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90-556: The Rix Centre is named after Lord Brian Rix , the Baron Rix, chancellor of the University, who has campaigned for people with learning difficulties for over 60 years. The Centre is headed by Andy Minnion. Since 2001, Minnion has been conducting research at the UEL on the subject of accessibility for people with learning disabilities. Project @pple was a major ESRC -funded programme exploring

180-702: A life peer , becoming Baron Rix of Whitehall in the City of Westminster and of Hornsea in Yorkshire . He was Vice Lord Lieutenant of Greater London from 1987 to 1997 and was the first chancellor of the University of East London from 1997 to 2012. He was subsequently the chancellor emeritus. He was awarded ten honorary degrees by the following universities: Hull ( MA 1981), Open (MA 1983), Essex (MA 1984), Nottingham ( DSc 1987), Exeter ( LL.D. 1997), Bradford (DU 2000), Kingston ( DLitt 2012), East London ( D.A. 2013) and five fellowships , including

270-703: A 13-year absence, Annie returns to the village for Jack's funeral. Jack had been staying with her in Spain and had suffered a fatal heart attack; she accompanies his body to Emmerdale. She grieves with Jack's family, which includes his widow Diane Sugden , Victoria, and his adoptive son Andy Sugden , before returning to Spain after his funeral. Following her departure, Annie is often contacted and mentioned by her relatives, many of whom go to stay with her during times of crisis. Diane goes to stay with Annie after she takes ill and stays for two months. Following Victoria's rape, Victoria and Robert go on holiday but lie and say that Annie

360-404: A New Born Babe ; Dinner for One ; It's a Bug! A Roof Over My Head ; First, Find Your House ; Take Me to Your Solicitor ; The Sitting Tenant ; Learn to Dread One Day at a Time ; Not Cricket ; Another Fine Mess ; Home and Dried Rix was the author of two autobiographies, My Farce From My Elbow (1974) and Farce About Face (1989), and two theatre histories, Tour de Farce and Life in

450-661: A campaigner for disability causes, among others. He entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher in 1992 and was president of Mencap from 1998 until his death. Rix was born in Cottingham , East Riding of Yorkshire , the youngest of four children. His father, Herbert Rix, and Herbert's two brothers, ran the shipping company Robert Rix in Hull , founded by his grandfather. Rix had an interest in cricket and only wished to play for Yorkshire in his childhood. He did play for Hull Cricket Club when he

540-649: A collaborative project in Newham using easy-build websites, and a Tower Hamlets -based project focused on the development of a "new media interactive zone" for young people with profound learning disabilities to communicate via video and media technology. The Rix Centre also hosted Inclusive New Media Design, a project aiming to encourage web designers , developers , and editors to build websites and multimedia content accessible to people with learning disabilities. Brian Rix Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix , CBE , DL (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016)

630-613: A film (starring himself, Leslie Phillips and Joanna Lumley ). After that, during the Three-Day Week in 1973–74, came a relatively unsuccessful pantomime season in Robinson Crusoe at the New Theatre , Cardiff . Rix was by now becoming tired of going on stage night after night, and sensing that he had reached the peak of his success, began to consider retiring from the stage. However, he performed in two more farces, A Bit Between

720-499: A film version . In the same year, he became engaged to Elspet Gray , an actress in his company, and six months later they married. They were together, domestically and professionally, for 64 years, until her death in February 2013, appearing alongside each other in many of the television farces , a radio series and three of the theatre productions. In 1950 the newly-weds toured together with Reluctant Heroes until Rix managed to persuade

810-592: A handful of the televised farces remain in the BBC archive, however. Rix also appeared in 11 films and though he felt these were less suited to his talents as a farceur, these also met with some box-office success. Reluctant Heroes , the first Whitehall farce, was by Colin Morris , later known for his dramatised television documentaries. During the four-year run of Reluctant Heroes at the Whitehall, Rix also sent out national tours of

900-528: A learning disability. Rix also served as the first chairman of the Arts Council Monitoring Committee on Arts and Disability as well as founding and chairing the charity Libertas (working alongside Sir John Cox and Rix's son, Jonathan) which produced dozens of audio guides for disabled people at museums, historical buildings and other places of interest. Subsequent legislation in which he played an important role made this charity redundant. He

