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Then & now Michele Dotrice, actor

“OOH, BETTY, I think I’ve done a whoopsie!” You think your husband is a lost cause? Spare a thought for Betty Spencer, the long…

Sat Jul 14 2012 - 01:00

“OOH, BETTY, I think I’ve done a whoopsie!” You think your husband is a lost cause? Spare a thought for Betty Spencer, the long-suffering spouse of Frank, the hapless, uber-clumsy disaster magnet whose mishaps and misadventures were chronicled in the popular 1970s comedy series Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em.

The series ran from 1973 to 1978, and during that time, Frank Spencer’s catchphrase of “Ooh, Betty!” rang out in homes, playgrounds and workplaces all over Britain and Ireland.

Of course, no one – not even Mike Yarwood – could do a perfect impression of Michael Crawford’s inimitable creation, and no one could quite capture the mix of blind love and exasperation that Michele Dotrice brought to the role of Betty.

Dotrice’s real-life husband was also the star of a top-rated TV series, playing a character the complete opposite of her famously jinxed fictional spouse. Edward Woodward was the star of The Equalizer, a man who got the job done without causing the pipes to burst or the ceiling to collapse.

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In 1974, just a year into Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, she began an affair with Woodward, who was still married.

After Woodward divorced his wife, he and Dotrice married in 1987, and stayed together until Woodward’s death in 2009, aged 79. The couple lived in an old lifeboat house in the Cornwall countryside, and had planned to go onstage together in Love Letters (Jerry Hall and David Soul recently starred in the play in Dublin), but Woodward, who was suffering from various illnesses, including prostate cancer, was too ill to appear. The couple had one daughter, Emily Beth, who is also an actress. No surprise there – she’s part of a great British acting dynasty. Dotrice’s parents were actors Roy Dotrice and Kay Dotrice, and in her early career Michele was part of the Royal Shakespeare Company. When she got the call to audition for Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, she played the part as though it was high drama – which proved to be comedy gold.

Eagle-eyed viewers can still spot Dotrice on their TV screens the odd time. She was Mrs Hubbard on Marple, Mrs Pipkin on The Way We Live Now, and Mrs Sedley in Vanity Fair, but her acting career has taken second place to her role as Mrs Woodward.

After Woodward’s death, Dotrice made her first West End appearance in several years, starring in When We Are Married.

Kevin Courtney