Water baby hostess with the mostest
Simply messing about in boats
JULIE BISHOP, co-host with David Gell in Granada’s Concentration, can certainly claim to be the mostest hostess. This 20-year-old ash blonde — a dancer since she was nine — has been a hostess on and off since January, 1958, in Spot the Tune, Twenty-One and now Concentration.
Between times, she’s fully booked as a model — “It makes a nice change, and I find the work very interesting.”
When she does manage to snatch a breather, she takes to the water — either in it or on it.
“When I was dancing in a summer season show at Coventry, Jon Pertwee, who was one of the stars, taught me to water-ski.”
Julie’s green eyes sparkle as she recalls her days in variety at the London Hippodrome. “I used to dive into a pool on stage. Only one slip in 500 performances…. We had to dip under a bar, and that night I hit my head on it.
“There was real panic for a moment. AH the stage manager could see was my head floating just below the surface, and he yelled, frantically ‘Drop the curtain — she’s drowning.’ But I was only stunned, and my partner pulled me to safety.”
Born with the sound of the sea in her ears — on the island of Sheppey, at the mouth of the Thames — she loves nothing better than “just messing about in boats.” Mostly, it’s been plain sailing. “But one day the engine gave out on us,” she I laughed. “We were drifting helplessly. Then along came a tanker. One of the crew repaired our engine, and the skipper invited us on board for tea. It was a bit of luck they happened to be there.”
Julie’s real name is Jeanette. Julie is a nickname.
