From Nurse Stella Dawson in Carry On Nurse to Mrs Dangle in Carry On Emmanuelle, Joan Sims appeared in 24 Carry On films, and roles such as Belle ("my intimate friends call me Ding Dong") in Carry on Cowboy; Zig-Zag in Carry On, Follow That Camel and Lady Ruff-Diamond in Carry On Up the Khyber have brought her worldwide recognition

In her autobiography, High Spirits, Joan shares affectionate memories of co-stars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw and Barbara Windsor amongst others. She also reveals the darker side of the Carry On phenomenon - the static salaries, the breakneck schedules and the less than comfortable working conditions.

Joan trained at RADA, having been offered a scholarship, before gaining wide experience in rep across the country. From there she moved to the West End, where she appeared in many productions. Her film career dates back to the early 1950s. Joan featured opposite the greats of the silver screen, including Boris Karloff and Laurence Olivier. However, it was her leading comedy roles for which she was most admired. Film credits include The Belles of St Trinian's with Alistair Sim, The Naked Truth with Peter Sellers, Trouble In Store, the last ever Ealing comedy, with Norman Wisdom, and five Doctor films opposite Dirk Bogarde and Leslie Phillips.

With over a hundred TV credits to her name, Joan has appeared alongside the Two Ronnies, Frankie Howerd, Stanley Baxter and Victoria Wood. More recently she featured in the acclaimed BBC TV production of Martin Chuzzlewit.

High Spirits is a nostalgic trip through the very best of British film, TV and theatre from the past forty years, told by one of our most loved actresses.

Thank you to Mike Kennedy for sending this article. It appeared on the Amazon.com (UK). website. The book information: Hardcover - 222 pages ( 1 June, 2000) Partridge; ISBN: 1852252804, £11.89.

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