 |  | |  Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley's first acting job was on the 1969 James bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She had a small part opposite Diana Rigg, then became a star in her own right in The Avengers.
Following a stint on Coronation Street (as Elaine Perkins) Joanna Lumley won a lead role The New Avengers. Sapphire And Steel cemented her reputation as an English rose.
In 1992 she finally had the chance to trash this reputation completely. Her career-rejunivating turn in Absolutely Fabulous as Eurydice Colette Clytemnestra Dido Bathsheba Rabelais Patricia 'Patsy' Cocteau Stone surprised everyone. Drunk, disgusting, and merciless, Patsy remains a classic comedy character of the 1990s.
In a pitch-perfect comic performance, Lumley proved her comic credentials and she is now synonymous with the role. In fact, having escaped type-casting as prim and proper there's now a risk of the exact opposite happening.
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 |  1992 Absolutely Fabulous (TV) | | | 1989 Shirley Valentine (Film) | | | 1979 Sapphire and Steel (TV) | | | 1976 The New Avengers (TV) |
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