April 22, 2008: New News From Sue. Wedding bells in Sue's family: she reports that her nephew will be married on May 5th, and her daughter Louise (as reported below) on July 19th. Sue's obtained a suitable outfit and a "large posh hat" to wear at the weddings.

Sue also tells me that she and her husband are planning a driving trip through southwest France for next month ("I love the French lingo, and will enjoy trying my best to be understood," she says) and are thinking of going somewhere "hot and sunny," perhaps a cruise, later this year.

August 26, 2007: Even More of Sue's Travels. Sue reports that she's recently traveled to southern Spain, of which she says: "...an uplifting experience, makes me feel young, vibrant and rearing to go, lively atmosphere & carefree, laid-back feel."

In addition, Sue's just now returned from a trip to Germany's Black Forest region. "Took a 10-kilometer hike up a mountain, - glowing with perspiration, adrenalin flowing. Views were spectacular. ... I really love Germany, and the people, in fact everything about it, and I even lost a little weight, through all the exercise - I'll have to continue walking up mountains!"

See the new page, Sue's Travels, for more of her wanderings in recent years and her comments on places she's visited.

August 26, 2007: Two New Benny Hill Megasets. The Benny Hill Show: The Complete Collection is now available for immediate delivery from Amazon.com. This comprises all six of the previous three-DVD sets released by A&E, all sold together but in the original packaging.

Also available for pre-ordering is Benny Hill Complete and Unadulterated: The Complete Collection with a street date of October 30th. This also comprises all eighteen A&E DVDs, but all packaged together in one large box. As far as I know, both sets include all the features of the original disc sets, but with no new material - the only difference between them being the packaging and the price.

For more information and to order, see the Merchandise Page.

May 24, 2007: Lunch With An Angel #4. Today Sue and I had another lovely long lunch, this time at the Delhi Brasserie in Soho. We chatted for several hours, and I had the honor and pleasure of presenting her with a DVD copy of her film Fall Out For A Smoke, which I'd recently successfully traced to the collection of the Imperial War Museum in London. Sue presented me, in turn, with a coffee mug and a selection of photos from her personal collection. I've given these their own page, under the heading "The Sue Upton Collection."

Spring 2007: Sue's Further Travels. Sue reports that she's recently visited Stuttgart, Germany, and Strasbourg, France. She was particularly fond of Strasbourg, calling it "a fairy-tale city."

April 5, 2007: BBC America To Drop Benny! Yesterday the Telegraph reported in this article that The Benny Hill Show, along with other British TV classics including The Saint, The Avengers, and Are You Being Served? will be dropped from BBC America's programming schedule, effective later this year. The flimsy excuse given is that these classics of British TV are "dated" and "no longer reflect contemporary Britain." Emails of protest can be sent to BBC America here.

March 19, 2007: Sue's Daughter Engaged! In an email to me today, Sue reports that Louise Whatling, her daughter, was engaged in January and plans to be married in July 2008! Sue's given me special permission to report this here, and I wish Louise and her fiancé every happiness.

February 2007: Sue's Cousin Says "G'Day." Sue informs me that her cousin and his partner came all the way from Adelaide, Australia, to spend the entire month of February visiting her. "We went out for many trips, ate and drank too much, I know that when it was time to leave we both felt very sad," reports Sue.

January 30, 2007: Set 6 Now Available For Immediate Delivery - Save 26%. Today is the street date for Benny Hill Complete and Unadulterated: Set 6, 1986-1989, the last in the series of A&E's Benny Hill DVDs. As of the time of writing, this set is currently available at a 26% discount through this site's Merchandise Page, or directly via this link.

December 18, 2006: Sue in The Story of Light Entertainment. Today, I found out that Sue had appeared in another documentary this year: The Story of Light Entertainment: The Comics. Narrated by Stephen Fry, this 90-minute program originally aired on August 12th - and it's due to be repeated early in the morning of December 26th (12:35 AM to 2:05 AM) on BBC-2.

December 6, 2006: Sue's Next Documentary Appearance. A new documentary, Is Benny Hill Still Funny? will air on the UK's Channel 4, on December 28th at 9 PM. Featuring Sue, Nicholas Parsons, Bella Emberg, and others, the show was made with the complete cooperation and assistance of the Benny Hill Estate, and "hopefully will provide a showcase for Benny's comedy for today's audience," according to the producers, Manchester-based Objective North.

October 15, 2006: Set 6 DVDs Now Available for Preorder - Save 25%! Only three weeks after the street date of Set 5, Benny Hill Complete and Unadulterated: Set 6, The Later Years 1986-1989 is now available for preorder via Amazon.com, at a 25% discount. As always, the set is available through the Merchandise Page, or directly via this link. The street date of this set is January 30, 2007.

