The 2006 Comic Heritage Christmas Party took place at the Marriott Hotel in Regents Park, London on 18^th November. As ever a star studded event, those present including Vicki were Shirley Ann Field, Jean Ferguson, Philip Madoc and Johnny More. Cabaret was provided by Vanity Fair with Harry Landis leading the charity auction.

Vicki was among the guests at a tribute luncheon given by Comic Heritage at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 15^th October 06. Other celebrities in attendance included John Inman, Bella Emberg, Juliette Kaplan, Liz Fraser, John Savident and Harry Fowler. It goes without saying that a large number of cast members past and present from Eastenders were also among the guests including:- Wendy Richard, James Alexandrou, Natalie Cassidy, Andrew Linford, David Spinx and Gerry Cowper. 

As is customary at such events, lunch was followed by a number of tributes, entertainment and a celebrity auction.

Summer Memorabilia Show

Vicki made an appearance at Birmingham’s NEC on Sunday 13^th August 2006 as a guest at the Summer Memorabilia Show. The show which ran on 12^th and 13^th was one of a number of similar conventions staged throughout the year and as expected  attracted thousands of visitors. The event  incorporated memorabilia from several cult TV programmes and films including Dr Who, Star Trek and Star Wars with special guest appearances of some of the stars.

Vicki who starred as Yvette in the hit BBC sitcom Allo Allo joined a number of her colleagues from the programme including Gorden Kaye (Rene), Guy Siner  (Lt Gruber), Richard Gibson (Herr Flick), Sam Kelly (Capt. Hans Geering), Arthur Bostrom (Crabtree), Kim Hartman (Private Helga Geerhart), Sue Hodge (Mimi), Kirsten Cooke (Michelle of the Resistance) and John D. Collins (Flying Officer Fairfax). It was the largest reunion of the Allo Allo cast for a number of years and proved to be quite a weekend for Vicki who flew in from Cork  on Sunday where she had been performing the comedy play Funny Money, in order to join her colleagues. Landing at Gatwick mid morning, she was driven straight up to Birmingham by event organisers where she was given a rousing cheer by the fans who had waited patiently for her arrival. Whisked immediately onto the stage with the rest of the Allo Allo team, she took part in a question and answer session, delighting the crowd with a few well chosen phrases delivered Yvette style, before settling down to sign autographs.

For over twelve years now David Graham of the Heritage Foundation,  has  opened his doors (or rather garden),  for  an annual garden party in aid of charity.  This year’s event took place at Greenacres on Sunday, 9^th July with the proceeds being

donated to Royal Grammar School. As usual, a host of celebrities attended  including  Vicki  and  her  husband, Lynda Baron, Bert Kwuok, Jack Douglas, Nicholas Parsons and Anne Charleston. The guests were treated to a delicious lunch and as ever, some first class entertainment which included some close up magic by Chris Congreave seen here.

Once again, the stars were out in force at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Sunday May 21^st, to mark the anniversary of Sir Norman Wisdom’s 60 years in show business. As ever, many familiar faces joined in the celebratory lunch including Vicki Michelle, Rick Wakeman Neil and Christine Hamilton, Vince Hill, Burt Kwouk, Liz Frazer and John Inman to name but a few.

Vicki was a guest at the recent unveiling of a blue plaque in honour of the legendary actor Sir John Mills last month. The accolade is one of the highest the foundation bestows and took place at Hills House in Denham. The unveiling was performed by Sir Cliff Richard and was followed by a sumptuous lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. A host of famous names and friends were present at the event including:- Robert Lindsay, Robert Powell, John Inman, Esther Rantzen, Stephanie Beacham Sylvia Syms and Lord and Lady Archer.

Vicki joined 250 guests at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 10^th April to take part in a celebration dinner given in recognition of the life and work of entertainer Jess Conrad. The event was affectionately heralded as Jess Conrad a 100 Years in Showbiz.

Comedian Tom O’Conner acted as M.C with speakers including Barry Cryer and Johnny Moore who were joined   by  a   number   of  celebrity friends paying tribute to the entertainer. The occasion culminated in a charity auction led by Harry Fowler, raising in excess of £8000. Those present included:- Garry Bushall, Ron Atkinson, Burt Kwouk, Karl Howman and Eastenders Emma Barton and Laurie Brett. Vicki was accompanied by several close family members.

Christmas officially arrived in Peterborough on Thursday 10^th November when Vicki, along with pantomime co-star Sue Hodge, switched on the festive lights at The Queensgate Shopping Centre. In keeping with tradition, Vicki and Sue performed the task in full costume as Fairy Moan  (Wicked Fairy) and Fairy Nuff (Good Fairy), the characters they are portraying in this year’s pantomime Sleeping Beauty at The Broadway Theatre. The Fairies were also on hand for the opening of Santa’s Grotto.

