Ilona Rodgers
| Ilona Rodgers | |
|---|---|
| Born |
28 April 1942 Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1962 - present |
Ilona Rodgers (born 28 April 1942) is a British-born actress who has been based in New Zealand since the mid-1980s and later then in Australia.
Career
Rodgers breakthrough roles in British television included an adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit and Carol in The Sensorites, a six-episode adventure from BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. She also made guest appearances in The Saint and The Avengers.
Rodgers first lived in New Zealand from 1973, appearing in soap opera Close to Home and successful goldmining drama Hunter's Gold (retitled Scott Hunter in some territories).
Between 1978 and the mid-1980s she lived in Australia. There she appeared in television programmes The Sullivans, over 200 episodes of Sons and Daughters (as Patricia Hamilton's sister, Margaret Dunne) and the 1985 Australian miniseries Anzacs (as Lady Thea Barrington), as well as nine episodes of Prisoner in 1983 as character Zara Moonbeam, an imprisoned medium who claimed to have clairvoyant powers.
After relocating back to New Zealand, her work included medical soap Shortland Street and presenting duties on a light entertainment and advertorial program called Good Morning.
Rodger's best-known role in New Zealand is probably TV series Gloss. She starred in Gloss for three seasons, from 1987 to 1990, playing bossy magazine editor Maxine Redfern. The series was about a fictional publishing empire run by the Redfern family [1]
Later Rodgers played Australian wife to New Zealand comedy legend Billy T James on the final, sitcom version of "The Billy T James Show" (1990).
Her stage work has included one-woman play Shirley Valentine,[2] By Degrees written by Roger Hall and Three Tall Women by Edward Albee.
TV and filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | ITV Play of the Week | Caroline Campbell | Episode: "Conspiracy of Silence" |
| 1963 | Avengers, TheThe Avengers | Receptionist | Episode: "Six Hands Across a Table" |
| 1964 | Martin Chuzzlewit | Mary Graham | 9 episodes |
| 1964 | Doctor Who | Carol Richmond | 6 episodes |
| 1966 | Adam Adamant Lives! | Susan | Episode: "The Terribly Happy Embalmers" |
| 1967 | Avengers, TheThe Avengers | Samantha Slade | Episode: "The Bird Who Knew Too Much" |
| 1967 | Saint, TheThe Saint | Mary | Episode: "A Double in Diamonds" |
| 1967 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Judy | Episode: "The Wake" |
| 1967 | Theatre 625 | Angiolina Zarri | Episode: "As a Man Grows Older" |
| 1968 | Theatre 625 | Baroness | Episode: "The Pistol Shot" |
| 1968 | Salt and Pepper | Marianne Renaud | |
| 1968 | Snow Treasure | Bente Nielsen | |
| 1968 | Beverly Hillbillies, TheThe Beverly Hillbillies | Sandra MacGregor | Episode: "Coming Through the Rye" |
| 1968 | Sherlock Holmes | Rachel Carey | Episode: "Black Peter" |
| 1969 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Kathrin Soutar | Episode: "The Visitation" |
| 1969 | ITV Playhouse | Judy | Episode: "Murder: When Robin Was a Boy" |
| 1969 | Barrister at Law | Jane Paston | TV movie |
| 1970 | Strange Report | Beth | Episode: "Swindle - The Square Root of All Evil" |
| 1970 | Paul Temple | Nancy | Episode: "Swan Song for Colonel Harp" |
| 1976 | Sullivans, TheThe Sullivans | Kate Meredith | TV series |
| 1977 | Hunter's Gold | Molly Grogan | TV series |
| 1977 | Colour Scheme | Ursula Harme | TV movie |
| 1981 | Outbreak of Love | Miss Marcia Rockingham | TV movie |
| 1982 | Sara Dane | Julia Ryder | TV movie |
| 1982 | 1915 | Mrs. Reilly | TV miniseries |
| 1983 | Prisoner | Zara Moonbeam | 9 episodes |
| 1983 | Silent Reach | TV miniseries | |
| 1983-1984 | Sons and Daughters | Margaret Dunne | 242 episodes |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Helen Anderson | Episode: "Until Death" |
| 1984 | Utu | Emily Williamson | |
| 1985 | Anzacs | Lady Thea Barrington | 5 episodes |
| 1987 | Gloss | Maxine Redfern | TV series |
| 1988 | Far Country, TheThe Far Country | Jane Armitage | TV movie |
| 1989 | Night of the Red Hunter | Jill Piper | TV series |
| 1990-1991 | New Adventures of Black Beauty, TheThe New Adventures of Black Beauty | Hilda Burton | 24 episodes |
| 1992 | Billy T James Show, TheThe Billy T James Show | Thelma | TV series |
| 1992 | Marlin Bay | Charlotte Kincaid | TV series |
| 1995 | Riding High | Mrs. Harrington | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Queen Camilla | Episode: "The Festival of Dionysus" |
| 1997 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Queen Euriana | Episode: "Long Live the King" |
| 1998 | City Life | Beverley Gribble | Episode: "1.19" |
| 2003 | Shortland Street | Ngaire Thompson | TV series |
| 2005 | Shortland Street | Ngaire Thompson | TV series |
| 2006 | Maddigan's Quest | Gabrielle | Episode: "Off the Map" |
| 2009 | I'm Not Harry Jenson. | Margaret | |
| 2011 | Rest for the Wicked | Esther | |
References
- ↑
- ↑ Hewitson, Michele (17 April 1999). "Ilona's out of the cupboard". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
External links
- Ilona Rodgers at the Internet Movie Database
- NZ On Screen Biography http://www.nzonscreen.com/person/ilona-rodgers/biography