September 26, 2006: Set 5 DVDs Now Available For Immediate Delivery. The eagerly-awaited Benny Hill Complete And Unadulterated: The Hill's Angels Years, 1982-1985, featuring some of Sue's very best work, is now available for immediate delivery via Amazon.com. This set is currently available at a 20% discount through the Merchandise Page, or directly via this link.

July 28, 2006: Set 5 Now Available For Preorder! Amazon.com has now made Benny Hill Complete And Unadulterated: The Hill's Angels Years, 1982-1985 available for preordering. This set can be ordered at a 25% discount, through the Merchandise Page.

July 4, 2006: More Set 5 News. TV Shows on DVD reports that the Angels' interview featurette on Set 5 will be entitled "Hills' Angels: Off The Record." Click here for their Set 5 page, including the promotional blurb and box cover art.

June 5, 2006: Set 5 Release Date! According to TV Shows on DVD, Set 5 will be released on September 26th. Thanks to them also for the mention of this site!

May 14, 2006: Set 5 DVD News. Devra Prywes of New Video has recently informed me that Set 5 in the Benny Hill: Complete and Unadulterated series will be released at the end of September. The set will include another "I Was A Hill's Angel" featurette, including Sue and the other Angels interviewed for Set 4.

April 24, 2006: Sue's Festival Report. Today, Sue emailed me to say, "The Festival thingy last night was very good with hundreds of people there, a lot from Southampton, [Benny's home town - EL] and much money raised towards Benny's statue. It was nice to speak to some of Benny's fans."

March 20, 2006: Sue's Upcoming Charity Event. According to journalist Garry Bushell, Sue's scheduled to attend "the first Festival of England. The St George's Day gig will be a rock 'n variety night at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex." Scheduled for April 23rd, there are more than a dozen music and comedy acts on the bill. Tickets are £15, and proceeds will go toward financing the creation of a statue of Benny Hill, to stand in his native Southampton. Sue will be signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans. For tickets, phone 01708-864001; for more information, see Garry's website, www.garry-bushell.co.uk.

February 25, 2006: "I Was A Hill's Angel," Revisited. Devra Prywes of New Video informs me that there will be another "I Was A Hill's Angel" featurette included in a future DVD set (presumably the forthcoming Set 5): "When we filmed the interview for Set 4, we recorded extra footage so that we could create a bonus piece for a future set from footage from the same film shoot." So we'll get to hear more recollections from Sue and the other Angels who were interviewed for Set 4.

January 20, 2006: DVD Set 4 Now Available For Preorder. Set Four of Benny Hill Complete And Unadulterated is now available for preorder through Amazon.com. This set is comprised of episodes originally aired from 1978 through 1981 - and therefore includes Sue's debut as a Hill's Angel, and several of the Angels' hottest dance numbers. Sue also appears in the bonus featurette "I Was A Hill's Angel," talking about her experiences on the show. See the Contest Page for details on how to win a free copy of the set!

November 23, 2005: Set 4 DVD Extras Announced. According to TV Shows On DVD, the extras on the forthcoming Set 4 from A&E will include a featurette entitled "I Was A Hill's Angel" and biographies of the Angels. (And as detailed below, it's known that Sue will be included in the featurette.) Also included will be the usual "Benny Hill Cheeky Challenge Trivia Quiz."

October 14, 2005: Sue's Birthday Trip. Two days ago, Sue emailed me with some news. Among other things, Sue reports, "I am going on a trip to lovely Germany around Lake Constance in November for my birthday." She also mentioned her "short but quite interesting" interview for the forthcoming DVD set, which took place at a "most lovely old hotel in Richmond overlooking the Thames."

October 11, 2005: Set 4 Release Date Set! Today, Devra Prywes of New Video emailed me with the news that Set 4 is scheduled for release on January 31, 2006. According to Devra, "quite a few former Angels" besides Sue, may be included in the interview segments.

October 8, 2005: Sue On Upcoming DVDs! I've just now heard, from an impeccable source, that this very day Sue's taping an interview to be included in Set 4 of the A&E DVDs of The Benny Hill Show. No release date is yet slated for this set, but as always, watch this space for more news!

October 7, 2005: 100,000 Hits! Today, SueUpton.net racked up hit #100,000, according to the counter on the homepage. On Sue's behalf, I sincerely thank everyone who's visited so far: I hope you've all enjoyed it, and it's my pleasure and privilege to have Sue's cooperation in bringing you this site.

May 7, 2005: Sue's DVD Debut Slated. According to the website TV Shows on DVD, the third set of A&E's "Benny Hill: Complete and Unadulterated" DVDs is scheduled to be released on July 26th. This set will include the ten shows originally aired between 1975 and 1977, and will therefore include Sue's debut as a member of Benny's troupe, in the January 26, 1977 show. Click here for further information.