Vicki was on hand at the Ridgeway Sailing club last week on behalf of the Lay Taverners in support of the  RORO  Sailing Project. The Lady Tav is a new innovative Martin 16 dingy specially designed to accommodate the need of disabled sailors of  all  abilities  including  wheelchair  bound and was originally

launched in October 2004 courtesy of funding by the Lady Taverners. Affectionately known as the Lady T, the dinghy’s main purpose was to provide taster sailing lessons to encourage young disabled people to take up the sport, leading to racing

but the project has proved so successful that all age groups have become involved. The boat which is completely unsinkable even when totally flooded and fitted to accommodate wheelchairs, is also entered into all the Martin 16 Regattas and is usually crewed by one able-bodied and one disabled crew member although on many occasions she has an all disable d crew. With the Olympics coming to London in 2012, it is essential to bring on in particular the younger generation of sailors to continue the great British successes stories of recent years and Lady T will play a major part in the preparation

On Tuesday October 25^th, Vicki attended the launch of Haven Buddies. This is a scheme devised by Barbara Keller, Sibling Co –ordinator for Haven House and is aimed at the needs of the brothers and sisters of terminally ill children. The event took place at Chigwell Health Club and following the cutting of a cake; the children were invited to take part in a variety of activities, such as tennis, swimming, jewellery making and beauty treatments. The plan is to make the club visits a monthly event and to expand the scheme to encompass a broader age range.

Following her recent performances as Maxine in the hit comedy play Stepping Out at Lincoln’s Theatre Royal, Vicki returned to the region on 19^th October to open the new, state of the art recycling centre in Gainsborough. Vicki was on top form as she called for the local community to make full use of the facility. “Recycling needs to be a way of life to us all and I am pleased to lend my support to the recycling campaign in Lincolnshire and throughout the country,” she said. “I am really impressed by the facilities that the site provides; it’s a million miles from the image of the traditional tip and the rag and bone man. The range of materials which can be separated for recycling is remarkable.”

Tuesday 19^th July 2005 saw Vicki in London’s West End at the Cambridge Theatre for the opening of Flying Music’s Dancing In The Streets- Motown’s Greatest Hits. The show is a spectacular celebration of classic music from the heart of Detroit including I Heard It On The Grapevine, Dancing In The Streets, Stop In The Name OF Love and Tears Of A Clown performed by an exciting and energetic young company. Also among the invited guest celebrities were Melanie Stace, Jess Conrad, P.J.Proby and Peter Straker. “It is quite simply a fantastic night out”, says Vicki. “We were literally dancing in the aisles. There was something for everyone and I thoroughly recommend it”.

Sleek, streamlined and breathtakingly fast, greyhounds provide a great deal of excitement during their racing careers but what happens  to them  when they retire? In some cases the animals

need to be re-homed and that is where Romford Greyhound Owners Association comes in. On Sat 25^th June, Vicki was invited to attend a special meeting at Romford Stadium where she was asked to hand over the retiring  Go  Lannahn  Go  to  his

new owners on behalf of the charity. Originally founded some 35 years ago, this was the 1000^th greyhound RGOA has found a new home for since moving to its present kennels in 1999. “It was quite a night,” says Vicki “The charity do a wonderful job raising money and awareness as well as finding happy homes for the dogs.” During the evening Vicki also presented a number of trophies for sponsored races. “There was a lot of walking involved,” she laughs. “There were quite a few races.” Chairman of the RGOA Doug Hayes said, “It was a terrific night and Vicki was superb, chatting to everyone and really entering into the spirit of the occasion.” The evening also helped to raise further funds for the charity.

Over the years, Vicki has enjoyed a long association with Comic Heritage, which is part of the Heritage Foundation. The Foundation’s   aim  is   to  combine  paying  tribute  to  Britain’s

wealth of talent while raising money for worthy causes through their charity, the Arts and Entertainment Charitable Trust. The fund raising events include staging concerts, tribute   evenings,   luncheons   and

erecting permanent memorials in the form of Blue Plaques. The pinnacle of the Trust’s year is in June at the Heritages highly prestigious Annual Awards Luncheon when today’s performers are honoured at a star studded gala ceremony, an event that Vicki attends on a regular basis. Most recently, Vicki attended a lunch at The Grosvenor House Hotel in honour of friend and colleague John Inman. During the event there was also an auction and sale of memorabilia with profits being donated to Childline.

In recent years Vicki has become an active member of the Lady Taverners, a fundraising branch of Lords Taverners, crickets official charity. Lady Taverners owes its formation to Baroness  Thatcher  who  posed a problem  to the all male club when she

became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister. It was tradition for every Prime Minister to be made an honorary member of Lords Taverners but obviously this was not possible  and  so  Lady   Taverners   was   formed  with   the    Baroness

awarded honorary title Lady Taverner no. 1. A number of female cricketing legends such as Rachel Heyhoe Flint and a host of celebrity and corporate members quickly joined her. The charity organises regular events  nationwide ranging from gala balls, dinners, lunches, quiz nights and wine auctions to celebrity golf days and fun runs. In September 2003, Vicki joined one such event in aid of breast cancer. The London Flora Light Challenge took place in Hyde Park consisting of a 5km run. ‘It was a wonderful day and the weather  was perfect,’ says Vicki. ‘We all completed the run although in my case it was more of a gentle jog really.’ Vicki was joined by an array of familiar faces from the world of television and theatre including pictured actress, comedienne and singer Faith Brown, news presenter Angela Rippon, former women’s England cricket captain Rachel Heyhoe Flint and well known actresses Lynne Miller, Liz Fraser and Sheila Steafel