharad grew up with her sister

and two brothers in the genteel village of Rhiwbina, near Cardiff.

My sister was a lot of fun to be with.

A wonderful sense of humour, a naughty sense of humour

and we all loved that.

Angharad and Catrin's great aunt, who lived nearby,

was the celebrated actress Rachel Thomas.

For the Rees girls performing was in the blood.

'She and I were always doing little performances.'

We'd hide behind the curtains and, you know, present ourselves,

and always doing shows.

You know, I was probably part of the chorus

but she was there being a lovely star.

The family spent their summers in Larne,

where Angharad's father would write while her mother painted.

We stayed in a lovely cottage just down the lane,

opposite where Dylan Thomas did his writing.

Dylan's daughter Aeronwy wrote in her memoirs,

"Other summer visitors included Angharad Rees,

"a girl younger than me but with the same interests.

"She had long, light brown hair, which she wore around her shoulders,

"like a pashmina, with no awareness of her blossoming beauty.

"We immediately liked each other."

One of the funny memories that we all laughed about a great deal was...

Angharad wanting to go to the loo and opening the door,

and seeing Dylan Thomas sitting there reading The Beano.

When Angharad was around eight

her father got a job as a consultant at a London hospital.

The family left Rhiwbina, although they returned regularly to Wales,

and to Larne, and the Gower Peninsular in particular.

At her new school Angharad showed a flair for drama

and at the age of 16 she got a place at the Rose Bruford drama school,

in Kent, but she first spent two terms studying at one

of the world's oldest universities, the Sorbonne, in Paris.

So that was a good way of, sort of, a good growing up process.

By the time she'd done a year in Paris she was ready for the acting career.

But life at Rose Bruford wasn't easy,

with many students falling by the wayside.

One of those endeavouring to make the grade was Roger Chapman.

Less than 50% would get through the three-year course

so, constantly, people are getting thrown out.

There's that going on and, at the same time, there's the drama

of putting on plays, and acting,

and, "Are you going to get a career?", and all of that.

So, you've got people in a state of tension and high anxiety,

and they used to turn to Angharad because she had...

a serenity, I think. And she was a listener.

But while other students shared their difficulties with Angharad

she was facing her own challenges.

I think the staff thought she had everything going for her

and therefore they were always pushing her

but she never complained and, of course...

..she wouldn't give up either.

She sailed through whereas a lot of people from her background just gave up.

Angharad was committed to becoming an actress.

When she wasn't studying, she was busy gaining professional experience

though this caused a brief identity crisis.

I had a holiday job working in a theatre

and I had to join Equity,

and they said, "Oh, Angharad Rees, what a funny name."

It's a family name, it's my grandmother's name,

they said, "Oh, change it. Change it to Cathy Rees."

So I, for some reason, listened to them

and changed my name to Cathy Rees for about eight weeks,

but it didn't help because I was the ASM, which was the dogsbody.

Whenever anyone shouted for Cathy I certainly didn't go,

I didn't know who they were talking about.

The name Angharad Rees would soon be up in lights.

After graduating, Angharad got minor roles in television series

such as The Avengers but her big break came in 1969

when she appeared in Catch My Soul, a rock musical based Othello

starring trouser splitting pop star PJ Proby.

Everybody carried microphones with great long leads around the stage

and she was playing Desdemona opposite the wild man of the time!

PJ and Angharad were soon more than just colleagues.

We shared a flat in Chelsea, which was such fun,

and he used to come and stay sometimes, but also bringing

all his paraphernalia that a cowboy would bring.

Like saddles and boots, cowboy boots, and all sorts of things and...

But think my parents weren't quite aware of the situation.

So, every time they visited Angharad and I would dash around,

kicking things under the bed and hiding bits of evidence.

In 1971, at the age of 26, Angharad returned to Wales

to appear in a BBC play about a troubled pair of lovers

from The Valleys.

Why don't you take your trousers off then, boy, and do the job properly?

Better than you standing there

like someone who's escaped from a nuthouse.

Dai, you listening? Dai?

Dai Williams, if you think that muck's

going to wash out without soap, you got another think coming.

Don't get your pants wet, use a bit of common, the God's sake!

Oh, chuck them over, Dai.

Oh!

Now, what memories have you got of that play, then?

I'd only just started in the business and I remember working from,

you know, about six clock in the morning

until about 7.30 at night,

and I was tired so I just went to the director and I said,

"Oh, Clive, I'm tired now, can we stop?"

And he said, "Oh, Angharad, if you wouldn't just mind going

"on a little bit longer?" I thought you just stopped when you got tired!

Of course, it's not like that at all.

You go on until the director says you stop.

Around this time, at a dinner party,

Angharad was introduced to a fellow actor,

an Eton educated son of a brigadier called Christopher Cazenove.

