BROWN, Faith [Irene Monica CARROLL  [b. 1944]

Starting out in showbusiness as a singer in a group with her brothers Faith Brown gained national fame as an impressionist in TV shows, notably a frighteningly accurate depiction of Margaret Thatcher.

She was born Irene Monica Carroll on 28th May 1944, the daughter of John Henry, a metal machinist, and his wife Aurita who lived at 12 Olney Street L4. She was the middle child of five, all her siblings being brothers. She attended St Francis De Sales school in Walton and after leaving worked in Lewis’ store doing demonstrations for oven cleaner. Joining brothers Lee, Ron and Mike in a group called the Carrolls, they enjoyed a fair degree of success. A single, Surrender Your Love, (listen on YouTube] sold reasonably well and they made a number of TV appearances.

The turning point of her career supposedly came when, appearing in a club in Preston, her skirt split and to hide her embarrassment she slipped into an impersonation of Hylda Baker. An agent in the audience was so impressed that he signed her up and thus began a career of many decades.

She appeared in many top TV shows, including Celebrity Squares, Give Us A Clue, Blankety Blank, and punchlines. In 1980 she won a TV Times award as the ‘Funniest Woman on TV’. Her talents stretched across many fields and she played ‘straight’ roles in Brookside, as Anne Bradley, and an alien in the Dr Who story Attack of the Cybermen. On stage she played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard.

She married musician Len Wady in 1963 and they have one daughter, Danielle (b.1978).


12 Olney Street L4

The Carroll home in Walton.

One of songs released by The Carrolls

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

The Wikipedia entry gives a limited outline of her career. IMDB lists her acting appearances. She appeared on This Is Your Life in 1982 and there is a clip available on YouTube. YouTube also has many clips of her performances.