990-466: A matinee of Reluctant Heroes . He subsequently became a passionate non-smoker and a founding member of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). In 1949 he married the actress Elspet Gray . The couple had four children, the producer and children's author Jamie Rix , Jonathan Rix (Professor of Participation and Learning Support at the Open University ), actress Louisa Rix and Shelley Rix. Shelley

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1080-471: A pleasure to return for this special tribute episode to Clive. I'm sure it will be a fitting way to celebrate the life and memory of one of Emmerdale' s dearest characters". This was Mercier's last appearance before her retirement from acting, and her death in December 2019. On 18 August 2020 it was announced Annie would die off-screen on 28 August, after Sheila Mercier's death in December 2019. Annie Sugden

1170-399: A shock proposal from her driving instructor. When Annie meets Polish national, Leonard Kempinski ( Bernard Archard ) during a trip to Spain, she becomes very fond of him. Annie initially turns down his marriage proposal but later reconsiders. Mercier revealed that "she's a good judge of character. I think they are marrying for companionship; even so, Annie would love a little romance." From

1260-441: A significant shift in funding priorities; while maintaining support for national and regional building-based theatre companies, he actively supported the work of small-scale experimental touring companies – including theatre for young people and for the black and minority ethnic communities – and new writing projects. His approach meant he was able to cut through bureaucratic constraints. Before Rix's first budget-setting exercise for

1350-664: A special internet mini-drama, which ran side by side with the Emmerdale television broadcast. Mercier talked live on the Net with her troubled screen son, Jack, played by Clive Hornby. The broadcast was available for viewers to download on the official Emmerdale website. Mercier was also invited to return to the Emmerdale set to celebrate with the crew at the official 30th anniversary party. In an interview in 2002, Mercier said she had no desire to return to acting, "I don't want to act. I watch TV, read and live like an ordinary person." However, for

1440-656: A theatre-owning and production company – run by Ray Cooney , Laurie Marsh and Rix himself. Ably assisted by his former stage manager and now PA , Joanne Benjamin, Rix was responsible for obtaining productions for various West End theatres including the Shaftesbury , the Duke of York's , the Ambassadors and the re-built Astoria which opened with the award-winning Elvis , starring P. J. Proby , Shakin' Stevens and Tim Whitnall . Rix and his partners were also responsible for re-opening

1530-521: A time of sadness for the Sugden family, as Annie was burying her recently deceased husband, Jacob, who had died after spending much of his later years in the pub, The Woolpack, drinking away the family's farming profits. Early central storylines in the serial followed Annie as she struggled to come to terms with the death of her husband, support her family, and run Emmerdale Farm, set in the Yorkshire Dales in

1620-456: A tough life. She'd had a rough ride with her husband Jacob, who used to drink the money away and sit in the Woolpack until all hours. Her son Jack didn't live at home then and it was Annie who kept the farm together. Until Henry Wilks ( Arthur Pentelow ) came along they were poor farmers, living hand-to-mouth. But now things are different. Jack has made a success of Emmerdale and Henry's interest in

1710-460: A trip to Italy. Annie receives three proposals of marriage during her time in the show. The first is local resident Amos Brearly ( Ronald Magill ). Mercier told a reporter from TVTimes that Annie did not take his request seriously, laughed at him and refused. In another story, Henry proposes marriage to Annie. Mercier claimed that Annie declined his offer because she thought it would ruin their good friendship. In another storyline she received

1800-487: Is being developed and tested with young people with learning difficulties, teachers and support-staff. Project @pple brought together researchers from a number of academic fields with multimedia producers from small and corporate businesses and the UK's leading learning disability charity, MENCAP . The Rix Centre runs The Big Tree, a website devoted to the sharing of ideas and information regarding multimedia and its potential uses in

1890-439: Is ill and they need to look after her. Months later, Victoria receives a phone call from Diane with news that Annie has died peacefully at the age of 100 on 28 August 2020, Victoria then heads down south to meet some distant cousins, to arrange Annie's funeral. Her ashes were scattered by Victoria over the fields that once belonged to 'Emmerdale Farm'. The character Annie Sugden has been the topic of several tie-in books related to

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1980-415: Is in a coma for several months. The cries of her new granddaughter Victoria Sugden finally wake Annie from her coma but she is devastated to discover Leonard has died. Widowed again, Annie is left to mourn a second husband. At Jack's wedding to Sarah Connolly, Amos announces that the residents of Beckindale have decided to rename the village Emmerdale, in honour of Annie. He remarks that people had voted for

