By Elliott West
“I’m Welsh to my core and I thank the Lord that I am Welsh. I don’t care if I was born in England, I’m a Welsh woman through and through”.
Ruth Madoc
Introduction
Ruth Maddoc was best known for playing Gladys Pugh in the BBC hit comedy Hi-di-Hi which ran for nine series between 1980 and 1988 on BBC1. A sultry femme who could be stern with the Maplins holiday camp staff but was prone to flirt with the camp entertainment manager. A role that quickly made her a household name and a national treasure. A brilliant comedy set in the 1950s that was written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry, the creators of Dad’s Army. Ruth was a natural who had a fantastic talent for being able to articulate her words through a mesmerising Welsh accent. Her jet-black hair and rock-pool eyes were enchanting and she was so good at making her character seem believable. A Welsh siren who turned many a man’s head and could make any outfit seem like her own.
Background
Ruth Maddoc, the xylophone-wielding yellow coat was born to Welsh parents in Norwich in 1943. Ruth was a distant cousin of the Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George. She would later play a lover of the politician, Lizzie Davies in the 1981 TV series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George. A drama in which her first husband Philip played the former Prime Minister. A famous connection that only found out about in 2010 in the BBC Wales programme Coming Home. The daughter of George Baker and Iris who both worked in healthcare, Margaret Ruth Llewellyn Baker as she was known, was brought up largely by her grandparents Etta Wiliams and her English grandfather in Llansamlet in Swansea as her parents spent a lot of time travelling.
Ruth would go on to train at RADA and in 1971 got the part of Fruma Sarah in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. She would go on to appear in the 1972 film version of the Dylan Thomas novel Under Milk Wood as Mrs Dai Bread and also regularly appeared in the BBC programme Poems and Pints, providing voices for the iconic Cadbury’s Smash adverts in the 1970s and had a small part in the film The Prince and the Pauper.
On stage, Ruth would appear in Under Milk Wood, Steel Magnolias, Annie, the Agatha Christie thriller And Then There Were None, Pickwick and Calendar Girls The Musical and was a regular in pantomimes. A regular on television and radio, she would also appear in the BBC Radio 2 programme Buy Me Up TV and on television on the second series of the comedy Little Britain, Benidorm, Stella, Casualty, Doctors and The Tuckers.
Gladys
Ruth Madoc is best known for playing Gladys Pugh in Hi-de-Hi. A part that took on her stride and played so well. Wearing a yellow coat and adopting a 50s look, Madoc added a touch of sexiness to the part. Her voice was husky and when she flustered her eyelashes, a man was putty in her hands. She ruled the Maplins’ radio and could bring the campers and staff together via the tannoy for the latest camp entertainment. The cold chalets and basic bar were lit up with her presence and the camp entertainment manager was often in her arms having a cheeky canoodle during working hours. This leggy Welsh woman customised her outfit and had sex appeal running through her veins. She mastered the phrase “Hello Campers” and her basic tunes on a xylophone were hysterical.
The Welsh Legend
Ruth was married twice, first to Philip Madoc in 1961 and secondly to John Jackson in 1982. Spending her final years in Torquay, Devon, the BAFTA nominee was due to appear in the pantomime Alladin at the Princess Theatre, Torquay in December 2022 but suffered a fall earlier in the week and had to undergo surgery. Surgery that she sadly didn’t recover from and died on 9 December 2022 at the age of 79.