Paula Wilcox is an English actress born on December 13, 1949, in Manchester, England. She is 76 years old and best known for playing Chrissy Plummer in the ITV sitcom Man About the House (1973–1976) and Elaine Jones in Coronation Street (2020–2023). She has been married to Nelson “Skip” Riddle, son of bandleader Nelson Riddle, since 1991. Her first husband, actor Derek Seaton, died in 1979. No reliable source confirms that she has children, and no verified net worth figure exists for her. Online estimates are guesses, and this article explains why.

Paula Wilcox at a Glance

---

Who Is Paula Wilcox?

Paula Wilcox is an actress who works in television, film, theater, radio, voiceover, and audiobooks. According to her Wikipedia page, she has been active since 1969. Here are her core facts.

---

Paula Wilcox Age and Early Life

When Was Paula Wilcox Born?

Paula Wilcox was born on December 13, 1949, in Manchester, England. As of October 2026 she is 76, and she turns 77 in December.

Paula Wilcox’s Family and Parents

Her parents were Joseph and Mary Wilcox. Little else about her family is public.

What Did Paula Wilcox Do Before Acting?

She joined the National Youth Theatre at 17 and then moved from Manchester to London, where she lived at the Putney YMCA and started working right away, according to a January 2026 Daily Telegraph interview. Some biography sites say she attended The Hollies FCJ Grammar School in Manchester and trained as a secretary, but we could not confirm this with a major publication. Her route from a youth theater group to a professional stage and TV career is the kind of story we cover more widely in our celebrity early life stories.

---

Paula Wilcox Acting Career

Her career runs from a 1969 soap appearance to a 2026 drama. Here are the key moments before the details.

Paula Wilcox’s Early Acting Career

In 1969 she appeared in The Wednesday Play (“The Apprentices”), Her Majesty’s Pleasure, Z-Cars, Hadleigh, and five episodes of Coronation Street as Janice Langton, the sister of Ray Langton. Writer Jack Rosenthal spotted her in the West End play The Apprentices and asked her to audition for The Lovers. Because his schedule delayed that show by a year, she took a two-episode role in his other sitcom, The Dustbinmen, in the meantime.

Paula Wilcox in The Lovers

In The Lovers (1970–1971) she played Beryl Battersby opposite Richard Beckinsale. The Granada sitcom, largely written by Jack Rosenthal, ran for two series and 13 episodes, and a feature film followed. She has described it as the first sitcom about young people.

Paula Wilcox in Man About the House

Her best-known role is Chrissy Plummer in Thames Television’s Man About the House. She appeared in all 39 episodes across six series (1973–1976). Chrissy shares a flat with Robin (Richard O’Sullivan) and Jo (Sally Thomsett) and spars with Robin throughout. The landlords, George and Mildred Roper, later got their own spin-off. The format also inspired the US sitcom Three’s Company.

Wilcox has said she once found constant questions about the show irritating but now feels philosophical about it. She also said she was never fully comfortable with the fame it brought. In 2023 she appeared in the documentary Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughter.

Paula Wilcox in Miss Jones and Son

In Miss Jones and Son (1977–1978) she played Elizabeth Jones, a single mother. The show ran for two series and 12 episodes. She chose to leave after those two series to branch out, and she has said she is not sure that was the right call.

Paula Wilcox’s Television Career From the 1980s to 2000s

The 1980s were mostly stage work after a hard stretch of personal loss (see the personal life section). On TV she appeared in The Bright Side (1985) and Boon (1988). She also took over from Pauline Collins in a touring version of Shirley Valentine and toured the world with Derek Nimmo’s theater productions, with stops including Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Dubai.

Her TV career picked up again in the 1990s:

• Fiddlers Three (1991): Ros West, opposite Peter Davison.
• Blue Heaven (1992 pilot, 1994 series): Ivy Sandford, Frank Skinner’s mother.
• The Queen’s Nose (1995–2001): Audrey Parker in 24 episodes of the children’s series.
• The Smoking Room (2004–2005): Lillian, across 17 episodes.
• The Green Green Grass (2006) and Rock & Chips (2010–2011): two roles in the Only Fools and Horses universe.

Paula Wilcox in Emmerdale

From 2007 to 2008 she played Hilary Potts, mother of the vicar’s wife Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), in 71 episodes. Soap fans comparing long TV careers can also read about Danniella Westbrook’s net worth.

Paula Wilcox in Mount Pleasant

She played Pauline in the Sky One sitcom Mount Pleasant from 2011 to 2017, appearing in 49 episodes across seven series. It was one of her longest-running later roles.

Paula Wilcox in Boomers

From 2014 to 2016 she starred as Carol in the comedy series Boomers (13 episodes, two series).

Paula Wilcox in Upstart Crow

From 2016 to 2018 she played Mary Shakespeare in Upstart Crow, the Shakespeare sitcom starring David Mitchell and written by Ben Elton. She appeared in all 21 episodes.

