Julie Kirk today
Julie Kirk (blonde) with Abigail Higgins and Louise English
Julie Kirk is an English actress, dancer and choreographer who starred on "The Benny Hill Show" in 1980 and 1981.
Not much is known about her early life, but she was born around 1960, having joined the show at the age of nineteen through an open audition looking for dancers with "a good sense of humor." Although she knew who Benny was, she later confessed it was years later that she realized she had been a part of something remarkable.
One of the original Hill's Angels, she first appeared as a brunette in her first episode, late appearing as a blonde in her final two episodes, performed in the "Day At The Beach" routine on February 6, 1980 and "Runaway" on January 7, 1981 as well as appeared as a sketch character in a few sketches, such as Charlene's Angels in 1980. After leaving the show in 1982, she starred in the movies, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" among with other former Angels like Claire Smalley and "What's Up Superdoc!" In March 2017, she was one of approximately seventy dancers, who performed at the London Palladium for the celebration of the 100th birthday of Dame Vera Lynn.
Inexplicably, Julie has been erroneously credited several times in several "Benny Hill" sources as "Julie Kerridge." In e-mail correspondence with Erik Larsen, the creator and manager of Sue Upton's website, she has stated, "[...] as to my surname, this has come up many times. I am, and have always professionally been, Julie Kirk." The origin of this misattribution has yet to be explained, but in the case of Lisa Jackman/Lisa Maxwell, it might be another instance of another dancer borrowing from her resume.
On November 23, 2021, Julie appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain. In a fierce debate with actress Debbie Arnold (who had turned down an offer to appear on The Benny Hill Show), she stoutly defended Benny, his show, and the decision by TV channel "That's TV Gold" to put it back on the air during the holiday season after claims that the show would be censored because of perceived sexist views on his humor and material.
Today, she lives in Llangollen, Wales with her husband, actor Dyfed Thomas, and their two children. In May 2020, she started offering virtual dance classes via Zoom from her home.
Episode(s)[]
- Women's Lib Television
- Butch Cafferty and the Fundance Kid
- WonderGran Meets Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hyde
- A Tribute to the Lower Tidmarsh Volunteer Fire Brigade
