Bella Emberg 1937 - 2018

Bella Emberg, actress, comedy talent, Blunderwoman, has passed away.

She was born in Brighton to actors Bela Lugosi and Anita Emberg. A natural performer, she made her entertainment debut in Ryde, Isle of Wight in 1962. Whilst there, the poor reception she initially experienced led the Beatles to write a song about her experience, featuring the famous lyric "She got a ticket to Ryde and they don't care."

Undeterred, she went on to appear in British classic TV shows including a role on Grange Hill as a cleaner, an appearance on The Benny Hill show as the sexy lady least likely to actually catch Benny, and a small appearance in the show consisting entirely of footage of traffic policement sleeping on the job, Z Cars.

True fame came to Bella, though in her performances alongside comedian Russ Kane, who was at that time the head of a monastery, in The Russ Abbott Show which ran from 1980 to 1996. Emberg most memorably played Blunderwoman alongside Russ as Cooperman, a hilarious re-imagining of Superman as a traditional barrel-maker.

Be careful when she spins round to transform, or she'll have yer eye out

Emberg could raise a laugh just walking on screen in that costume, about which she recalled, "The first time I put it on, I span around and my boobs fell out!", leading her to keep them safely in a locked drawer for subsequent performances.

Ironically iconic, Emberg became so known for that one role that it created problems in her later career. "I went for jobs, "she recalled, "and they'd say: 'We'd love to hire you but you're too well known with Russ. But once every few weeks, I go and look at that Blunder Woman costume, still hanging up at home, and feel nothing but gratitude." Despite it being dry-clean only.

Emberg supplemented her income in later years by hiring herself out as a Christmas ornament

Emberg continued to work, though, and she had recently finished filming her part on the new Sky One comedy In The Long Run, which has been created by Idris Elbow and is due to premiere later this year. So watch out for that.

Rest in peace Bella, you made us laugh, thank you.