An Audience With... Anita Harris She was once one of Britain’s highest paid stars with a glittering career that included hit records, starring roles in the West End and even a cabaret spot in Las Vegas. So why is actress Anita Harris soon to appear at the Sheppey Little Theatre, Sheerness? The star of the sixties, who is now 72 but still wowing audiences in pantomime, has a date at the tiny 150-seat theatre on Thursday 26 February at 7.30pm. She will be interviewed about her life and career by comic and former BBC Radio Kent presenter Paul James. The singing star, who has appeared with comedy veterans Tommy Cooper, Morecambe and Wise and Harry Secombe and alongside Frankie Howerd and Jim Dale in Carry On Nurse and Carry On Follow That Camel, is also in the middle of writing her autobiography. But will she spill the beans about her finances? According to the Mail on Sunday she and her TV director husband Michael Margolis have just had a bankruptcy petition filed against them by the taxman at Kingston upon Thames County Court. Sources say that Harris owed in excess of £14,000, while Margolis had personal liabilities of just over £25,000. The bankruptcy is the latest humiliation for the star, who has been plagued by financial woes. In 1985 she was forced to rebuild her career after the collapse of a Swiss bank cost the couple £1 million as well as their luxury London home. The pair soon re-established a comfortable lifestyle thanks, in part, to Harris’s role as Grizabella in the West End musical Cats, and in 1991 they bought a new home in Barnes, South-West London. But in 2007, according to the Mail on Sunday, the couple were forced to sell the property to settle a string of debts. Two years later they were evicted from a flat after failing to pay seven months’ rent. Lately, Harris has thrown herself back into work and has just finished panto in York. She is now on a nationwide tour and in March will appear in the BBC drama Casualty. Talking to Phil Penfold of the Yorkshire Post last month about her financial woes she said: “You find out who your true friends are when something like that happens. And you also find out who you can trust. “There were some ‘friends’ who went straight to the media and who said things that were totally untrue. They were Judases. I’ll never forget who they were and what they did. I was badly misquoted in the press, as well, and it all hurt, bitterly. I don’t want to discuss it now but it will all be there on publication day of my autobiography. I don’t seek revenge – I’m just going to be completely honest.” She added: “I am writing the book all myself, in longhand. I can manage a couple of pages every evening, after a show. I’m just about able to make my mobile phone work, so the idea of using a laptop or computer is just laughable. “There is no definite title as yet – I’m open to suggestions. Thinking about all the pantomimes I’ve done over the years, usually in principal boy roles, someone the other day suggested ‘Slap your thigh – and keep smiling’. “I thought that was fun. Whatever happens, it’s been a very, very special time. I’ve been blessed. And, believe me, I’m still learning.” • An Audience with Anita Harris, Sheppey Little Theatre, Meyrick Road, Sheerness, ME12 2NX, telephone 01795 665700, Thursday 26 February, 7.30pm. Tickets £15.50 from Sheppy Glass 9am to 5pm (Mon-Fri) and 9am to noon (Sat) or call 01795 580006. See also: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2905046/Sixties-star-Anita-Harris-declared-bankrupt-tens-thousands-pounds-unpaid-tax.html#ixzz3OkDQUuaf
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:37:36 +0000
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