Monica Rose
Monica Angela Rose (11 February 1948 – 2 February 1994) was a British TV quiz show hostess on Double Your Money and The Sky's the Limit, both presented by Hughie Green.
Monica Rose | |
|---|---|
| Born | Monica Angela Rose 11 February 1948 |
| Died | 2 February 1994 (aged 45) Leicester, England, UK |
| Cause of death | Drug overdose |
| Occupation | Game show hostess |
| Years active | 1964–1977 |
| Height | 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Terry Dunnell
( m. 1982; |
Biography and showbusiness career
Rose was born in White City, London in 1948. Her father was a London Underground train driver and mother a cleaner at White City Stadium. In 1964, at the age of just 15, whilst working as a young accounts clerk, she was given tickets for a recording of the Hughie Green quiz show called Double Your Money. The show offered a choice of 42 subjects and offered £1 for the answer to a question given by the host with the chance to double their money from £1 up to a maxmimum of £32. The top prize was £1,000. Rose was plucked from the audience to take part and despite only winning £8 (on her chosen subject of 'Famous Women') she had the personality to persuade Green (he was "impressed by her cockney charm and manner") to invite her back as a guest hostess on the show six weeks later. She stayed for three years until leaving although returned to the show before it was taken off air in July, 1968 as a result of the broadcaster, Associated-Rediffusion, losing their franchise later that month.[2]
She later worked on The Sky's the Limit which was first broadcast on 10 July, 1970 until 5 July, 1974. This was a travel-themed version of the show Double Your Money. The questions were based on geography and the top prize was 21,000 air miles and £600 in spending money.[3]
Personal life
Rose left show business in 1977 and was admitted to hospital three years later suffering from a nervous breakdown. In 1982 she married Terry Dunnell a Baptist lay preacher and officer of a religious group called the Frontier Youth Trust. Dunnell wrote several books on christianity including Mission and Young People at Risk: a Challenge to the Church written in 1985. Monica became a Christian and settled with him in Leicester where she worked as a checkout operator in a supermarket. She paid regular visits to a local young offenders' centre up until 1993.[3] After battling depression, Rose committed suicide by overdosing on antidepressants and tranquillisers in 1994.[4][5]
References
- Monica Rose Obituary www.independent.co.uk Retrieved 27 June 2020
- Monica Rose Obituary www.independent.co.uk Retrieved 27 June 2020
- Hayward, Anthony (11 February 1994). "Obituary: Monica Rose". The Independent. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
- "Celebrity's suicide". The Independent. 17 March 1994. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
- Randall, David (22 June 2008). "Whatever happened to Monica Rose after doubling her money?". The Independent. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
External links
- Monica Rose on IMDb