Wigan actress Pam lands role alongside Amanda Holden and Leigh Francis

Pam Shaw, already a veteran of hit shows including Shameless, Scarborough and Eric and Ernie, has filmed scenes for E4’s comic fly-on-the-wall show Holden Girls (Mandy and Myrtle).

It stars actress and media personality Amanda Holden as herself and is supposedly about her nan who comes to live with her and her family because Myrtle is no longer capable of looking after herself.

Myrtle is played by that master of prosthetic comedy Leigh Francis, otherwise known as Keith Lemon and, as the trailer shows, various other celebrities have cameo roles too including presenter Ben Shepherd and Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Pam, who is in her late 70s and lives in Ince, plays Myrtle’s best mate Pat who is invited over to stay and together the elderly ladies wreak havoc.

Pam said: “This has been one of the most enjoyable acting experiences of my life.

“Everyone was so kind, friendly and welcoming on the set.

“I had appeared on the comedy show The Grimleys years ago and when I arrived at the house in London where my scenes were shot, she was on the doorstep ready to welcome me with open arms. We had a real heart to heart.

“Then I met ‘Nan’ in full make-up who also gave me a hug but at first I hadn’t a clue who it was.

“Then from underneath all the make-up this voice said ‘it’s me, Leigh’ and we had worked together years ago too.

“I had a hilarious two days’ filming. It was all ad lib and they recorded a lot of footage so I really don’t know how much has ended up in the final cut.

“One thing is for sure: there were some very funny and chaotic scenes.

“And it was also having a film crew filming a film crew filming us.”

She said the programme is not filmed in Amanda’s own home and while one of her daughters does appear in it, other characters are played by actors.

Pam said she was delighted to have succeeded in getting a part in the episode because since the beginning of the pandemic, work has been thin on the ground.

She added: “They haven’t been holding auditions and so you send in self-tapes and hope for the best.

“I’ve sent some off in the hope of getting something in the next series of Brassic.

“But in the meantime, royalties from the likes of Shameless, Scarborough and Eric and Ernie apart, there hasn’t been a lot of money coming in.

“I’ve not been able to do my singing in care homes either because of the pandemic.

“So this new programme, I hope, will start getting me noticed again and show my potential.”

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