He was the handsomest man I'd ever seen in my life, when he was young,

and women appeared, and jobs appeared,

and things just, kind of, rolled down the hill towards him, you know?

Life just fell into place for him.

But Christopher would have to work hard to woo Angharad.

After four months of turning up on her doorstep with flowers,

notes and romantic gifts, he finally won her over.

The couple were married in 1973

at St Bartholomew the Great Church, in London.

It was a marriage of two young actors

who were making their mark on the scene.

Her career at the beginning was really quite an interesting one

and she was...

..doing plays, she was picked up pretty early on,

and was doing plays by Alan Plater, and Johnny Speight, and...

..Dennis Potter was a big one.

In the play Joe's Ark,

written by one of the most talented television dramatists of the time,

Angharad played a young Welshwoman who is terminally ill.

-Do you remember our first walk?

-By the river, yeah.

-You were... I'll never forget it.

-Unforgettable, it seems.

You were going on a bit about Wordsworth and Coleridge,

the weird way they regarded each other and so on.

I don't care for that sort of detail any more.

But I... No?

-It's quite a relief, really.

-What do you care about now, Lucy?

What sort of things do...

-SHE WHIMPERS

-Lucy?

'It was a big, big success, you know?'

And she was considered a really exciting young actress,

and, in fact, that same quality she had in life,

which is to be very graceful,

and very beautiful but very strong inside,

and have this absolute iron core, gave her acting a kind of fillip.

You know, she was stronger than just the young girl.

Angharad's strength of character shone through the following year

when she played a society heiress in the comedy Mr Oddy.

I shall paint whoever I want to paint and I shall go wherever I want to go.

I shall see whoever I want to see and do whatever I want to do...

..and I WILL marry you.

You will?!

Why?

You're malleable, that's in your favour,

but you must promise not to be silly. I hate silly men.

Of course, the man should be cleverer than I am,

but, quite simply, none of them are.

She was the strength in that marriage.

I mean, Christopher was the beauty who was being carried along by life

and the woman at the helm, you know, was Angharad.

In 1974 the couple's first child Linford was born.

He was soon followed by a brother called Rhys.

Angharad worked hard to balance the competing demands of motherhood

with her increasingly busy career.

In 1975 she was cast in the role that would define her

in the eyes of millions.

Poldark was a period drama set in Cornwall,

based on the historical novels of Winston Graham.

Angharad auditioned for the role of the heroin, Demelza.

The head of drama asked me to interview her

and they sent her across to LWT.

I remember we had a cup of tea on the balcony by the river

and sat there, and I thought she was absolutely enchanting,

which she was.

She had this wonderful pixie quality

and I thought she'd be dead right for it.

But when Demelza, the daughter of a Cornish tin miner,

first meets the dashing young mine owner, Ross Poldark,

her beauty is far from apparent.

-What's your name?

-Demelza.

Demelza!

It was a, kind of, personality role

and the personality that she possessed worked so completely

well for the role, and for the public, that people adored her.

Oh, it hurts!

Oh, my poor leg, I twisted it bad.

Oh, oh, my poor leg!

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Let me see.

-Does that hurt?

-Oh!

-Or that?

-Mm.

And there?

Mm?

I could take them off for a shilling. I done it before.

Well, obviously, she fell madly in love with Ross

because he was dashing and handsome,

but all the time there was

this thing in the background of him loving another woman.

There were three people in that marriage, as they say,

and I think that...hurt her very much.

Demelza's rival for Ross's affections

was his aristocratic ex-fiance Elizabeth.

Remember, it was the '70s and both she and Jill Townsend,

who played Elizabeth, they started off with modest wigs

and each episode I'd see them come onto the set, and I thought...

"It's grown a bit! Something has got bigger."

And I finally discovered that both ladies had been phoning up to say,

"Can we just add a little more hair to the wig, please?"

Because it was the age of bigger and bigger hair.

With its lavish make-up, costume and scenery, Poldark proved

so popular that churches in Cornwall

had to reschedule their Sunday evening services.

I don't think anybody, least of all her, realised how...

what a success it was going to be.

Poldark ran for 29 episodes over two series

and was watched by 13 million viewers a week.

Riding high on the success of this TV phenomenon,

Angharad was cast in another period drama.

In the Duchess of Duke Street she played the young

bride of an ageing aristocrat.

I was faced with having to become the companion of an awful old harridan

when George saw me in church.

He doesn't often go so it must have been Easter, or something.

He kept staring at me from that great big family pew of his,

with all the coats of arms on it.

Then, after church, he talked to my mother,

saying how sorry he was that Father had died, and that sort of thing,

then he invited us for tea,

and then the next Sunday he asked me to marry him.

And you said yes?

Well, yes, he lived in a great house and a lovely park,

and everybody said how rich he was.

My poor mother was so pathetically pleased.

And you really married for your family's sake?

