Stride, Virginia

Born Virginia Thomas in 1936 in Yokohama, Japan, Virginia trained at RADA, where she met her first husband, the actor John Stride; the couple married in 1958.

Her career began in repertory theatre, with roles that included Candida at the Crucible Sheffield, Passion Play at the Belgrade Theatre, and There Was an Old Woman at the Thorndike Theatre, where she played the ‘Girl’ opposite Sybil Thorndike’s Woman.

She went on to forge a substantial presence in the West End, with credits including Irene in Celebration at the Duchess Theatre, and national tours of In Praise of Love, The Constant Wife, Letters Home – A Life of Sylvia Plath, Driving Miss Daisy, Shakespeare in Love, and The Kingfisher.

In 2006, she toured with the Agatha Christie Theatre Company in The Unexpected Guest, and over the course of her stage career she also appeared in the musicals Lionel and Clarissa, A Little Night Music, and Salad Days.

Television credits include:

• Vanity Fair (1956);
• Four for Solitaire (BBC TV, 1958);
• A Kiss for Cinderella (BBC TV, 1959);
• Celebration (BBC TV, 1961);
• BD Girl Katy Hoskins in Z Cars (January 1962 – February 1964 and two other characters, BBC One, 1971 and 1973);
• The Last Man Out (BBC TV, 1962);
• The Avengers (ITV, 1964);
• No Hiding Place (ITV, 1965);
• Public Eye (ITV, 1966);
• On the Margin – comedy series (BBC Two, 1966);
• Liz Champion in Champion House (BBC One, 1967 – 1968);
• The Mind of Mr J. G. Reeder (1969);
• Callan (ITV, 1972);
• Harriet’s Back in Town (ITV, 1973);
• Susan Bartlett in The Expert (BBC Two, 1976);
• Liz Shaw in This Year, Next Year (ITV/Granada TV, 1977);
• Target (BBC One, 1978);
• Virginia Wainwright in Wainwright’s Law (BBC Two, 1980);
• Helen in A Touch of Spice (BBC One, 1989);
• Crimewatch File (1996);
• Narrator on Dear Television (2005);
• Hustle (BBC One, 2011).

Film credits include:

• I Want What I Want (1972).

Virginia holds the singular distinction of being, by default, the very first woman to appear on BBC Two – presenting the launch edition of Play School on 21st April 1964.

She went on to present 45 editions of the programme, with her tenure concluding on 28th May 1965. Of those broadcasts, only six survive in the BBC Archives: her first four editions from April 1964, together with one from February 1965 and one from March 1965.

Notably, in the Z Cars episode Fun and Games, transmitted on 26th February 1964, Virginia made her final appearance in the role of Bert Lynch’s girlfriend.

That same episode featured future Play School presenters Eric Thompson – with whom she shared just one week on screen together in July 1964 – and Ann Morrish.

In 2010, Virginia attended the launch at BAFTA of Here’s a House – A Celebration of Play School (volume one), and four years later, in May 2014, she was present at the 50th anniversary reunion of Play School‘s first edition, held at Riverside Studios.

Radio credits include several Woman’s Hour serials (BBC Radio 4, 1975 and 1978) and Afternoon Theatre (BBC Radio 4, 1978).

Virginia Stride has three daughters – Philippa and Lindsay, from her marriage to actor John Stride – and a third daughter, TV producer Lucy Kenwright, from a subsequent relationship with producer and football chairman Bill Kenwright.

She has four grandchildren.

Correspondence

Play School archivist and author Paul R. Jackson asked Virginia in January 2009, how she got the job on Play School and whether she saw it as just another acting job.

“Yes, after auditioning and getting the part, it was just another very welcome job at an early stage of my career.

“I don’t think it occurred to us how ground-breaking a programme it would be in the context of children’s programmes.”

A clip of Virginia was featured on the Play School Replay (BBC Video, released in October 1988), when she co-presented with Paul Danquah (23rd March 1965).

Virginia recalled: “My grown-up children now find it vastly amusing to see on the BBC video, how I admonished Jemima for not sitting up properly.”

What are your memories of your co-presenters?

“Gordon Rollings was fun and I enjoyed his miming expertise.

“Rick Jones was very pleasant to work with and he played his guitar on the programme.

“Eric, Brian and Terry Holland were all fun – I still see Terry annually at The Stage Golf Society tournament.”

Personal information

Clips of Virginia on The TV Room

Virginia may be featured in video/audio clips on our other websites. Click the links below to display a listing (a 404 error will appear if no clips are found):

Rewind | Clean Feed

Online presence

Acknowledgements