Hello I'm Krestey Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1995, and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My cast away this week is an actress. Her face must be one of the best known on British television. Ever since she

appeared with the comedian Arthur Haynes in his popular show back in the 60s,

she's been in a succession of well-known long-running series. The newcomers, Are You Being Served, and its sequel

Grace and favour are just three of them. But it's a fourth which has brought her

her greatest popularity. Ever since it first appeared on BBC 1 10 years ago, she's played the part of Pauline Fowler in East Enders.

She is Wendy Richard.

It must have been a big decision, though to take on that role because it was completely different

from anything you'd done before wasn't it from the vivacious Miss Brahms of Grace and

favour?

Yes that's true but I'd known Julia Smith since the 60s and Julia and Tony Holland were the ones that dreamed us up.

Although Pauline and her family are real people, they actually exist, their relations I believe of Tony

Hollands. And Julia invited me to play the part of Pauline

and it was outlined to me that storyline having the late baby and other things

that were going to happen and I thought

thought yes this sounds good and why do you think it sounded good I don't know

it's pretty depressing I should think well I don't think it was depressing in this start East Enders. I just thought it was a good story and I was happy, you know, to try it out.

But was it also partly that point in your career when you had to make the big decision to sort of stop being the vivacious blonde, the curvaceous brawns?

Oh well, obviously you know you can't go on playing those sort of roles forever.

I thought it would give me the opportunity

to show that I could act and show emotions other than those from A to B. You know I could

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