Cheryl "Cherri" Gilham is an English writer, musician, model and comedy actress, probably best known for the films, "Girls Come First," "The Man Who Couldn't Get Enough" and "What's on Next?"
Gilham was born December 31, 1944 in London, England. As a model, she became one of the first Page 3 Girls of the "Daily Sun" newspaper. The photos made her popular with the comedians of the 60s and 70s, such Benny Hill, Dick Emery, The Two Ronnies, Frankie Howard, Jimmy Tarbuck, Dave Allen, Mike Yarwood, and Bernie Winters. She was also a hostess on some TV shows including "The Golden Shot" and "The Sky's the Limit" with Hughie Green. Her film roles included sex comedies such as "The Love Box," "Confessions of a Sex Maniac," and "Girls Come First" in 1975.
During the 1970s, Gilham wrote and contributed sketches to Ronnie Barker and Benny on "The Benny Hill Show," where she became a cast member, playing Mae West and the laundry girl in one of Benny's most memorable illusions.
In 1965, Cherri Gilham danced on "Top of The Pops," making her first acting appearance in "On the Braden Beat" with Bernard Braden. She was also featured on "As Time Goes By" in 1992 with Judi Dench. In 1976, she was part of "Madison," a music band formed by music mogul Peter Collins and signed to Magnet Records. Their single, "Let It Ring," reached 54 in the charts.
In 1991, Gilham turned her hand to photography and photojournalism, creating portraits of Clive Anderson, Oliver Reed, Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller, and Peter Stringfellow for various publications. She also photographed the Marquess of Bath for his first inclusion in "Hello Magazine," also writing the interview. She went on to write further articles for The Guardian, The Observer, Daily Mirror, Sunday People and Evening Standard, eventually becoming a regular contributor to The Daily Mail by chronicling her former life as a Page Three Girl, her time as a private detective in the 1960s and 1990s, seeing John Lennon smoke his first joint and her relationships with various comedians.
Cheryl Gilham today
As a writer, Gilham founded "The Fluffy Club" in 1997, a women's movement to help women stop being strident and emasculating men, meant to be an antidote to the Spice Girls, who were proclaiming at the time that girls were better than boys. She was severely lambasted by feminists who thought she was damaging their cause and who objected to her suggestion of using feminine wiles to exploit men. She coined the word "Fluffragette" to represent a supporter of the Fluffy Club, a word which has now entered an English dictionary. She also wrote a regular column called "Cherri's Secret Diary" in which she championed the innocence of Colin Stagg, who had been accused of the murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common in 1992 and stood against Prime Minister Tony Blair in his Sedgefield constituency as a candidate for the Pensioners Party on an anti-war ticket. She also appeared on election night for twenty minutes next to Tony Blair wearing a hat which said "BLIAR" while the world's press were capturing the moment. The picture went round the world and became the Guardian's iconic picture for May 2005.
Gilham has one son, a musician, DJ and music producer known as Lord Fader of The Loose Cannons. She is currently writing her memoirs about some of the men in her life and their importance to her emotional and spiritual growth. She is now making short documentary films.
Episode(s)[]
- Tex Cymbal: Golden Boy
- Film Time at the Natural Film Theatre
- The Dalton Abbott Railway Choir
- Jackie Wright's Holiday
- The Common Market Square Dance
- Woodstick