2070-406: Is usually appreciated and people often turn to her for advice, but the years haven't dulled her sense of humour. She enjoys a joke as much as anyone in the family. Commenting on her character in 1985, Mercier said: "Annie Sugden has changed a great deal over the years. At the beginning she was very terse. She was the head of the family and let everyone know it. She ruled with a rod of iron. She'd had

2160-533: The New Statesman ) wrote of Rix and his company in 1964 after the opening of the fifth Whitehall farce, Chase Me Comrade : There they are: the most robust survivors of a great tradition, the most successful British theatrical enterprises of our time. Curious that no one can be found to speak up wholeheartedly for them – no one, that is, outside enthusiastic millions who have packed every British theatre where they have played. ... It's particularly curious considering

2250-726: The Arts Council of Great Britain 's Drama Panel. He was also an active chair of the Arts Council Disability Committee raising the profile and perceived importance of arts and disability issues within Arts Council decision-making. In these roles he proved dynamic and progressive. When Rix took office the Drama Panel was male-dominated, but by 1993 there was gender parity on the panel – paradoxically his female successor unbalanced it once more, again in favour of men. He achieved

2340-633: The Billy Rose Theatre in New York City, renaming it the Trafalgar and opening with a big hit – Whose Life Is It Anyway? , starring Tom Conti . Whilst in this post, he also presented (with his daughter, Louisa ) the BBC Television series Let's Go . This was the first British programme to be created specifically for people with a learning disability, and ran from 1978 until 1982. Rix found being on

2430-469: The Emmerdale serial. These include Annie Sugden's Country Diary , written by Lee Mackenzie and published in 1978. The novel gives Annie's account of her childhood and early adult life in Beckindale. It is described as a "story of the long, hot summers between the wars, the village school and the open fields [..] Annie's heart-warming memories of the good times and the hard times amongst honest working folk in

2520-407: The Emmerdale plane crash , which left her in a three-month coma. Mercier and Frazer Hines , who played her on-screen son Joe Sugden , were the only two original cast members to appear in the show for its 20th anniversary. Though the character left the serial in 1994, she has made occasional appearances since this time and last appeared on-screen in February 2009, in a special tribute episode to mark

2610-744: The Friends of Richmond Park . In 1970 he was President of the Lord's Taverners and he continued his love of cricket as a member of the MCC and Yorkshire CCC. Rix was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions, in October 1961 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at a friend's house in Surrey, and again in April 1977, when Andrews surprised him at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. He

2700-738: The Royal Society of Medicine (FRSM) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists (FRCPsych) as well as receiving an Honorary College Fellowship of Myerscough College He has also received numerous awards including: The Evian Health Award (1988), Royal National Institute for Deaf People Campaigner of the Year Award (1990), The Spectator Campaigner of the Year Award (1999), Yorkshire Society – Yorkshire Lifetime Achievement Award (1999), UK Charity Awards (2001), Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service – British Neuroscience Association (2001) and

2790-518: The Whitehall Theatre management that this army farce was the ideal play to follow the long-running Worm's Eye View . It was a happy choice, for Rix's productions ran there for the next 16 years, before he moved to the Garrick Theatre , breaking many West End records in the process. His farces for BBC Television also began at the Whitehall, enlarging Rix and Gray's profile as well as that of

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2880-547: The 1985 Emmerdale Farm Celebration Edition 1000 Episodes Magazine , Annie's personality is described: Ever since she was widowed thirteen years ago, Annie Sugden has felt responsible for Emmerdale Farm and the Sugden family. Life has not been easy for her, coping with financial crises, warring sons and the loss of her only daughter. But she has faced the problems courageously. She's a strong, level headed woman, loyal to her family but not blind to their weaknesses, and she speaks her mind when she feels it's called for. Annie's honesty

2970-525: The 26 years he was on stage in the farces; though he lost them less in the TV plays. In the first two years at the Whitehall, Rix's understudy was John Chapman , who also played a small part in Act 3, which ensured a long wait in the dressing room. To occupy his time, he began the first draft of the play that was to follow Heroes . Dry Rot , later filmed , was produced in 1954 with John Slater, Basil Lord and Rix himself in

3060-497: The British television soap opera Emmerdale . She was played by Sheila Mercier as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, with occasional guest appearances in the show after her original departure. Mercier cut back on location filming during the late 1980s and eventually left the serial in 1994 due to the gruelling schedule. Annie was one of Emmerdale's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 16 October 1972 and became

