My, What I Call, Book

The daughter of the Royal Hotel owner/manager Eric and his wife Marion, Patricia Hodge grew up amidst the hustle and bustle of a family-run hotel in Grimsby in the 1950s. Her first dream was to become a ballet dancer but then, cast in a school play at 15 and thrilled by seeing Where The Rainbow Ends on the London stage, she decided she wanted to be an actress instead. After boarding school, Patricia worked in a fish finger factory and later in a shoe shop in London's Bond Street. She qualified as a primary school teacher but the stage still beckoned and at the age of 22, Patricia was accepted to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where upon graduation she was awarded the Eveline Evans Award for Best Actress. Patricia forged a successful career on both stage and screen and some of her more illustrious roles include the Oscar-nominated film Betrayal, seven series of hit TV show Rumpole of the Bailey, the BAFTA-winning Lives and Loves of a She-Devil, and countless celebrated theatre productions including the National's His Dark Materials and Calendar Girls.
She's worked with our biggest knighted theatre directors - Peter Hall, Nicholas Hytner and Trevor Nunn - has been nominated for a BAFTA and won the Laurence Olivier Theatre award. However, it was her role as Miranda Hart's pushy and downright embarrassing mother, Penny, in the eponymous BBC sitcom Miranda that saw her elevation to national treasure status. Patricia has lived a truly fascinating life both on and off the screen. Now she tells her story for the first time, with warmth, humour, and of course - such fun.