Rita May

Acting

Rita May

Born May 9, 1942 · Sheffield, Yorkshire, England (age 84)

Rita May is an English film and television actress, singer, and writer, best known for playing Mrs Kemp in Threads, Jean in Early Doors and Margaret in Trollied. She's also the only original cast remember who appeared in all episodes of the children's ITV drama series "Children's Ward" from 1989 to 2000.

Known For

ThreadsThreads · 1984
Threads
7.61984
MovieWarDrama
Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run effects of nuclear war on civilization.
In the LoopIn the Loop · 2009
In the Loop
7.02009
MovieComedy
The US President and the UK Prime Minister are planning on launching a war in the Middle East, but—behind the scenes—government officials and advisers are either promoting the war or are trying to prevent it.
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 · 2009
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974
6.62009
MovieThrillerMystery
Yorkshire, 1974. Fear, mistrust and institutionalised police corruption are running riot. Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to search for the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions. When young Clare Kemplay goes missing, Eddie and his colleague, Barry, persuade their editor to let them investigate links with two similar abductions that draw them into a deadly world of secrecy, intimidation, shocking revelations and police brutality.
Everybody's Talking About JamieEverybody's Talking About Jamie · 2021
Everybody's Talking About Jamie
6.22021
MovieDramaComedy
Jamie New is 16 and doesn’t quite fit in—instead of pursuing a "real" career he dreams of becoming a drag queen. Uncertain about his future, Jamie knows one thing for sure: he is going to be a sensation. Supported by his loving mom and his amazing friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight.
When Saturday ComesWhen Saturday Comes · 1996
When Saturday Comes
5.81996
MovieDrama
Jimmy Muir comes from a typical gritty, northern town where there are only two options: working down the pit or in a factory. But Jimmy has other ideas — he dreams of becoming a professional footballer. Confronted by a bitter and unsupportive father, hard-drinking friends and a lifetime of bad habits...has Jimmy the will to achieve his ultimate goal?
Fanny & ElvisFanny & Elvis · 1999
Fanny & Elvis
6.41999
MovieRomanceComedy
Yorkshire writer Kate finds out her biological clock is ticking down the same day that her husband leaves her. To get over the financial crisis this creates she takes in car-dealer Dave. He's homeless as Kate's husband has moved in with his wife. This leaves the problem of how to get promptly pregnant. Surely not with increasingly interesting Dave. They can't even agree on a baby's name - he thinks Fanny is silly and she finds Elvis, well, inconceivable.
Walk Like a PantherWalk Like a Panther · 2018
Walk Like a Panther
6.22018
MovieComedy
A group of 1980s wrestlers are forced to don the lycra once last time when their beloved local pub is threatened with closure.
Sharpe's JusticeSharpe's Justice · 1997
Sharpe's Justice
7.11997
MovieWarAction
England, Summer 1814. Sharpe returns to England, with his reputation fully restored. He is soon ordered to the North of England to take command of a local militia force in his home town as it is troubled with unrest and machine-breakers. Sharpe finds that he is torn between two sides - that of the corrupt gentry and that of his own people, the rough, tough and spirited masses who are kept down by their superiors. He finds himself faced with one of the hardest decisions of his life.

Filmography

Sort
Children's WardChildren's Ward · 1989
Children's Ward
5.31989
SeriesDramaKids
Children's Ward is a British children's television drama series produced by Granada Television and broadcast on the ITV network as part of its Children's ITV strand on weekday afternoons. The programme was set – as the title suggests – in Ward B1, the children's ward of the fictitious South Park Hospital, and told the stories of the young patients and the staff present there. Aimed at older children and teenagers, Children's Ward was a long-lived series for a children's drama, starting life in 1988 as a contribution to the Dramarama anthology strand, "Blackbird Singing In The Dead of Night", then first broadcast as a series 1989 and running from then until 2000. The series was conceived by Granada staff writers Paul Abbott and Kay Mellor, both of whom went on to enjoy successful careers as award-winning writers of adult television drama. At the time, they were both working on the soap opera Coronation Street, and had recently collaborated on a script for Dramarama. Abbott, who had been through a troubled childhood himself, had initially wanted to set the series in a children's care home rather than a hospital, but this was vetoed by Granada executives. During the course of its run, however, Children's Ward won many plaudits for covering difficult issues such as cancer, alcoholism, drug addiction and child abuse in a sensitive manner. The programme won many awards, including in 1996 a BAFTA Children's Award for Best Drama, won by an episode in which a serial killer lures children to him via the internet and is – highly unusually for children's television – not eventually caught.

Mags