SUNDAY 20th May 1990
TV VIEWERS WEPT WHEN PORRIDGE'S RICHARD BECKINSALE DIED AT 31
I WANT TO BE A STAR FOR MY DEAD DAD
Now his daughter's scorching onto the screen in London's Burning
LIKE FATHER Richard's boyish charm had set him up for his glittering career on the telly ... until a blood problem then brought on a massive heart attack
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LIKE DAUGHTER Samantha's biggest fear was that, along with her father's looks and great acting skills, she might have also inherited his health troubles
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Fans of the big hit TV series London's Burning may well be blinking in disbelief when they first see Blue Watch's new recruit this summer. Because they'll recognise this fledgling firefighter's impish grin and cheeky dimples. But the stunning young actress Samantha Beckinsale's just thrilled that her gorgeous grin and sparkling eyes are so very famous - even though London's Burning is her first really big break in one of television's most watched dramas.
Sam's proud she's the image of her late, great dad, actor Richard Beckinsale - loveable Porridge and Rising Damp star - whose death 11 years ago at just 31 shocked the nation. All Richard's acting pals, including co-star Ronnie Barker, agree that he was destined for a glittering career. But his life was tragically cut short one day when he suffered that massive heart attack which was to prove fatal.
Now daughter Sam is happy to blaze the Beckinsale trail to stardom again, though she does admit for the first time, she feared for years that she shared more than her father's good looks. She was haunted by the dread of discovering that her blood would also be cursed with the same cholesterol problem that killed her father.
And, sadly, Sam had only been reunited with her dad just a year before he died. Her parents - who were teenage sweethearts - spilt when she was just two and for 10 years Sam was too upset to see her dad face-to-face. "He always kept in touch," she explains, "but when I was 12 we actually saw each other for the first time since I'd been a toddler. He was fantastic. We made lots and lots of plans for the future together and he also promised to take me on holiday to Tunisia."
But then all of her hopes for renewing their relationship ended abruptly with Richard's sudden death at the height of his telly career. "I've always thought a lot about my dad even though I hardly saw him. It was a great loss not knowing him properly. He was a very special person. I'll be 24 this July, which isn't really that far from dad's own age when he died. He was so young."
But would Sam be in danger..? Her mother Margaret was told that her daughter could also suffer from a high cholesterol count in her blood which may clog her arteries and cause a fatal heart attack early in life, just like Dad. Doctors said that they would not know if Sam had a similar problem until she was in her 20s.
Sam had tests at 18. "I was told to cut down on eggs, butter, milk and cheese right away," she remembers. "They told me my cholesterol level was above average and it could be dangerous for me to eat too many things that are high in fat."
Sam was told she could not be properly tested until she was at least 22, when her blood would settle down to its natural balance. "Four years is a long time to live in fear that something may be wrong," she says. Hapily, a year ago Sam did have another blood test and it showed that her cholesterol level was now normal.
Although Sam's mum remarried and she now has three wonderful half-brothers, as soon as she was old enough she decided to change her name bcak to Beckinsale. "I am just so extremely proud of being his daughter," she says.
And, like her famous dad, Sam wanted to act. "I knew that's what I wanted to do ever since I was young," she says. "But it hasn't been so easy convincing the rest of the world. At school they tried to put me off. The teachers said I would never know how I would pay for my next meal. They told me to get a job in a factory and settle down."
 | BECKINSALE BEHIND BARS...
Samantha loves to watch the re-runs
of dad's hit shows - like Porridge with
comic cellmate Ronnie Barker |
But, determined to prove them wrong, Sam left school at 16 and studied at the same Nottingham drama college as her father. At 19 she went on the road with a touring theatre company as an assistant. But apart from a few roles in the theatre and a minor part in TV's Never The Twain, Sam's hopes of a blazing career were going up in smoke. But then the firefighting heroes of London's Burning came to her rescue.
"The day I got the part in London's Burning was the day 'd finally decided to jack it all in and get a proper job," she reveals. "It all happened so quick. My life turned upside down in one day. I was six months behind with the rent, the bank had told me to cut up my card and I thought I was beaten. I had been trying for four years and it was getting ridiculous. It was very depressing but once I made the decision to quit acting I thought I could handle it."
Then Sam was given an interview at London Weekend Televison for the new part of the only woman firefighter with Blue Watch. "The producer of the show had seen me acting in a play and remembered my name and face. Right after the second interview was over I went to the station as I was going home to Nottingham and to Mum for the weekend to have a short break away.
"I called my agent when I got to Nottingham to find out if there'd been any calls and he told me that I'd got the part. I jumped for joy around the station, I just couldnt believe that they wanted me!"
Sam plays a young, fun-loving girl who's devoted to her job in the fire brigade. One of the crew takes a shine to her but she's not saying if we eventually see Blue Watch aflame with passion. And for the moment, Sam herself is happy to be single and is not looking for love. "Right now I'm not actually that interested. I am a lot more concerned with proving to everyone that the Beckinsales are now back. I just want to do my best and hope Dad would be proud of me. many people knew him and tell me what he was like. Everyone says how similar we are, even down to the same mannerisms."
She believes her parents wer much too young for their marriage to last. Richard also remarried to actress Judy Loe and they had a daughter, Kate, who's now 16. "Kate and I don't see each other," sighs Sam. "We grew up seperately but we both share the bond of being proud of our dad. And I hope I can prove I have half of his talent too."
Report by Graham Parker
