Sheila Betty Mercier (née Rix; 1 January 1919 – 4 December 2019) was an English actress, of stage and television, best known for playing Annie Sugden in the soap opera Emmerdale for over 20 years, from the programme's first episode in 1972 until 1994, with a guest return in 2009.
Early life and education Mercier was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Herbert Rix (of J.R. Rix & Sons Ltd) and his wife Fanny. She was their third child and second daughter; her younger brother was the actor and campaigner Brian Rix. After education at the French Convent (Hull) and at Hunmanby Hall (both East Riding of Yorkshire), she trained for the stage at the Stratford-upon-Avon College of Drama under Randle Ayrton.
Career Mercier had a long career on stage before her television career. Donald Wolfit had talent spotted her and she toured with Wolfit's own Shakespeare company in 1939. During the Second World War, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) division of the Royal Air Force. She served in RAF Fighter Command, and rose to become an adjutant. After the war, she worked in repertory theatre until 1951, receiving positive reviews from critics. One review said of her performance in The Enchanted Cottage in 1948, "Sheila Rix is outstanding as the witch-like housekeeper." In Noël Coward's Hay Fever at the Tonbridge Repertory Theatre the same year, a review said, "Sheila Rix superbly portrays the ex-actress, extremely emotional mother of the family." About Cocteau's The Eagle with Two Heads, another review said, "The number of repertory companies who have dealt with this striking play has been very small. Notable in the cast was Sheila Rix as the tragic Queen, who held her audience throughout."
From 1951 until 1972, she worked with her brother Brian Rix in the Whitehall farces, both at the Whitehall Theatre itself, on tour to regional theatres, and in televised performances on BBC Television. Critics commented, "Sheila Mercier ..[is] up to the second in tempo and sense of fun;" "In Chase Me, Comrade!, Jacqueline Ellis and Helen Jesson as well as Sheila Mercier, all contribute mightily to the fun with excellent work;" and "Sheila Mercier is refreshingly sane as the commander's wife." She also appeared in the television series Dial RIX (1963) alongside her husband, Peter Mercier.
In 1972, she was cast in the role she is best known for, the matriarch Annie Sugden, one of the principal characters in the new British soap opera Emmerdale Farm (later simply Emmerdale). She appeared as a main cast member until 1994 with rare occasional appearances later including the funeral for on-screen son Joe in June 1995, along with screen husband Amos Brearly. In 1979, Hazel Holt in The Stage wrote: "I never cease to admire the sheer consistency of Sheila Mercier's performance as Annie Sugden in Yorkshire's Emmerdale Farm. ... Every Tuesday and Friday, week in and week out she is never less than convincing." Mercier later reprised her role several times following the character's 1994 retirement.
Personal life and death In 1951, Mercier married actor Peter Mercier. They were married for 42 years until his death in 1993. The couple's son, Nigel Mercier (6 December 1954 – 6 January 2017), also worked in the TV industry, initially with BBC Television News at Television Centre as a videotape editor and then at LWT.
In 1994 Mercier's autobiography, Annie's Song: My Life & Emmerdale, written with Anthony Hayward, was published. In it, she disclosed that she had been raped by an officer early in the Second World War, had become pregnant and given her baby daughter up for adoption. She had been contacted by her daughter thirty years later. The two women became close friends.
She died on 4 December 2019.
Filmography Selected stage performances Year Title Author Theatre Role Company1939A Murder Has Been ArrangedEmlyn WilliamsPalace, HullMrs ArthurCarl Bernard 1940London WallJohn Van DrutenNew Theatre 1947The Man Who Came to DinnerGeorge S. Kaufman and Moss HartRoyal Court, WarringtonPhilip Stainton Players 1948Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?E. Vivian TidmarshTonbridge Repertory TheatreRobert Marshall Company 1948Tons of MoneyWill Evans and Arthur ValentineTonbridge Repertory TheatreLouise AllingtonRobert Marshall Company 1948The Cat and the CanaryJohn WillardTonbridge Repertory TheatreMammy PleasantRobert Marshall Company 1948The Enchanted CottageArthur Wing PineroTonbridge Repertory TheatreHousekeeperRobert Marshall Company 1948Hay FeverNoël CowardTonbridge Repertory TheatreJudith BlissRobert Marshall Company 1948The Eagle with Two HeadsJean CocteauThe QueenIlkley Repertory Company 1949Jupiter LaughsA. J. CroninMargate HippodromeViking Theatre Company 1949Love In IdlenessTerence RattiganMargate HippodromeOlivia BrownViking Theatre Company 1949An Inspector CallsJ. B. PriestleyMargate HippodromeViking Theatre Company 1949The Importance of Being EarnestOscar WildeMargate HippodromeLady BracknellViking Theatre Company 1949Room For TwoGilbert WakefieldMargate HippodromeClare BrodenViking Theatre Company 1949Rookery NookBen TraversMargate HippodromeMrs LeverettViking Theatre Company 1949Sweet AloesJay MalloryMargate HippodromeViking Theatre Company 1950RopePatrick HamiltonBridlington SpaViking Theatre Company 1951Castle in the AirMargate Hippodrome"Boss" TrentViking Theatre Company
Selected Whitehall farces Year Title Author Theatre/TV Role 1951Which Witch?John Trayne and Rosamund BeauchampMiniature Theatre, SidcupWife 1958On Monday NextPhilip KingBBC TVSandra Layton 1958A Cuckoo in the NestBen TraversBBC TV 1961–1962One for the PotRay Cooney and Tony HiltonWhitehall Theatre, BBC TVAmy Hardcastle 1961Basinful of BrinyLeslie SandsBBC TV 1963Love's a LuxuryGuy Paxton and Edward V. HoileBBC TV 1964One Wild OatVernon SylvaineBBC TV 1964–1966Chase Me Comrade!Ray CooneyCoventry Theatre, Whitehall Theatre, Morecambe Winter Gardens; Manchester Opera House; Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool; King's Theatre, Glasgow; King's Theatre, EdinburghMrs Janet Rimmington 1964–1967Bang Bang Beirut / Stand By Your BedouinRay Cooney and Tony HiltonYvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford; Manchester Opera House; Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool; King's Theatre, Glasgow; King's Theatre, Edinburgh; Garrick Theatre, LondonEloise 1967Uproar in the HouseAnthony Marriott and Alistair FootGarrick Theatre, London; Whitehall TheatreAudrey Grey 1968A Public MischiefKenneth HorneBBC TV 1969The Facts of LifeGarrick Theatre, London; BBC TV 1971Will Any Gentleman?Vernon SylvaineCardiff New Theatre, BBC TVMrs. Whittle 1971One Wild OatVernon SylvaineCardiff New Theatre, BBC TVLydia Gilbey
Selected filmography Year Title Role 1972–1996, 2009 Emmerdale Annie Sugden (1597 episodes) 1972 Six With Rix Various roles 1960–1970 Brian Rix Presents Various roles in Whitehall farces, as above
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