Pearl's best of friends with the other woman

Oct 25 2001 By Neil Atkinson, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

IT was a scene that could have come straight from the pen of Summer Wine writer Roy Clarke.

Pearl, the bossy wife of downtrodden Howard, sharing a cup of tea with Marina- the blonde, brassy subject of Howard's lustful attentions.

And as the pair laughed and chatted together in a cafe in Yorkshire, a member of the public came up and berated Pearl for her attitude towards Marina.

"She was furious," said actress Juliette Kaplan. "She could not understand how I could have a coffee with such a woman as Marina.

"It was terrific. Jean Ferguson, who plays Marina, and I have been friends for years and it just showed how much of an impression Summer Wine can make on people".

Juliette, like all of her fellow actors in the show, is delighted with its enormous, enduring success, and the fact that it celebrates 30 years next year.

She first played Pearl in a stage version of the show in the 1980s and knew it was for her. "The character was called Pearl, which was my mother's name, and the show was in my home town of Bournemouth. The omens were all there.

"They asked me to do one scene in the TV series, in an episode called Catching Digby's Donkey, and I was so excited when they asked me to continue. Now I hope I have grown into the part.

"I would vehemently deny I am anything like Pearl but my kids say it is typecasting. My star sign says I'm bossy and I must admit I find that part of the character very easy!

"The strength of the character, though, comes from Roy Clarke's writing. I have to play it straight as do all the other actors. The humour comes in Roy's words and scripts; he has his own style and if you change just one word, it does not work.

"It is also important not to try and play it for laughs. Robert and I play Pearl and Howard as a real-life married couple and leave it to the audience to pick up on the humour."

Juliette, a mother of three and grandmother of two, admits that when Bill Owen, who played Compo, died she thought the series would reach a natural end.

"I was amazed to find out we were carrying on but now our ratings are as high as ever. While the audiences are with us, we will carry on and only when the figures dip will it be time to call it a day.

"I think characters like Pearl, Howard, Cleggy and Truly are the backbone, the foundations, of the series' success. But the scripts mean there is always that element of surprise.

"That's why we can have superb guest stars like Norman Wisdom, Warren Mitchell and Hywel Bennett joining us. It is something different to appeal to a different audience".