It's a real Carry On with Valerie Leon at the Maltings (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

It's a real Carry On with Valerie Leon at the Maltings

3:25pm Tuesday 10th March 2009 in

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CATAPULTED to cult status, thanks to appearances in the Carry On, Bond and Hammer Horror franchises, original ‘70s glamour girl Valerie Leon knew she had a story to tell. Little did she know that due to unforeseen circumstances that would not be out of place in one of Pinewood’s comic capers, it would take a decade for her tale to be finally told.

“I tried to get the talk together more than ten years ago,” the well-spoken actress tells me. “I was booked on two cruises and the first cruise ship caught fire. I had a ticket to pick up the second ship in Naples and it started to sink, so I thought I’m just not meant to do this and I gave up the idea.

“Then, recently I decided I would have a last whirl and I’m thrilled to be doing it at the Maltings, which is such a lovely theatre.”

Initially working as a trainee fashion buyer at Harrods, Valerie’s career path took a dramatic U-turn when she spotted an advertisement for chorus girls in a touring musical. Sadly, this would turn out to be the only performance her father would ever see.

“My father was actually very proud and he took out a press cutting service for me. The sadness is that the year I really came into showbiz he actually died, so he only knew me at the very beginning when I was a chorus girl at the Wimbledon Theatre. He didn’t get to see me in the Carry Ons or Bond.”

Blessed with height, good looks and a slim build, Valerie carved a successful niche for herself as sexy eye candy, appearing in six Carry On movies, starting with Carry On Up The Khyber in 1968, two Bond films, the Hammer Horror series and a collection of hit TV shows, including The Avengers and The Saint. But despite her confidence onscreen, the role of glamour puss didn’t come all that naturally.

“I had quite a repressed upbringing and I was very shy and naive,” the star muses. “So what I did more and more was create this glamorous image and that’s probably what got me the work. Because I was tall, I built a bit of a barrier and people thought I was aloof, but it was just shyness.”

Valerie last donned her bikini in 1983 for Never Say Never Again, before taking time off to bring up her two children with husband Michael Mills, the BBC head of comedy and light entertainment, who sadly passed away in 1988.

“When I did Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery, I was a mother of two, and actually, not many women can say they were a Bond Girl at the age I did it,” the actress laughs.

While the revealing swimwear may be safely packed away, Valerie promises her illustrated talk will provide an entertaining, insightful and nostalgic look back over an exciting career. However, there are some industry secrets she plans to keep to herself.

“People always ask me which Bond I preferred, Sean Connery or Roger Moore (who Valerie starred with in The Spy Who Loved Me), but that would be telling.”

Valerie Leon’s Carry On is at Maltings Arts Theatre on Thursday, March 19, 8pm. Details: 01727 844222