Benidorm's Madge Harvey looks unrecognisable in 70s throwback snaps

16.03.2022 - 02:35 / ok.co.uk

Benidorm legend Sheila Reid is virtually unrecognisable in resurfaced snaps from early in her career.The 84 year old has made a huge name for herself during her decade-long run on the ITV sitcom thanks to her role as the head of the Garvey family, Madge, who was never seen without a cigarette in hand. And Sheila certainly looks worlds away from the iconic role in glamorous throwback images from the sixties and seventies.

Speaking to the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald about her early career, Sheila said: "I got the acting bug because I've always been small; and I was very fat, I had crooked teeth that crossed over at the front… and I used to just live in a world of make-believe because I wasn't terribly keen on who I was." Sheila added: "It was interesting because with acting, I would play character roles, and where there were roles where you were playing yourself, I found that the hardest thing of all – because I would have to strip it all away and be me. "I have an older sister and a younger brother, they weren't interested in the arts at all, but I used to drag them all in to do plays in front of my parents and relatives; I was writer, director and of course, the star." Sheila began her impressive career in the sixties as she starred in the ITV series, Armchair Theatre and also became an original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963.

She went on to play the role of Bianca in the National's 1965 film version of Othello alongside Laurence Olivier. Over the years, she has appeared in The Winter Guest in 1997, the BBC Christmas special of Call the Midwife in 2012 and Containment in 2015.