Unforgotten star Michele Dotrice’s love story with famous husband Edward Woodward

National treasure Michele Dotrice has once again delivered a stellar peformance, appearing Dot Barnes in the sixth seeason of ITV’s beloved detective drama, Unforgotten.

The thespian, who plays Betty in Some Mothers Do’ Ave ‘ Em’s Betty, is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable couples in sitcom history. From 1973 to 1978, Michele, now 76, and Michael Crawford, who played her hapless husband Frank, kept viewers chortling away with their madcap antics.

Away from the cameras, Lancashire-born Michele also had a great love – the Golden Globe Award winning actor, Edward Woodward. When she was 11 and 29 years old, Michele, who made her stage debut at the age of three weeks, first greeted her future husband in 1959.

At the time, Edward was appearing in Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre alongside Michele’s father, the Tony-award winning thespian Roy Dotrice. However, it wasn’t until 1974, when they worked together in a West End play, that the pair fell for each other.

At the time, Edward, known for his tough-guy roles in dramas such as Callan and The Equaliser, was married to actress Venetia Barett, with whom he shared three children who would also go on to make names for themselves in the acting world: Tim Woodward, Peter Woodward, and Sarah Woodward.

Venetia was purchased by Michele by Edward, which at the time piqued the attention of the general public. He and Michele tied the knot in New York City in January 1987, and Emily, their daughter, was present.

When Edward suffered a massive heart attack while filming season three of The Equaliser in Los Angeles later that year, their newlywed bliss came to an end. Another heart attack followed seven years later, and, in 1996, Edward underwent triple bypass surgery.

Recalling this time during a 2020 interview with the Mirror, Michele shared: “We moved back from America to our home in Padstow, ­Cornwall. Although I appeared on television in roles like Bramwell, Midsomer Murders, and Holby City, I was forced to take more care after Edward was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003.

Sadly, Edward developed pneumonia after a fall, and passed away in November 2009 at the age of 79. Michele confided: “Losing my darling boy broke my heart. It’s such a terrible loss”. Explaining how she poured her experiences of grief into her work, specifically her role as gambling addict Mary Costair in ITV’s McDonald &amp, Dodds, Michele revealed: “She is a very sad, bleak character. She is devastated, has lost her husband, and has had her children who have immigrated.

” So her rehab group become her family. There are, in my opinion, many lonely people who lack sense of purpose like her. Particularly since I’ve never experienced therapy myself, it was fascinating. I think acting is my therapy. I do lose some self-assurance, and going forward requires regaining the courage to do it. But when I am in the process, working with fellow actors it is a positive experience.

“It certainly helped after I lost my lovely boy… and so did Michael]Crawford] coming back into my life. He lives in New Zealand and we hadn’t communicated effectively for years. However, Edward passed away, and we both believe he sent me a very touching message.

Even though they never met, she continued, “I still sense my darling boy as a very real presence in my life and Michael feels in touch with him.” He now calls me at least once per week to check in. And when our daughter Emily and I got married, he flew over to read at the wedding.

” He is an enormous support and says thing like, ‘ Edward is very worried about the money you are spending… ‘ and cracks me up. “

Michele and her family make sure to keep Edward’s memory alive, with one of their young grandsons, Woody, named in his honour. Woody is named after Edward, according to Michele, and he acts as though he is present. He calls him Big Pa and when he comes to Padstow, where Edward is buried, he runs to see him.

“At Christmas we had a plaque to Edward put up in the actors church, St Paul’s, in Covent Garden, along with one for my dad, Roy. All the family were together, the Dotrices and the Woodwards]Edward’s children Tim, Peter and Sarah are actors]. And now I can just go to a special place to chat up with both of them.

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Source: Mirror