3150-589: The Childcare Bill extended statutory childcare provision for children with a disability from 16 to 18 years old, whilst changes to the Electoral Administration Bill lead to people with a learning disability being able to vote freely. Rix discovered in the mid-1990s that the legislation regarding State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) had been altered under Margaret Thatcher . The original act had ensured that widows and widowers would receive

3240-514: The Drama Panel (when what was available for all companies was a less than inflation uplift) panel members and other members of the Arts Council had intended to fund the British-Asian theatre company Tara Arts, but no-one had been able to source the sum required. Rix however boldly proposed that the biggest national companies were stood still, so releasing money not only to fund Tara, but also allow fresh small-scale developments, and then saw that this

3330-588: The Farce Lane . He also edited, compiled and contributed to Gullible's Travails , an anthology of travel stories by famous people for the Mencap Blue Sky Appeal. For Mencap's 60th anniversary he produced All About Us! – The history of learning disability and of the Royal Mencap Society. Annie Sugden Annie Sugden (also Pearson , Kempinski and Brearly ) is a fictional character from

3420-573: The Rix Thompson Rothenberg (RTR) Foundation which provides small grants for projects serving people with a learning disability; and president of the grant making Normansfield and Richmond Foundation. He was also a constant supporter of the Rix Centre at the University of East London , which develops and disseminates tools and training for multi-media advocacy to enhance the lives of people with

3510-568: The Royal Air Force, eventually ending up as a volunteer Bevin Boy working down the coal mines near Doncaster . After the war, Rix returned to the stage, forming his own theatre company in 1947 as an actor-manager, a career he was to pursue for the next 30 years. He ran repertory companies at Ilkley , Bridlington and Margate , and while at Bridlington, in 1949, he found the play that was to bring him notice – Reluctant Heroes , later adapted for

3600-470: The Sugdens; Peggy dies of a brain haemorrhage a few months after giving birth to twins and three years later, Peggy's twins are killed on a level crossing, leaving Annie to comfort their father Matt. Annie's father Sam dies and Jack's wife, Pat Sugden dies two years later, forcing Annie to help Jack raise his young son Robert Sugden . A few years later, Emmerdale Farm begins collapsing due to subsidence. Although

3690-618: The Teeth (with Jimmy Logan and Terence Alexander ) at the Cambridge Theatre and then, back at the Whitehall, Fringe Benefits (with Terence Alexander and Jane Downs ). After 26 years of almost continuous performance in the West End, on 8 January 1977, Rix gave his final performance to a packed house at the Whitehall Theatre. Having retired from performing, Rix joined Cooney-Marsh Ltd –

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3780-634: The Whitehall Theatre. During the next 18 years, Rix presented more than 90 one-night-only television farces on the BBC. These were often presented at Christmas or on other bank holidays with viewing figures often reaching 15 million. In the early 1960s, Rix was the highest-paid actor (along with Robert Morley ) to appear on BBC television. Alongside the regulars from his theatre company, Rix appeared in these TV productions with such names as Dora Bryan , Joan Sims , Ian Carmichael , John Le Mesurier , Patrick Cargill , Fabia Drake , Sheila Hancock , Warren Mitchell , Thora Hird and Francis Matthews . Only

3870-565: The Whitehall. Stand By Your Bedouin went into storage. Let Sleeping Wives Lie enjoyed a further two-year run with Leslie Crowther , Elspet Gray, Derek Farr , Andrew Sachs and Rix playing the lead roles. After the first year, Rona Anderson took over from Gray. After Let Sleeping Wives Lie finished at the Garrick, it went on a short tour before opening for a summer season at the newly restored Playhouse in Weston-super-Mare . Rix played

3960-512: The Yorkshire dales [...] the Diary of a country lass who loves life, despite its trials and tribulations". The novel gives an account of Annie's parents, her "sensitive musical" mother, her "down-to-earth, prosaic" father, her "first and truest" love, Laurence Stanton, and her "reluctant" marriage to Jacob Sugden, right up until she became the owner of Emmerdale Farm. Annie Sugden's Emmerdale Farm Cookbook

4050-434: The absence of specialist arts officers at the meeting, Rix was left isolated and he resigned as a matter of principle. This created a negative public reaction and shocked senior Council figures into realising their decision was unacceptable. After a campaign, led behind scenes by his Drama Director Ian Brown and publicly by Drama Panel members, the disproportionate cut was rescinded. Rix and his wife, Elspet became involved in

