Tessa Swift

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Wyatt was born 23 April 1948 in Woking, Surrey, and attended Elmhurst Ballet School. She was encouraged to act by her maternal grandmother and got her first professional job at the age of 12, appearing in a television programme featuring Richard Hearne's Mr. Pastry character. Soon after, she was represented by an agent. From 1977 to 1981, Wyatt played Vicky Nicholls, later Tripp, in the ITV sitcom Robin's Nest. Her on-screen boyfriend Robin Tripp was played by Richard O'Sullivan. Following Robin's Nest, Wyatt appeared in Return of the Saint, Boon, and 2point4 Children. Wyatt was part of the original cast of the Channel Five soap opera Family Affairs, playing Samantha Cockerill. Since 2000 she has also appeared in Casualty and Doctors. She appeared in the fifth series of Peep Show as Jeremy's mother and was Tom's love interest in an episode of The Old Guys opposite Roger Lloyd-Pack and Clive Swift. In 2013, she joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Betty Spragg. She made a second appearance on the BBC series Doctors on 19 May 2015 alongside George Layton.

In Their Own Story

Wyatt claimed during a 2013 interview that while filming England Made Me (1973) opposite Peter Finch and Michael York, as a young actress alone abroad the 'pervy director' Peter Duffell tried to coerce her into unnecessarily stripping naked for a scene. In 1972, Wyatt married radio DJ Tony Blackburn, with whom she had a son, Simon, born in 1973. The couple divorced in 1977. For seven years from 1978, Wyatt was in a relationship with her Robin's Nest co-star Richard O'Sullivan, with whom she had a son, Jamie, who went on to train as a singer, actor, dancer at Urdang Academy. She married property developer Bill Harkness at the Hammersmith register office in 1986, and they have two children, living in Wimbledon.

Reader's Guide

Wyatt's early television appearances include parts in Z-Cars, The Wednesday Play, Tales of Unease ('Suspicious Ignorance', episode), Public Eye (in which she played a character with the surname Blackburn - she would later marry Tony Blackburn in 1972), Callan, Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor at Large, Play for Today, and UFO. Her film appearances include Wedding Night (1970), the cult horror film The Beast in the Cellar (1970), and Spy Story (1976). From 1977 to 1981, she played Vicky Nicholls, later Tripp, in the ITV sitcom Robin's Nest. Following Robin's Nest, Wyatt appeared in Return of the Saint, Boon, and 2point4 Children. She was part of the original cast of the Channel Five soap opera Family Affairs, playing Samantha Cockerill. Since 2000 she has also appeared in Casualty and Doctors. She appeared in the fifth series of Peep Show as Jeremy's mother and was Tom's love interest in an episode of The Old Guys. In 2013, she joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Betty Spragg. She made a second appearance on the BBC series Doctors on 19 May 2015 alongside George Layton.

Did You Know?

• Wyatt was born 23 April 1948 in Woking, Surrey.
• She got her first professional acting job at age 12, appearing in a television programme featuring Richard Hearne's Mr. Pastry character.
• In 1972, she married radio DJ Tony Blackburn; they had a son, Simon, born in 1973, and divorced in 1977.
• For seven years from 1978, Wyatt was in a relationship with her Robin's Nest co-star Richard O'Sullivan, with whom she had a son, Jamie.
• She married property developer Bill Harkness at the Hammersmith register office in 1986.