Paula Wilcox in Coronation Street

Her Coronation Street story came full circle. She first appeared in 1969 as Janice Langton and returned in 2020, 51 years later, as Elaine Jones. Elaine is the first wife of Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) and the mother of Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine), and she is a former abuse victim. Wilcox played the role for 128 episodes until 2023.

Paula Wilcox’s Recent Work

Her recent credits include:

• Grantchester (2020): Diana, in four episodes.
• Trying (2020–2022): Sandra Ross, in 11 episodes.
• Avoidance (2024): Shirley.
• The Cleaner (2024): Sue.
• The Fortune (2026): Linda Blakefield in the four-part Channel 5 drama that premiered on June 2, 2026.

Where Her Screen Time Went: Episodes by Series

This chart uses the episode counts listed on Wikipedia for eleven of her bigger series. The five smaller series grouped together are The Lovers (13), Fiddlers Three (14), Miss Jones and Son (12), The Smoking Room (17), and Boomers (13), for 69 episodes in total.

Total: 401 episodes across 11 series. Percentages are rounded. Source: Wikipedia filmography.

---

Paula Wilcox Movies and Film Roles

Television is her strongest area, but she has also worked in film. Her small role in the Woody Allen movie Scoop (2006) is her best-known international film credit.

---

Paula Wilcox Theater Career

Stage work has been a steady part of her career, especially in the 1980s. She played Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to the Cotton Dress Girl? (2008) and Miss Havisham in a stage Great Expectations at the Vaudeville Theatre. In What Shadows, a play about Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech, she performed in Birmingham, Edinburgh, and London in 2016–2017.

Other stage credits include Dreams of Violence (Soho Theatre), La Cage aux Folles (Playhouse Theatre), and the touring Shirley Valentine.

---

Paula Wilcox Radio and Voice Work

• Following from the Front (BBC radio play): She played a Liverpudlian private eye. It aired in November 2010 and again in January 2015.
• Blake’s 7: The Syndeton Experiment (BBC Radio 4, 1998): She played Soolin.
• The Large Family (2007–2010): She voiced Linda Large in the English version of the animated series (52 episodes).
• Audiobooks: She narrated Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon.

---

Paula Wilcox Net Worth

What Is Paula Wilcox’s Net Worth?

There is no reliably verified public figure for Paula Wilcox’s net worth. We checked Forbes, Bloomberg, Reuters, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline-style sources and found no reported salary, contract value, asset, or business interest for her. A few websites do publish estimates, but they do not explain how they calculated them, so we do not treat them as fact.

Why Paula Wilcox’s Net Worth Is Hard to Verify

• Acting pay and contract terms are private.
• We found no public record of property, shares, or other assets, and no reported debts.
• Unlike stars who run side companies (see our guide to celebrity business ventures), she has no documented businesses.
• Net worth sites use different methods, so their numbers do not agree.

Online Net Worth Estimates (Unverified)

Figures are in British pounds. The two estimates differ by a factor of five to ten, which shows how unreliable they are. We are not treating either as her actual net worth.

Paula Wilcox’s Sources of Income

We can only describe the kinds of paid work that are publicly documented, not amounts:

• Television: More than 400 episodes across the major series charted above, plus many guest roles.
• Film: Small and supporting roles, including Scoop and Great Expectations.
• Theater: West End, regional, touring, and international productions.
• Radio and voice work: BBC radio plays and the voice of Linda Large in The Large Family.
• Audiobooks: Three Things About Elsie.

---

Paula Wilcox Husband

Who Was Paula Wilcox’s First Husband?

Her first husband was Derek Seaton, an actor and director. They married around 1970, when she was about 20, and he died in 1979 at age 35. Wikipedia lists the cause as a brain hemorrhage, while IMDb says he died after a brain operation. She has said his death came very suddenly.

Who Is Paula Wilcox’s Second Husband?

Her second husband is Nelson “Skip” Riddle. They married in 1991 and are still together. He is the eldest son of composer, bandleader, and arranger Nelson Riddle, who worked with singers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole. Sources describe Skip’s own job differently (Wikipedia says businessman, the Telegraph says composer), so we are not stating an occupation.

How Did Paula Wilcox Meet Skip Riddle?

She told the Daily Telegraph in January 2026 that they met on a beach while she was on vacation alone in Hawaii.

---

Does Paula Wilcox Have Children?

No children are publicly documented by reliable sources. Wikipedia and IMDb list none. One low-quality website claims she has a daughter with Skip Riddle but gives no source, and other sites say the opposite. That does not mean she has no children, only that nothing can be confirmed, so we are not reporting either claim as fact.

