Linda ReganLinda Mary Drinkwater, is a British actress and author, who has appeared on television, film, radio and on stage. She is best known for her role as Yellowcoat April in the British holiday campsitcomHi-de-Hi!.
Early life
Born in Brixton, Regan is a daughter of bandleader and agent Peter Regan and Phyllis Drinkwater, an Irish nurse; Regan's older sister is the actress and writer Carol Drinkwater. They moved to Rochester, before settling in Bromley when Regan was five. Regan often helped her father while entertaining, such as helping with Punch and Judy and balloon modelling. After leaving school, Regan attended the Worcester Repertory Company.
Career
Regan made her television debut in an episode of the popular ITV sitcom On the Buses in 1970, shortly after, she appeared in the film version of the same name. This was followed by roles in well known programmes such as Doctor at Large, , Special Branch and Dixon of Dock Green. In the mid-1970s, Regan appeared in several sex comedy films including Carry On England, Confessions of a Pop Performer and Adventures of a Private Eye. She also starred in the high profile films The Hiding Place and Quadrophenia and had a main role in the hospital drama General Hospital from 1976 to 1977. Regan appeared in the first episode of popular drama seriesMinder in 1979 starring George Cole and Dennis Waterman and played a Swedish pop star in Bergerac, and followed this with a main role in the holiday camp sitcom Hi-de-Hi! as April, a character she would play from 1984 until the show's end in 1988. After appearances in Birds of a Feather, thriller Framed and hard hitting crime dramaThe Knock, Regan starred in five episodes of The Bill before appearing as Harry's mother in all 4 series of children's drama series Harry and Cosh from 1999 to 2003. She continues her career on both stage and screen, including Holby City, Doctors and Run for Your Wife, as well as appearing in several short films and commercials, and writing award winning crime novels.
Personal life
She is married to the actor Brian Murphy, whom she married in 1995. Regan is dyslexic and was not encouraged at school but wrote stories from a young age. Just before her first book was published, in 2005 Regan was kidnapped in a car at knifepoint and had to jump from the moving vehicle to escape. Soon after, she was diagnosed with cancer, suspectedly caused by her kidnap ordeal, which she eventually beat. A dog lover since childhood, Regan runs her own blog in which she communicates with other dog owners.