Well, that was a kind thing to do.

Well, not really, I married to spite my sister,

if you really want to know, because she was so jealous.

Wasn't that wicked?

Also appearing in the Duchess of Duke Street

was Christopher Cazenove.

Together, he and Angharad were becoming and A list couple.

Angharad's star status was confirmed when she was invited to appear

in the 1977 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show,

one of the most watched programmes in British television history.

From Poldark, Angharad Rees!

APPLAUSE

Don't hang about, love, were waiting for Angharad Rees to come on.

ERIC SQUEALS

Angharad, lovely to see you.

Wonderful. Look at Eric, look at him. He's absolutely SHATTERED.

-Good Lord.

-He's... You're one of his favourites.

-Am I, Eric? I didn't know I was one of your favourites.

-Good Lord.

He's completely nonplussed. Look at him, he's all embarrassed.

-It's lovely to have you on the show, Angharad.

-Thank you.

-Eric?

-Yes?

-Your hand.

-I know, I've got another one here.

He's watched all of your series, really.

I didn't know you are a fan, Eric.

Excuse me...I'll tell you something, hand grenade...

-..I was thrilled when I realised that you'd escaped.

-Escaped?

From Colditz.

The following year Angharad appeared in the BBC production

of Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It.

She played Celia, whose cousin Rosalind, played by Helen Mirren,

is infatuated with a handsome, young nobleman.

Proceed!

There lay he, stretched along, like a wounded knight.

Oh, though it be pity to see such a sight.

Yet, it well becomes the ground.

Cry 'holla' to thy tongue, I prithee. It curvets unseasonably.

He was furnished like a...hunter.

Oh, ominous, he comes to kill my heart!

I would sing my song without a burden.

Thou bringst me out of tune.

Do you not know I am a woman? When I think I must speak. Sweet, say on.

You bring me out.

Soft! Comes he not here?

It is he.

Slink by and note him.

Oh!

But just as Angharad's career was going from strength to strength,

she found herself faced with a dilemma.

She thought, "Now, am I going to be a really successful actress

"and, 'Oh, yes, she's got children,'

"or is the family going to play a central role?" And she made

the decision that she was going to give motherhood her best shot.

A few years after Poldark, I cut the work right back

and just looked after the children.

Gave up nannies and did it myself for quite a few years.

It supposed to be the death of an actress, though, isn't it?

To not be seen on screen for a while. Do think it was actually...?

But it's the making of a woman. I mean, it's the best...

Oh, you can't, everybody knows, who has children, it's just the most

lovely thing bringing up your children so it's better than any part.

There is that slight trace of a lost career

because she was on track to be one of the big stars of that period.

Instead, Angharad poured her creative energy into her home life.

'When Angharad Rees designed her kitchen,

'this is one of the gadgets she most wanted room for.

'The computer doesn't help her cooking,

'but it does mean she sees a lot more of her children.'

I decided to incorporate an area for the children

because if you have a kitchen that's just a kitchen,

you never see your children.

They're now, seven and ten, they have a computer.

So, I thought that should be in here and television, and my desk

-because I work a lot at the desk.

-She was a great cook.

You know, she could be out all day,

she'd be having a dinner party at night,

40, 50 people and she come back,

like, 15 minutes before everyone was coming, and I was all a panic,

and, "Oh, don't worry, darling." Bang, bang, bang, done!

And then she'd float down, ever the consummate actress, you know,

as she'd been at it all day.

-Angharad, you've got some friends coming for dinner tonight.

-Yes.

Can you show us what you're going to cook for them?

Yes, well, for starters and giving them this.

-Would you like to try some?

-Thank you, I will, yes.

Mm, delicious.

But Angharad would soon have to leave her ideal home.

In 1986, Christopher got a part in Dynasty

and the family moved to Los Angeles for two years.

There Angharad found herself playing the role of Hollywood wife.

Hollywood is a factory town and, you know...

..you're either in the factory and it's all about you or you're not.

Christopher relished the Hollywood lifestyle,

but he and Angharad were very different characters,

and this was causing tensions in their relationship.

She said, "What you do with a husband who goes to the corner

"for a newspaper and comes back with an Aston Martin?"

And even I could see that's pretty difficult when you're trying

to raise two kids, budget the whole thing and all the rest of it.

And she had to be the grown-up.

In 1992, after 19 years of marriage, the couple divorced.

With her boys growing up, Angharad felt able to return to acting.

That same year she appeared in the series Trainer,

about life among the horse racing set.

I'm very sorry about the bailiffs, I really had no other choice.

Oh, I know that.

Good.

If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know.

-Is this the way you always call in your bad debts?

-NO!

Only with those as attractive as you, Caroline,

and there aren't that many.

-How much?

-What do you mean?

-How much am I worth? You know, for a...

-You know.

-What?