---

Paula Wilcox Personal Life

Wilcox keeps her private life low-key, unlike many names in our UK celebrity lifestyle coverage. The public record shows three key facts:

• First marriage: She married Derek Seaton around 1970, at about age 20.
• 1979: She lost her The Lovers co-star Richard Beckinsale, who died of a heart attack at 31. About six months later her husband died at 35.
• Second marriage: She married Skip Riddle in 1991. She has described the 1980s as a strange, shaky period after those losses, when she worked mainly in theater and traveled with touring productions.

---

Paula Wilcox Filmography

This table covers her main television roles.

---

Paula Wilcox Awards and Achievements

We did not find a confirmed major award win in the reliable sources we checked. Some listings credit her with a 1991 Drama-Logue Award for Henceforward… in Los Angeles, but we could not verify that with a major publication, so treat it as unconfirmed. Her record speaks for itself in other ways:

• A TV career that began in 1969 and continues in 2026.
• Lead roles in three hit 1970s sitcoms: The Lovers, Man About the House, and Miss Jones and Son.
• Every one of the 39 episodes of Man About the House.
• A long list of stage credits in London, regional theaters, and Los Angeles.

---

Paula Wilcox’s Most Famous Roles

1. Chrissy Plummer in Man About the House
2. Beryl Battersby in The Lovers
3. Hilary Potts in Emmerdale
4. Pauline in Mount Pleasant
5. Mary Shakespeare in Upstart Crow
6. Elaine Jones in Coronation Street

---

A Star of 1970s Sitcoms

Paula Wilcox became famous in the 1970s through The Lovers and Man About the House, two of ITV’s best-loved sitcoms of the decade. Classic comedies like these are still repeated and streamed, which keeps their casts familiar to new audiences. Comedy from northern England has a long TV history, and fellow Manchester figures such as Karl Pilkington are part of it.

How Veteran Actors Earn

Long-serving actors can earn from new TV roles, theater tours, voice work, and repeat fees for older programs, which are shared under agreements negotiated by the union Equity. A steady stream of work across stage and screen often matters more than a single big role. We do not know the terms of Wilcox’s own contracts. For another British actress, see our profile of Sarah Parish.

---

Interesting Facts About Paula Wilcox

1. She joined the National Youth Theatre at 17 and was working professionally within a few years.
2. She was in her early twenties when Man About the House began in 1973.
3. She first appeared in Coronation Street in 1969 and returned 51 years later as a different character.
4. She appeared in all 39 episodes of Man About the House.
5. She has appeared in both Only Fools and Horses spin-offs: The Green Green Grass and Rock & Chips.
6. She has played Bette Davis, Miss Havisham, and Mary Shakespeare on stage and screen.
7. She met her husband Skip Riddle on a beach in Hawaii.

---

Current Status: Is Paula Wilcox Still Acting?

Yes. Her latest credit is The Fortune, a four-part Channel 5 drama that premiered on June 2, 2026, in which she plays Linda Blakefield. She also appeared in Avoidance and The Cleaner in 2024. At 76, she describes herself as still working and in a good place emotionally.

---

Frequently Asked Questions About Paula Wilcox

How old is Paula Wilcox?

Paula Wilcox was born on December 13, 1949. She is 76 years old in 2026.

What is Paula Wilcox famous for?

She is best known for playing Chrissy Plummer in Man About the House (1973–1976). Recent audiences also know her as Elaine Jones in Coronation Street.

Is Paula Wilcox still acting?

Yes. She appeared in The Fortune on Channel 5 in 2026 and in Avoidance and The Cleaner in 2024.

Who is Paula Wilcox’s husband?

She has been married to Nelson “Skip” Riddle, son of composer and bandleader Nelson Riddle, since 1991.

Who was Paula Wilcox’s first husband?

Her first husband was actor and director Derek Seaton. They married around 1970, and he died in 1979 at age 35.

Does Paula Wilcox have children?

No children are publicly documented by reliable sources.

What role did Paula Wilcox play in Coronation Street?

She played Elaine Jones from 2020 to 2023. She also appeared in 1969 as Janice Langton.

Was Paula Wilcox in The Lovers?

Yes. She played Beryl Battersby in The Lovers (1970–1971), her first leading TV role.

Was Paula Wilcox in The Liver Birds?

Yes. She appeared in three episodes in 1971–1972 as Gloria Titlark.

What is Paula Wilcox’s net worth?

No verified public figure is available. Online estimates exist, but their methods are unclear, so they should not be treated as fact.

---

Final Thoughts on Paula Wilcox

Paula Wilcox has worked for more than 55 years, from a 1969 Coronation Street role to The Fortune in 2026. She is remembered for Man About the House, valued for later roles in Mount Pleasant, Upstart Crow, and Coronation Street, and active on stage and radio too. Her long record puts her alongside other lasting British actresses such as Helen Mirren. No reliable source gives her net worth, so the honest answer is that it is unknown.

Sources: Wikipedia, IMDb, and a Daily Telegraph interview (January 10, 2026). Last updated October 2026.