Background
Madoc was born in Norwich where her parents worked in medicine at the time.
Madoc was born in Norwich where her parents worked in medicine at the time.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Artist
Later she trained at RADA in London. After RADA Ruth worked in The Black and White Minstrel Show. Her first husband was the actor Philip Madoc, with whom she appeared in the 1981 television serial The Life and Times of David Lloyd George.
In 1971 Ruth Madoc played Fruma Sarah in the film version of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, and in 1972 she appeared as Mrs Dai Bread Two in the film of Under Milk Wood.
She also appeared regularly in the entertainment programme Poems and Pints on British Broadcasting Corporation Wales. She provided one of the alien voices in the Cadbury"s Smash commercials in the 1970s, and made a brief appearance in the 1977 film, The Prince and the Pauper (aka Crossed Swords).
She is an experienced theatre actress who has appeared in many productions, including the stage version of Under Milk Wood, Steel Magnolias, Agatha Christie thrillers (And Then There Were None), the musical Annie and many pantomime parts. In 2004 she appeared in the reality television programme CariadIaith on S4C, in which celebrities went on an intensive course in the Welsh language.
She has also appeared in the LivingTV reality show I"m Famous and Frightened! Madoc was awarded an honorary degree by Swansea University in July 2006.
She also appeared in "Annie" as Mission Hannigan on tour. In 2007 she appeared as a fictional version of herself in episode 2 of the British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 2 comedy Buy Maine Up television In 2008 she appeared at the Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl playing the Bad Fairy in the pantomime "Sleeping Beauty", with Sonia and Rebecca Trehearn. In 2009 Madoc returned to situation comedy when she appeared in Big Top on BBC1, alongside Amanda Holden, John Thomson and Tony Robinson.
In 2010 Madoc investigated her family history the British Broadcasting Corporation Wales programme Coming Home and learned that she is related to David Lloyd George.
In January 2015 Madoc appeared as the Fairy Godmother in the pantomime Cinderella at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield.
She is best known for her role as Gladys Pugh in the 1980s British Broadcasting Corporation television comedy Hi-de-Hi!, for which she received a British Academy of Film and Television Arts television award nomination for Best Light Entertainment Performance, and as Daffyd Thomas"s mother in the second series of Little Britain. Which she went on to win.
