Person Biography:
Shirley Anne Broadbent was born on September 14, 1935, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Cheshire, to Hubert Howath Broadbent, an accountant, and Connie (Pyke) Broadbent. She was named after the Depression-era child star Shirley Temple.
As a child, Shirley made her stage debut at the age of three as a Christmas Tree Fairy at her grandfather's theatre. She began training in singing and dance, particularly ballet, and won a talent-judging contest singing "I'm Just a Little Girl Who's Looking for a Little Boy".
After her parents' divorce, Shirley ran away from home and moved to London, where she lived at the Theatre Girls Club and found work as a chorus girl. She changed her name to Amanda Barrie and made her TV debut with the comedy team of Morecambe and Wise in 1958.
Amanda went on to have a successful career in musical revue work, focusing on comedy parts. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic but did not perform in repertory. Throughout the 1960s, she sparkled in a number of comedy shows in the West End, including "Six of One" and "See You Inside".
Amanda also worked as a TV hostess on "Double Your Money" with Hughie Green and appeared in a number of comedy films, including "Operation Bullshine", "A Pair of Briefs", "Doctor in Distress", and "I've Gotta Horse". She appeared to great advantage in two of the slapstick "Carry On..." film series.
After her film peak, Amanda continued to show resilience on stage and TV, appearing in a number of theatre productions, including "Absurd Person Singular", "Stepping Out", and "Blithe Spirit". She also had occasional movie work, including the addled comedy "One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing" with Helen Hayes.
In 1981, Amanda began her participation as Alma Sedgewick in the soap opera "Coronation Street", a role she played for 11 years until her retirement in 2001. The producers killed off her popular character in quick fashion with a rapid case of cervical cancer.
In 1967, Amanda married actor and theatre director Robin Hunter, with whom she appeared occasionally on stage together. The couple separated in the 1980s but remained good friends and never divorced. Hunter died in 2004.
Amanda has continued to perform, appearing in pantomimes such as "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Cinderella". In her popular and highly candid autobiography "It's Not a Rehearsal", published in 2003, Amanda opened up for the first time about her bisexuality.
