Who is Su Pollard? All you need to know about the actress turning on Sunderland's Christmas lights

The star of stage and screen is ready to get Sunderland’s Christmas started.
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Sunderland’s Christmas lights will be turned on this week by Su Pollard, who is starring in the Sunderland Empire’s pantomime production of Snow White this winter, but how much do you know about the person tasked with kick-starting Christmas on Wearside?

From a television career spanning five decades and a music career comprising of two albums, Pollard is a great of the final third of the 20th century, a title which has been confirmed through her continuous invitations to various productions and TV shows.

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Best known for her role as Peggy Ollerenshaw in 80s sitcom Hi-de-Hi!,’ which won a BAFTA for Best Comedy Series in 1984, Pollard became a household name as a result of the character with the show also being performed as a stage show.

Su Pollard is turning on Sunderland's Christmas lights this year.Su Pollard is turning on Sunderland's Christmas lights this year.
Su Pollard is turning on Sunderland's Christmas lights this year.

As an actress who developed on the stage, this was nothing new with her first theatre performance coming in 1974 with an adaptation of musical Godspell.

Pollard remained under the stage lights for the next 45 years with roles coming in productions of Grease, Romeo and Juliet and Dick Whittington.

She also headlined her own production, The Su Pollard Show, which toured the UK in the late 1980s.

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Her next role brings the Nottingham local to the North East for Sunderland’s biggest pantomime this year where she will play the Wicked Queen in Snow White.

In addition to her work on stage, Pollard has also been a regular on TV screens for the last few decades without the need to play a character with appearances on This Morning, Noel’s House Party, Loose Women and Celebrity Masterchef.

In addition to her acting career, she also has a UK number 2 single to her name with the song Starting Together, one of six singles she released.

It remains to be seen if Pollard will be using her singing talents in her newest role, but crowds will be able to find out when Sunderland Empire’s panto starts on Friday 10 December.

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Sunderland’s Christmas lights will be turned on by Su Pollard on Thursday 18 November in Keel Square. She will be assisted by Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor Harry Trueman with further entertainment coming in the form of a school choir, a Salvation Army brass band and carol singers.