4140-491: The actors the chance to play a variety of roles – or even to have a night or two off. Rix tried with three farces – Stand By Your Bedouin , Uproar in the House and Let Sleeping Wives Lie – but as this was a commercial venture, without any state subsidy, it proved too expensive to run and Rix was forced to keep Let Sleeping Wives Lie on at the Garrick and transfer Uproar in the House , with Nicholas Parsons playing Rix's role, to

4230-746: The cast and ran for nearly four years. When Dry Rot went on tour with John Slater in the lead, he was joined by two young actors, Ray Cooney and Tony Hilton. Both became involved in Rix's next production at the Whitehall, Simple Spymen (again by John Chapman) and had time to draft One for the Pot , which followed Simple Spymen . In all, seven playwrights were spawned by the Whitehall farces – Colin Morris, John Chapman, Ray Cooney, Tony Hilton, Clive Exton , Raymond/Charles Dyer and Philip Levene . Other writers of note who worked for Rix on television included Christopher Bond , John Cleese and Barry Took . Ronald Bryden (in

4320-476: The current intellectual agitation for a theatre of the masses, a true working class drama. Everything, apparently, for which Joan Littlewood has struggled – the boisterous, extrovert playing, the integrated team-work, the Cockney irreverance of any unself-conscious, unacademic audience bent purely on pleasure – exists, patently and profitably at the Whitehall. Yet how many devout pilgrims to Stratford East have hazarded

4410-488: The death of Clive Hornby who played her on-screen son, Jack Sugden . Mercier has previously made guest appearances in 1996 and in 2000 for a special web broadcast in which Annie talked to her troubled screen son Jack. The broadcast was available for viewers to download on the official Emmerdale website. Despite having married Amos off-screen in late 1995, she was credited upon her return in 2009 by her most famous name, Annie Sugden. Mercier died in December 2019 and this

4500-403: The director, David Green , said "Annie does not cry. She cries all her tears into the pillow at night." The character of Annie Sugden has been described as a firm favourite with viewers, from the opening scene of Emmerdale Farm with Annie standing in the farmhouse kitchen, to the day she left. As peacekeeper between her sons, Joe ( Frazer Hines ) and Jack ( Andrew Burt / Clive Hornby ), Annie

4590-577: The ePolitix Charity Champions Lifetime Achievement Award (2004). 90 full length and one act plays for the BBC. More than 30 were live. Sunday-Night Theatre ; Laughter from the Whitehall ; Dial Rix ; Brian Rix presents... ; Six of Rix May We Have Our Ball Back? ; Brick Dropp'ing ; Passes That Ship ; Half a Dozen of the Other ; Well I'm Burgled ; Horseface ; Near Miss ; To Russia With... ; Dash My Wig ; Desirable Residence ; Flagrant Memories ; Arabian Knights ; Silver Threads ; A Fair Cop ; ...As

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4680-490: The early 1990s, Sheila Mercier cut back on her appearances, usually working only in the studio. However, she appeared on location in a car during the 1993 plane crash episodes. Annie Sugden reportedly poured more than 6,000 cups of tea in the farmhouse studio, where she was most often seen. After she retired in 1994, she has appeared in only a handful of Emmerdale episodes, making guest appearances in 1995 and 1996. However, in 2000 she came out of retirement briefly to take part in

4770-416: The family moves into Hawthorn Cottage, Annie remains unhappy until it was renamed Emmerdale Farm. Annie and her second husband, Leonard Kempinski, whom she had married in October, plan to go on holiday to Spain. The night they are supposed to fly out, a plane crash into the village. As Joe is driving them to the airport, the wing of the plane collides with the car. Joe escapes with a broken leg; however, Annie

4860-502: The farm and Annie herself has made her relax. She's mellower now." Despite suffering from arthritis, Mercier managed to undertake location filming for the show from 1972–1990. In the final episode of Emmerdale Farm before the transition to Emmerdale, broadcast in November 1989, she appeared on location at Lindley Farm near Harrogate, which served as the exterior for Emmerdale Farm, for scenes in which Annie greeted son Jack on his return from

4950-455: The fictional village of Beckindale. Matriarchal Annie aimed to rebuild the ailing farm by reuniting her two feuding sons, Jack and Joe. She sold part of Emmerdale Farm to village outsider, Henry Wilks, who had made his fortune in the wool industry and brought his business acumen to Beckindale. Early in the series, Woolpack landlord Amos Brearly decided a woman's touch was needed in his pub and proposes to Annie but she turns him down. Tragedy follows

