Andrew Ross: Peggy Mount – Everything I Ever Wanted

Description Born in Southend on Sea in 1915, Peggy Mount rose from humble beginnings to become one of Britain’s best-known and best-loved actresses. After achieving overnight stardom in the smash-hit play Sailor, Beware!, Peggy’s talent and unmistakable voice would secure her a place in entertainment history as the ultimate “battle-axe” on stage and in a succession of television series including The Larkins, George and the Dragon and You’re Only Young Twice. From critically acclaimed performances with the RSC to annual pantomime appearances, Peggy Mount’s career spanned more than fifty years and indomitably she remained a working actress into her eighties. In the first ever biography of Peggy Mount’s life, Andrew Ross charts the story of an intensely private lady who consistently shunned the spotlight and rarely gave interviews. She once famously said “I’m not a bit like my screen image” yet the real-life Peggy was a fascinating and curious mixture of both the formidable and the insecure. From her difficult childhood, troubled family life and fifty-year feud with her only sister to her dramatic rise to fame, Peggy’s life and career are revealed to discover the homely yet complex lady behind the often fearsome on-screen image. Drawing on exclusive first-hand accounts, including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi and the late Pat Coombs, this is the story of a unique and pioneering actress and her exceptional career.