Spotlight: Elizabeth Counsell (Mrs Gibson in During Barty's Party)

Elizabeth Counsell was born on 7^th June 1942 in Windsor, Berkshire. She is the daughter of actress Mary Kerridge and stage director / actor John Counsell who ran the Theatre Royal in Windsor. She has a twin sister, Jennifer, who was also an actress for a short period during the 1960s. One of her earliest stage roles was in a production for her father when the twelve year old Counsell appeared alongside her sister as the King and Queen of Gooseland in a version of Mother Goose staged at the Royal Theatre, Windsor during December 1953 and January 1954. After making her screen debut Counsell continued to be actively involved with theatre productions for her parents with credits in productions of Puss in Boots (1964), Little Red Riding Hood (1965) and The Heat of the Moment (1965).

She made her uncredited TV debut in the BBC one-off comedy production On the Brighter Side (15^th June 1961) as a dancer. Una Stubbs and Amanda Barrie are also in the same dance troupe. This was followed by a small role as the character Thora in an episode of the medical drama Call Oxbridge 2000 (11^th November 1962). The following year she made her first steps into cinema with uncredited roles in the Dirk Bogarde starring thriller The Mind Benders (1963), as a young student on a train station platform, and the Bond film From Russia With Love (1963) as a woman in a punt.   

Guest slots in TV quickly followed starting with an episode of the BBC drama anthology First Night. ‘Hunt The Man’ (25^th April 1965) also featured Beasts alumni amongst the cast with roles for Anthony Bate and Richard Bebb both of whom featured in ‘During Barty’s Party’. She possibly bumped into Anthony Bate at rehearsals when they later both appeared in television productions of The Idiot (1966) and Les Miserables (1967). Counsell supplemented her theatre and television work with further small film appearances including the Morecambe and Wise vehicle The Intelligence Men (1965), Carry on Follow That Camel (1967), Hot Millions (1968) and Anne of a Thousand Days (1968). During 1968 she was engaged with an extensive theatre tour of America and Canada with her sister and father appearing in four plays; The Beaux Stratagem, Mrs Warrens Profession, An Ideal Husband and Hay Fever.

During the 1970s Counsell balanced a busy theatre schedule with becoming a familiar face in supporting roles on television, especially within the field of comedy. Prior to Beasts she graced episodes of comedic entertainment such as The Two Ronnies (1972), The Reg Varney Revue (1972), Doctor At Sea (1974) and Bless This House (1976). It was whilst working regularly as the character Helen Woodford in the sitcom The Many Wives of Patrick (1976 – 1978) that she first met the actor, and ‘Murrain’ star, David Simeon. They married in July 1978 and the following year she gave birth to a son. 

In 1978 Counsell appeared as a school teacher, Miss Lilac, in the film Killer’s Moon (1978), cited by some critics as the worst British horror film of the decade before welcoming in a new decade of TV appearances in memorable fashion. As the character Pamela Heslop in the BBC comedy series Partners (1981) she appeared in one episode dressed as Marilyn Monroe singing ‘I Want to Be Loved by You’. Whilst still maintaining a foothold in comedy the decade would see Counsell turn up in more drama based material with guest appearances in episodes of Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), C.A.T.S. Eyes (1986) and Boon (1986). By now she was a dependable comedy character actor so it was no surprise that she had regular roles in the Thames Television’s series Executive Stress (1986 – 1988) and as Veronica Bainbridge, the role she is most commonly associated with, in the BBC sitcom Brush Strokes (1986 – 1991).

Counsell also continued her association with the Royal Theatre in Windsor taking roles in productions of Venus Observed (1980), Babes in the Wood (1984 and 1987), Cinderella (1985 and 1990) and Sleeping Beauty (1993). In 1994 she undertook her final regular television comedy role playing Jackie Spicer in both seasons of Nelson’s Column (1994 – 1995). It would be her last role in the medium for several years whilst she concentrated on theatre work.

She returned to the small screen with two episodes of Lock Stock for Channel 4, a spin-off from the stylised Brit gangster film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Counsell’s main TV employer in the last few years has been the BBC afternoon medical soap Doctors. Between 2001 and 2015 she has appeared in six episodes playing different characters. Short films have also featured in her CV with such productions as QuickStop (2010), Room to Let (2011) and The North London Book of the Dead (2010). She triumphed in the stage play Miss Dietrich Regrets (2015) playing an ageing Marlene Dietrich looking back on her life.

Her role as Storm Cloud Woman in the BBC’s Jonathan Strange and Mrs Norrell (2015) has led to a resurgence in her career of late. After the obligatory episode of Casualty (2015) Counsell has gone on to be cast in episodes of Born to Kill (2017), The Split (2020), Unforgotten (2021), Call the Midwife (2022) and The Outlaws (2022). Of particular note is her role as the dementia sufferer Elisabeth Wiley in the Channel 5 thriller Cold Call (2019). This late blooming has also allowed her to return to cinema roles with crime thriller Bull (2021) and the Bram Stoker inspired horror The Invitation.