5040-445: The first four weeks and then Leslie Crowther returned and played the last six. Meantime the cast of Rix's next West End production commuted by train every day to rehearse in London, returning in the late afternoon for their evening performance. She's Done It Again , opened at the Garrick to the best reviews Rix had ever enjoyed, but it had the shortest run of any of his productions to that date. Rix could never find an obvious reason for

5130-571: The full SERPS addition to their state pension if their spouse died first. The change in legislation halved the amount received. Rix campaigned to restore the original payment and after a number of years arguing the point with the New Labour Government, he succeeded. Amongst his many activities, he was the co-chairman (with Tom Clarke CBE MP ) of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability; chairman of

5220-468: The government in 1997, but again to no avail. Eventually, 12 years after Rix's private member's bill, short-term breaks sneaked through in an Education Bill , introduced by the then Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families , Ed Balls . The extent of his involvement can be seen by looking at the some of other legislation altered in the same year as the Education Bill (2006). His amendments to

5310-492: The job at Mencap and then when he retired in 1987 to him becoming chairman in 1988. In 1998, he became president, an office he held until he died. Entering the House of Lords as a crossbencher in 1992, Rix campaigned ceaselessly on any legislation affecting people with a learning disability. He was one of the most regular attenders in the House and every year introduced numerous amendments to legislation, mainly that associated with health, social welfare and education. He found

5400-604: The learning disability community. The site's target users are individuals working with or supporting people with mental disabilities. The Rix Centre has overseen a number of projects involving research, development, and outreach. Some are large collaborative projects; the Rix Living Lab, for instance, was a long-term research and development collaboration with multiple London boroughs , East London voluntary organisations, individuals with learning disabilities, and their supporters. Other endeavors have had more specific aims, such as

5490-467: The length of time required to change legislation very frustrating. One example in 1994 was when Rix introduced a private member's bill ensuring that local authorities would provide short-term breaks for carers and cared-for alike, on a reasonably timed basis. The bill easily passed through the Lords, but could not even achieve a first reading in the House of Commons . Rix tried again when New Labour became

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5580-426: The libidinous government minister. Reviews were not as good as the previous play, but audiences kept coming and it ran for two years at the Garrick and then enjoyed another successful tour. Rix, who had never enjoyed touring, now hated the endless nights away from home, and was delighted when the play was turned first into a television series for HTV , Men of Affairs (with Warren Mitchell as the minister) and then into

5670-471: The longest serving female character in the series' history. She was the soap's "first matriarch", the maternal force behind the Sugden family, who were collectively one of Emmerdale's main focal points. Over the years, the character featured in a number of storylines, including being widowed twice, coping with the deaths of various other family members, financial woes, nearly dying in a farmhouse fire, an addiction to tranquillisers and sustaining injuries in

5760-504: The name Emmerdale as they held Annie in such high regard. After moving to Spain in July 1994, Annie returns to Emmerdale the following year to bury her son Joe, who had died in a car accident. 23 years after his first proposal, Amos Brearly proposes to Annie again; this time she accepts. Annie and Amos return to Spain where they marry on 5 November 1995, though Annie returns briefly in November 1996 to ask Jack to sell Emmerdale Farm; he refuses. After

5850-839: The other side of the footlights increasingly frustrating, and in 1980 he became the Secretary-General of the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults (shortly to become the Royal Society, later Mencap ). He returned to performing and the stage intermittently in later years, playing Shakespeare on BBC Radio , doing a six-month run in a revival of Dry Rot , directing a play with Cannon and Ball , playing his favourite big band jazz on BBC Radio 2 , and touring three one-night-only shows, one with his wife, which explored theatrical history and his own remarkable experiences of life. From 1986 to 1993, Rix served as chairman of

5940-488: The play, generally with John Slater playing the dread Sergeant Bell, and always playing to packed houses. To give some sense of its popularity, at one time Rix had the play running at the Whitehall, three tours on the road and the film on release. Rix himself played the gormless north-country recruit, Horace Gregory, in both film and throughout the four-year run at the Whitehall, where his reputation for losing his trousers began. He subsequently lost them at least 12,000 times in