February 3, 2005: Lunch With An Angel, Third Course. Today, Sue and I, with mutual friend Ian Freeman, had lunch at Bertorelli's Restaurant on Frith Street in London. Sue reports that all's well with herself and her family, and thanks all of her fans for their continuing interest in herself and the other Angels. She also mentioned her October 2004 cruise (see "Sue's Cruise News," below); said that she was thinking of taking another cruise, and a trip to the USA; and that she'd added a new Bichon Frise puppy to her "assortment of different animals." Photos of our meeting are on the Photo Scans page.

January 25, 2005: "Laughter and Controversy" on DVD. Today, the second set of A&E Video's DVDs of The Benny Hill Show was released. One of the extras in Set #2 was Benny Hill: Laughter and Controversy, the 2002 biography featuring Sue as one of the interviewees. Vidcaps, a video clip, and soundbites from this show may be found here on the Other Vidcaps, Video Clips, and Sue's Soundbites pages, respectively.

November 9, 2004: Happy Birthday, Sue! Many happy returns to Sue, on her birthday today!

October 2004: Sue's Cruise News. Sue informs me that this month, she and her family took a Mediterranean cruise holiday. The voyage was from Malta to Venice, with stops at Sicily; Corfu; and Dubrovnik, Croatia.

September 19, 2004: Sue Shortsighted No More. In a recent email to me, Sue reports, "I had laser eye surgery a few months ago, it is great not to have to wear glasses or lenses, I was very short sighted, I was so nervous at the time and was about to back out the day before, but I stuck with it." Congratulations to her!

September 3, 2004: More DVD News. I've been in touch with Devra Prywes, marketing manager for New Video, distributor of the new A&E DVDs. She assures me that more DVDs are indeed forthcoming - and that they're very interested in having as many of the Angels involved as possible, for interviews, special features, etc. on future discs. If any of the Angels (or anyone who might know any of them) should read this, please contact Ms. Prywes or myself; see the "Calling All Angels!" page for contact details.

August 10, 2004: Benny's Return! FremantleMedia, the global conglomerate which now owns the rights to The Benny Hill Show, has announced that the show will be aired in the USA on cable channel BBC America, beginning in October. As the show's been off the air in the States for about five years, this will expose Sue and the Angels (pun intended) to an entirely new group of fans.

Also: in a separate deal with Fremantle, A&E Home Video now has DVDs of The Benny Hill Show available for purchase. This is of special interest because these DVDs comprise the show in its original fifty-minute format, as Benny intended them to be seen - not the chopped-up half hours familiar to US viewers. The first set, now available, comprises the first eleven Thames episodes, originally aired between 1969 and 1971. Therefore this set is "pre-Angels," but it seems very likely that future sets, including the Angels' years, will be released. Watch this space for more news!

Click here for Fremantle's press release, with information about both the cable airings, and the DVDs.

Late March/Early April 2004: Sue visits friends in Spain.

Early November 2003: "The Hills are Alive..." To celebrate Sue's birthday on November 9th, she and her family take a vacation trip to Salzburg, Austria. Sue reports: "It is a really wonderful place. I went on a day tour of The Sound of Music. It was fantastic, I wanted to run down a hill singing The Hills are Alive, and I bloody well did. My husband and friends said they thought I was mad, I told them, yes you are right."

July 18, 2003: "The Boys and Mrs B" Found! The British Film Institute notified me today that a copy of Sue's 1977 pilot, The Boys and Mrs B, is held in their archives and is available for viewing there.

February 2003: Sue and her family take a holiday trip to Thailand.

December 17, 2002: Sue and SueUpton.net webmaster Erik Larsen meet for the second time. Sue answers questions sent in from her fans all over the world; her answers can be found on the Sue's Q & A page.

October 2, 2002: Benny Hill: Laughter and Controversy, featuring Sue, is broadcast for the second time on American TV, on the A&E cable channel.

August 13, 2002: Sue appears in Who Got Benny's Millions? - a documentary concerning the controversy surrounding the disposition of Benny Hill's multimillion-pound estate. Sue later disavowed her participation in the program, saying, "I was completely unaware of what this program was going to be about. If I had have known, I would never have taken part. ...I'm very sad to have been part of such a horrible program about Benny."

Late May 2002: Sue's interviewed in the Romford Recorder Online, refuting allegations about Benny made by Mark Lewisohn in his book Funny Peculiar: The True Story of Benny Hill.

January 24, 2002: Sue films her appearance in a new, forthcoming documentary about Benny Hill, involving the Heritage Foundation. (Note: Ian Freeman, friend of Sue's and a director of the Heritage Foundation, has since notified me that this project seems to have fallen through.)

Late December 2001: Sue and her family go on a safari holiday in Kenya, Africa, between Christmas and New Year's.

December 14, 2001: The Unforgettable Benny Hill, featuring Sue, is broadcast in the UK.

December 13, 2001: Sue and future SueUpton.net webmaster Erik Larsen meet for the first time. See Lunch With an Angel for the full report.

More Sue-news? Email Erik Larsen.
This page last updated April 27, 2008.