abstract
| - Upton auditioned at Hill's flat in the Kensington area of London in 1976, and was hired shortly after. Hill said of her at the time, "Sue is really funny. Finding pretty girls who are talented and funny is not easy. And not all girl dancers are pretty. Some of them look like me in drag. Sue is pretty and she is funny." She made her Benny Hill Show debut in the episode originally telecast on 26 January 1977. For roughly the first half of her time on The Benny Hill Show, she both danced as a member of the Hill's Angels troupe, and acted in comedy sketches. As her tenure with the show lengthened, she moved away from dancing, in favor of comic acting only. One of Upton's comic character portrayals was the geriatric superheroine "Wondergran". In a later episode, she played Stan Laurel to Benny's Oliver Hardy. Behind the scenes, she became the Angels' unofficial "shop steward" in the show's later years, interceding on their behalf with Hill or with producer Dennis Kirkland when necessary. She also had a hand in the selection of prospective Angels, recommending girls who she thought might be suitable to Hill for auditions. During her long association with Hill, their relationship developed from that of an employee to an employer, to a mutual friendship. They were deeply fond of each other, to the extent that Hill's close-knit performing "'family' thought Sue could have become Mrs Hill under different circumstances." Hill regularly visited Upton's home every year, becoming friendly with her husband and children as well.
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