6030-466: The production's short run, for the play enjoyed a sell-out tour after the Garrick. His favoured explanation was that the play, funny as it was, might have seemed somewhat old-fashioned, as it was adapted by Michael Pertwee from a pre-war farce, Nap Hand , by Vernon Sylvaine and based upon the birth of Dionne quintuplets . Rix's next play, also by Pertwee, was Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! with Alfred Marks (followed by Moray Watson ) playing

6120-644: The shorter journey to Trafalgar Square to worship at the effortless shrine at the thing itself? How many Arts Council grants have sustained Mr Rix's company? How many Evening Standard awards went to Dry Rot ? How many theses have been written on the art of Colin Morris, John Chapman and Ray Cooney? The time has come surely to fill the gap. Despite being described by Harold Hobson in The Sunday Times as "The greatest master of farce in my theatre-going lifetime" and numerous other plaudits from critics and audiences alike, no theatrical awards were ever forthcoming. Rix

6210-543: The show's 5000th episode in May 2008 a special documentary was transmitted across the ITV network, Mercier (aged 89) made another appearance along with Hines, Frederick Pyne and Jean Rogers the actors who played Joe, Matt and Dolly Skilbeck , respectively. In February 2009, Mercier reprised the role of Annie for two episodes, where Annie attended her son Jack's funeral, following the death of actor Clive Hornby. Mercier said, "It will be

6300-530: The situation and became involved with charities campaigning on the issue. Among these roles, in the early 1960s, Rix became the first Chairman of the Special Functions Fundraising committee at the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults , later known as Mencap. Both his personal experience and his leading position as a fundraiser in the field finally led to Rix applying for

6390-542: The stage of the Whitehall, but very little else before joining Emmerdale Farm…I remember, at first, playing to the Gods! Tristan de Vere Cole, one of the first directors on the programme, told me to take [my performance] down until it was so low I was almost muttering. Then, Gordon Flemyng - another of the directors - played back to me a scene I did so that I could see what I had done wrong." In her 1994 autobiography, Mercier recalls how on so many occasions she wanted Annie to cry but

6480-405: The struggles of Annie and her family, with the first episode of Emmerdale Farm (1972) being billed as "the living story of the Sugden family - the excitement of country life around." Actress Sheila Mercier – whose career had been mainly theatrical – was chosen to play the role and went on to be the serial's longest running original actor. Mercier has commented "I had done a lot of television from

6570-586: The theatre and on TV. The Whitehall was particularly small and cramped and Rhoda's designs overcame the most difficult of obstacles. In 1967, Rix moved on to the Garrick Theatre after the Whitehall Theatre lease expired. The larger stage gave him the opportunity to try his repertoire scheme. This was a similar idea to the way plays were presented at the National Theatre – that is several productions, each one being played on different days or weeks, thus giving

6660-455: The ways in which people with learning difficulties access and use information and communication technologies. Using observations, interviews and formal usability tests, project researchers built up a multi-layered view of computer use, Internet access and interaction with software among people with learning difficulties. To meet the aim of Project Apple, a multimedia Learning Environment (LE), providing learning resources and tools for self-advocacy,

6750-425: The world of learning disability, when in December 1951 the first of their four children was born. Their daughter, Shelley, was diagnosed with Down syndrome . There was no welfare support for the children affected and little education. The only offering the state made was a place in a Victorian era , run-down hospital where patients were left to their own devices for hours at a time. The Rixes were determined to improve

6840-682: Was 16 (and after the war for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Stage and the Lord's Taverners ). When he was being educated at the Quaker Bootham School , York, his ambitions changed. His elder sister Sheila became an actress during his school days, and Rix himself developed the same ambition to go on the stage. All four Rix children had become interested in the theatre because of their mother, Fanny, who ran an amateur dramatic society and

6930-672: Was 18, on deferment from service with the Royal Air Force , with Donald Wolfit 's Shakespeare Company. After only four months as a professional actor, he played Sebastian in Twelfth Night at the St James's Theatre in London. His deferment was extended and he gained his first weekly repertory experience with the White Rose Players at the opera house in Harrogate . From there he went into

7020-667: Was a significant departure from his previous position; in 2006 he had voted against the Assisted Dying Bill. He died on 20 August 2016 at Denville Hall in Northwood , London. Rix was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1977 Birthday Honours , and knighted in June 1986 for his services to charity. On his 68th birthday, 27 January 1992, he was created

