Acting legend Sheila Reid played the chain-smoking, opinionated Madge Harvey on ITV’s Benidorm
The iconic Madge Harvey in Benidorm was played by Sheila Reid for several years – but who is the actress’ famous ex?
Acting legend Sheila joined the cast of the ITV sitcom in its first series in 2007, as Madge, the matriarch of the Garvey family. The show – which was axed in 2018 – followed a group of Brits as they headed to the all-inclusive Solana Resort to soak up the sun.
Madge was one of those holiday-makers who appeared alongside daughter Janice (Siobhan Finneran), son-in-law Mick (Steve Pemberton), and grandchildren Michael (Oliver Stokes) and Chantelle (Hannah Hobley).
The character remained on the show from series one to seven, and again in series eight. And it’s fair to say Madge quickly became a hit with fans and one of TV’s most recognisable characters.
As for actress Sheila, she is no stranger to appearing on screens, with a career that spans over 60 years. She has starred in the likes of Call the Midwife, Big Boys, Casualty and BBC soap Doctors over the years.
And in real life, Sheila has faced her fair share of heartbreak. She was previously married to actor Julian Curry. Julian – who died in 2020 – is best known for playing Claude Erskine-Browne in ITV’s legal comedy-drama Rumpole of the Bailey
His other TV credits include Midsomer Murders, Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Morse. Julian also appeared in films Loch Ness, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
Sadly, Sheila and Julian ended up splitting, and in 1992, she reflected on their romance, telling Herald Scotland that their marriage “ended more in sorrow than in anger”.
Sheila eventually found love with someone else and in 2008, after 32 years together, Sheila and body therapist Terry Bullen tied the knot in a romantic ceremony watched by 12 close friends in London.
“Terry and I had talked about it many times, but were always happy as we were. We’ve been living together for 30 years so probably waited long enough to find out if we were right for each other,” she told The Mirror at the time.
Talking about her big day, Sheila explained: “On April 11 we got married and had the most wonderful day. I wore a lilac, lacy dress with a silvery jacket, and I carried a horseshoe covered in flowers. Terry looked dashing in a summer suit.
“The guests all came back to our house to have a lovely meal. As soon as we arrived and enjoyed a champagne toast, there was a tremendous clap of thunder, the heavens opened and rain came crashing down. Someone said that was God throwing His rice down on us from heaven. Then the sun came up again. It was perfect.”
Watch Benidorm on ITVx.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
