While a drama student in London at the time of the Festival of Britain in 1951, Paddy (Patricia) Greene worked as a conductor on the No 38 bus, as did her great friend Alan Bates. They would wave from the rear platform when they passed each other in Piccadilly Circus.
Through Bates, she was later introduced to the director Lindsay Anderson, about to make his first film. She was thrilled, then completely stunned to be offered the lead role opposite the then unknown Richard Harris in This Sporting Life (1963).
They started rehearsals, but the distributors worried that they didn’t have a star name attached. So when Rachel Roberts suddenly became available, Paddy was let go and Roberts replaced her.
At the time Paddy was devastated, but years later was philosophical. Roberts died far too early after suffering from depression. And Paddy went on to have a long career doing the job that she absolutely loved, as Jill, the heartbeat of The Archers.
