Carol Drinkwater facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carol Drinkwater
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Drinkwater in 2012
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| Born | 22 April 1948 London
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| Nationality | British, Irish |
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| Spouse(s) |
Michel Noll
(m. 1988) |
| Relatives | Linda Regan (sister) |
Carol Drinkwater (born 22 April 1948) is a British actress, writer, and filmmaker. She lives in France. She is well-known for playing Helen Herriot in the TV show All Creatures Great and Small. This role helped her win the Variety Club Television Personality of the Year award in 1985.
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Acting Career Highlights
Carol Drinkwater has had a long and successful career in acting. She was part of the National Theatre Company led by Laurence Olivier. She has appeared in many TV shows and movies.
Early Roles
Some of her early TV roles include Chocky, Bouquet of Barbed Wire, and Golden Pennies. She also appeared in The Sweeney as Roz.
Film Appearances
Carol Drinkwater won an award for Best Screen Actress for her role in the film Father (1990). In this movie, she acted alongside Max von Sydow. She also appeared in Stanley Kubrick's famous film A Clockwork Orange (1971). Other films include Queen Kong (1976), The Shout (1978), and An Awfully Big Adventure (1995). The latter film was directed by Mike Newell and starred Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman.
Playing Helen Herriot
Carol Drinkwater played Helen Herriot, the wife of James Herriot, in the first three seasons of the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. She was in 39 episodes before leaving the show in 1985.
She later shared that she felt she had given all she could to the role. She believed there wasn't much more for her character to do. She said she didn't leave because she was angry. However, the BBC was upset and stopped casting her for a while. Another actress took over the role of Helen. Looking back, she said it was one of the few things she would do differently in her career. She wished she hadn't left the show.
Maggie Thomas, the make-up artist for All Creatures, remembered Carol fondly. She described Carol as a "breath of fresh air" and a "warm, merry, and very natural girl." Maggie recalled Carol's first day on location, where she was friendly and chatted with everyone. She said Carol was always cheerful and seemed unaware of how much people liked her. The crew members admired her throughout her time as the leading lady.
Writing and Filmmaking
Besides acting, Carol Drinkwater is also a successful writer and filmmaker.
Children's Books and Films
While working in Australia, Carol wrote her first popular children's book, The Haunted School. She has written more children's books since then. The Haunted School was made into a TV mini-series and a film. Disney bought the film, and it won a Gold Award at the Chicago International Film Festival for Children's Films. It was through this project that she met her husband, Michel Noll, and moved to Provence, France.
Books for Adults
Carol Drinkwater has written many books for adults. These include popular fiction novels. She is also known for her best-selling memoirs about her experiences living on an olive farm in Provence.
Documentary Films
In 2013, Carol worked on a series of five documentary films. These films were inspired by her two travel books about the Mediterranean, The Olive Route and The Olive Tree. The Olive Route films were finished in February 2013. They have been shown on TV networks around the world.
Recent Novels
In 2015, Penguin Books UK signed a deal with Carol Drinkwater for two big novels. The first, The Forgotten Summer, was published in March 2016. The second, The Lost Girl, came out in June 2017.
In 2018, Penguin signed another deal for two more novels. The House on The Edge of The Cliff was published in May 2019. Her novel An Act of Love was published on April 29, 2021.
Recent TV Series
During the summer of 2021, Carol Drinkwater spent four months filming a six-part documentary series. This series, called Carol Drinkwater’s Secret Provence, was for UK's Channel 5. Filming took place across Provence, from the Italian border to the Camargue in southern France.
Personal Life
Carol Drinkwater's father was Peter Regan, a bandleader and agent. Her mother was Phyllis McCormack, an Irish nurse. Her sister, Linda Regan, is also an actress and author.
Carol was born in London. She later got an Irish passport. She felt safer traveling with an Irish passport in some countries, like those in North Africa.
She is married to French television producer Michel Noll. She has two stepdaughters from Michel's first marriage.
