Torbay Literary Festival Launches Su Pollard’s memoir

We are a thrilled the announced the exciting news that Su Pollard will be speaking about her new memoir ‘Fully Charged’ on the first day of our festival (10^th August 2026), and this will be her first public appearance at which copies will be on sale. The boom is actually not published until a few days later! Su Pollard celebrates over 50 years in showbusiness in this hilarious and moving memoir, capturing a wealth of stories from her years on screen and stage. We’ve had to keep this news secret – but it’s finally out there. Su has never written about her life before and audience members at Paignton’s Palace Theatre will be the first to hear from her, meet her, and get copies of the book signed. 
 
Born in Nottingham in 1949, Su, now 76, began acting aged six. As a teen, she paid her dues singing in working men’s clubs before a life-changing appearance on Opportunity Knocks, during which she was famously beaten by a singing Jack Russell. Her first major TV show was 1970s’ sitcom Two Up Two Down alongside Paul Nicholas, and she’s barely stopped since. Beloved for her roles in Hi-de-Hi!, You Rang, M’Lord? and Oh, Doctor Beeching!, Su has more than earned the title of national treasure.
 
With her wacky sense of fashion and cheeky innuendo-heavy humour, she is not only a stalwart of British pantomime, but she has continued to work in theatre, TV comedy and some of our biggest reality hits, including Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity MasterChef, BBC’s Pilgrimage, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip and Last Laugh in Vegas.
 
And, let’s not forget, her musical career – which includes leading roles in the West End in “Me and My Girl” and “Godspell”, a number 2 hit single, and a silver disc for her self-titled album! For every role she played, Su has a dozen madcap behind-the-scenes stories which will keep readers giggling all the way to the final page. She shares hilarious tales of her showbiz friendships with the likes of Ruth Madoc, Matthew Kelly, Paul Shane, Gloria Hunniford, Ray Meagher, and David Hasselhoff, and pulls back the curtain about what fame is really like.
 
Until now, Su has been very guarded about her personal life – but has decided it’s finally time to let fans see the real her, and talks about her marriage and her family relationships, the night she danced with Princess Diana, and the time Freddie Mercury asked for her autograph – making this one of the most engaging autobiographies of the year.
 
You can book tickets now, but do so soon, as we expect this event to sell out.