TV Gold

I have followed the life and career of the English actress Jan Francis for over 25 years and now run what has become the most active fan site dedicated to her. Tomorrow, 5th August is Jan's birthday, an appropriate occasion as any to reflect on the 38 years she has now been appearing on our screens. She is perhaps most well known for Secret Army (1977), Just Good Friends (1983-86) and Stay Lucky (1989-91) but looking back over her career what has been remarkable is the way she has fulfilled her professional objective of never becoming typecast - of always taking on parts which are new and different to what she's tackled before. In this way she has entertained us superbly, always giving us a poised and professional performance, whatever the part or character she's portrayed. She'll next be seen in the true-story crime drama called U Be Dead on ITV1 on Sunday 5th September 2010 at 9pm. I've had a privileged preview of this, and I found the whole programme spellbinding. Jan was, well, her usual excellent self! I'd be pleased to hear the views of others about this outstanding actress (sorry, I'm unashamedly partial!).