I need to know, Hugo, how much a time? 50? 60? 100? 200?

All right, keep your voice down.

Or does it depends on what I have to do? How far I have to go?

-Come on, Hugo, tell me. You obviously know about these things.

-Ssh.

I think it's a very good idea.

I'll draw up a business plan and present it to my bank manager.

Caroline, I think you're making a big mistake.

Not as big as the one you're making.

Three years later, HTV announced plans

to film a feature-length Poldark special.

Angharad and her co-star Robin Ellis were to reprise their roles,

but negotiations over fees broke down

and two lesser-known actors were cast instead.

The Poldark Appreciation Society

took to the streets to protest to no avail.

But one member of Angharad's family

was enjoying happier fortunes as an actor.

Her eldest son Linford looked as if he might follow

in his parents' footsteps.

He'd gone to Edinburgh, made a tremendous success there

and won various things, and he was doing his masters at Cambridge,

you know, and all that stuff. And...

..and he directed things, and he was, kind of, a star.

He was the next star of the family.

But on 10 September, 1999,

as Linford was travelling home from Cambridge,

he was killed in a car accident.

It was a pretty, pretty horrendous time.

You know, she was totally heartbroken. Devastated.

Linford's funeral took place a week later at St Paul's Church, in Knightsbridge.

Even then her senses kicked in

because she had us all cleaning the church the day before.

There was an army of us with Hoovers, dusters,

mops and it just had to be, you know, just right.

I don't think it would be correct to say...

..either of them ever got over it. I don't think you do...

..get over that, but I think, in a way, they learned to live with it.

I don't think she wanted to do acting any more. The heart was gone.

It was ripped out. So it was, it was just a day-to-day...

..you know, get up and see what the day brings.

Angharad turned her back on acting and concentrated instead

on a jewellery design business she'd started the previous year.

It provided her with something to do,

something to keep her mind occupied and it was something she enjoyed.

She'd sit down in the... you know, downstairs

and potter about with the jewellery.

She loved it, she absolutely adored her jewellery business.

I went to a trade fair of gems and pearls, and bought some there,

and started making them for friends and nieces.

And people liked them so I kept making them.

I did brides and things like that

because the stuff I did was unusual and people quite liked it. It was...

It was fun and funky, but with beautiful things, you know?

All precious and semi-precious stones.

I went to visit some friends in Los Angeles

and I took some of the pieces I'd been making to show them.

And at dinner one night, the producer of Frasier was there

and she loved what I was wearing, and asked if I had more so, said,

"Come down to Paramount," and she bought them for the girls in Frasier.

As well as the American sitcom Frasier,

Angharad's jewellery was featured in a number of films and TV dramas.

Away from her business life, she found solace in her

relationship with a fellow actor who had also suffered a tragic loss.

Alan Bates was very helpful, actually, to Angharad because,

you know, people in life always say,

"Oh, my dear, I know exactly what you're going through,"

but, of course, they don't.

And he did, you know, his son had died

and he really did know what she was going through.

They both had two sons, of whom one had died.

And, although Alan wasn't right for her or she for him,

in the longer term I think that relationship,

for as long as it's lasted, was tremendously helpful.

The man Angharad chose to spend the rest of her life with was not

an actor but a builder, David McAlpine.

David appeared at just exactly the right time.

I mean, I speak as one who taught Chris, I really did love him,

but he wasn't really a grown-up and, you know, and David is a grown-up.

We gathered we were both dyslexic

and that was a good common bond to start with.

We started to see each other for dinners

then she invited me to a party and it seemed to go on from there.

I don't know, we'd sit around tables gossiping.

The hours used to float past ever so quickly!

They made each other extremely happy. They were devoted to each other.

He is a very lovely, gentle man.

She had good taste in men.

You know, when you think, the three great loves of her adult life

were Christopher Cazenove, Alan Bates and David McAlpine,

you know, it looks like a pretty good hand in a card game to me!

Angharad and David were married in 2005.

Just four years later Angharad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

She underwent a long programme of treatment,

including radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

As she started to spend more time in bed, there was one morning

when she, she leapt out of bed.

She ran out and did a little bit of gardening and I said,

"I'll do it," she wouldn't trust me with a pair of secateurs. Just, you know...

And she got, you know, her make-up, her hair, a Vivienne Westwood.

Now, who gardens... Who gardens in Vivian Westwood, for God's sake?

And, even then, looking her best was important.

Angharad Rees died on 21 July 2012, aged 68.

I don't think, to be honest, I've never met anybody that will

come anywhere close to Angharad because, you know, she was

very beautiful outside, but she was very beautiful from the inside.

Always with a twinkle in her eye

and a smile or wonderful dry sense of humour. Quite, quite enchanting.

I mean, you know, like all...

great stars, you know...

..she wasn't quite like anyone else.

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