7110-587: Was able to open (succeeding the Leeds Playhouse) with vastly increased capacity. Meanwhile, the number of touring companies, which had been falling before his arrival, increased from 22 to 33. In 1993 at a retreat at Woodstock , the Council agreed that the Drama budget should be disproportionately reduced in the face of across-the-board cuts to the Council's budget and the money allocated to other less popular art forms. In

7200-429: Was also a castaway on Desert Island Discs on two occasions. The first was with Roy Plomley on 16 May 1960, which was also the first time a castaway was caught on film and broadcast the following evening. His second appearance was with Kirsty Young on 1 March 2009. In August 2016, Rix announced that he was terminally ill, and called for the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia for those dying in severe pain. This

7290-475: Was always philosophical about his lack of recognition, accepting it as the fate of so many low comedians before him. Nevertheless, Rix and his company broke the record for the longest running farce team in London's West End . In 1961 he gave a glass of champagne to every member of the audience who had watched Simple Spymen . The drink was served by many of the popular actors who had been with Rix in one of his productions – on stage, on television and in films – and

7380-489: Was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including Dry Rot , Simple Spymen and One for the Pot . His one-night TV shows made him the joint-highest paid star on the BBC. He often worked with his wife Elspet Gray and sister Sheila Mercier , who became the matriarch in Emmerdale Farm . After his first child was born with Down syndrome , Rix became

7470-402: Was born on 5 July 1920, she was the only child of young labourer Sam Pearson and his wife Grace. Annie marries local farmer Jacob Sugden and he moves her into Emmerdale Farm. They have three children; Jack, Peggy and Joe. Annie's mother dies in the same year her daughter Peggy marries Matt Skilbeck. The audience is introduced to farmer's wife Annie Sugden in the soap's first episode in 1972. It was

7560-523: Was born with Down syndrome, and her father began to use his public profile to promote awareness and understanding of learning disabilities . Shelley died in July 2005 in Hounslow , Greater London . Elspet Gray died on 18 February 2013. Rix became a radio ham at the age of 13 and became a life vice-president of the Radio Society of Great Britain in 1979. His call sign was G2DQU. He was also president of

7650-517: Was delivered through Panel and Council. Such willingness to take on the establishment marked his term of office. A constant champion of the interests of drama companies and theatre-workers, Rix's seven-year term of office meant that, even in a period of Thatcherite public-funding stringency, no theatre building for which he had responsibility was closed while the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds

7740-643: Was involved as chairman and president of Friends of Normansfield, President of the Roy Kinnear Memorial Trust, chairman and founder (with Dr David Towell of the King's Fund ) of the Independent Council for People with a Mental Handicap and was patron of RAIBC – the charity working for radio amateurs with disabilities. Rix also campaigned against smoking; having been a smoker for ten years, Rix gave up smoking on Boxing Day in 1950 when he lost his voice during

7830-419: Was soon placed at the centre of the soap's action. The character was involved in numerous storylines, including marriages, bereavements, tragedies and family problems. Commenting on her "most gripping" storylines, Mercier has said, "Annie's daughter, Peggy Skilbeck 's ( Jo Kendall ) death, Peggy's twins' deaths and Annie's father, Sam Pearson 's ( Toke Townley ) death, which all called for lots of tears." In

7920-526: Was the lead soprano in the local operatic society. All her children performed in the plays and two of them, Brian and Sheila, became professional actors. Sheila Mercier, as she became known, played Annie Sugden for more than 20 years in the Yorkshire TV soap opera Emmerdale Farm having worked regularly with her brother in the Whitehall farces in the 1950s and 1960s. Rix became a professional actor when he

8010-488: Was to celebrate the Whitehall Theatre team passing the record held by the Aldwych Theatre team. The Aldwych farces ran for 10 years, seven months and four days, while Rix went on for another 16 years. Rix also had a particularly long and fruitful relationship with the director Wallace Douglas and with the set designer, Rhoda Gray (Elspet's sister), who created the setting for practically all of Rix's productions, both in

8100-661: Was written into the serial, with the character of Annie dying off-screen in August 2020. Annie Sugden was created by Kevin Laffan , the creator of what was then known as Emmerdale Farm who also wrote the serial's first 212 episodes. Laffan was said to be "keen on dominant women" and it has been said that he created a "memorable heroine" in Annie Sugden, "the wife of the ne'er-do-well…who drank himself to an early grave" (the first episode opened with his funeral). The show originally focused upon

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