Fiona Richmond

Former glamour model and actress

Richmond was born Julia Rosamund Harrison in Hilborough, Norfolk, the daughter of the Reverend John Harrison. At school she qualified for university but chose to audition for drama schools with the aim of becoming an actress. She initially worked as an air stewardess, then as a nanny for the actress Diane Cilento,

Richmond met the British strip club owner and publisher Paul Raymond in 1970 when she auditioned for a part in the nude farce Pyjama Tops at the Whitehall Theatre in London. She was awarded the part brought her some fame. In 1974 she appeared as a regular sex adviser on the London Broadcasting Company, a British talk radio and phone in station. In the same year she made the TV documentary What the Actress said to the Bishop which won a gold award at the Atlanta International Film Festival. She made her film debut (billed under the name Amber Harrison) in Not Tonight, Darling (1971), which led to larger roles in X rated movies such as the psychological thriller Exposé (1976). Others included Hardcore (1977) – also titled Frankly Fiona – a sex comedy in which she played herself, partially based on an autobiography she had written, and Let's Get Laid (1977), a mistaken identity comedy that had no connection to the stage show of the same name. She also appeared in Raymond's Electric Blue video series, hosting the first of them in 1979. Her later roles included the Queen of France in the Mel Brooks comedy History of the World, Part I (1981), an appearance in an episode of the TV comedy series The Comic Strip Presents in 1983, and the role of Fiona the KGB agent in the all star black comedy Eat The Rich (1987). She also recorded the spoken word album Frankly Fiona in 1973, in collaboration with Anthony Newley, adding erotic talk to Newley's songs. Richmond appeared in many of Paul Raymond's stage shows. the West End's first nude production, which ran at the Whitehall Theatre for five years from 1969. The play, set around a transparent sided swimming pool into which nude actresses periodically plunged, was an English version of the French farce Moumou. Richmond also starred in the play's 1972 tour. In 1974 she appeared on stage at the Windmill Theatre with John Inman in Let's Get Laid, In 1979 she went on tour as the star of Yes, We Have No Pyjamas, another of Raymond's nude productions. She starred in the 1980 81 Paul Raymond production of Wot! No Pyjamas! at the Whitehall Theatre and its subsequent tour. Semi naked photos of Richmond appeared on posters outside the Whitehall Theatre, and the Greater London Council took legal action against them. In 1982 she starred in the nude stage farce Space in My Pyjamas  which toured the provinces for over 15 weeks. In a TV interview promoting the tour she expressed her intention to give up nude shows in favour of more serious acting. Richmond has published many fictional and autobiographical books based on her sexual experiences, including Fiona (1976), Story of I (1978), On the Road by Fiona (1979), Galactic Girl (1980), Remember Paris (1980), The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful (1980), From Here to Virginity (1981), In Depth (1982) and Tell Tale Tits (1987). Her last showbusiness appearances were in the 1990s, including guest spots on James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991), The Truth About Women (1992), and as an uncredited extra in The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (1997).

By the time Paul Raymond met Fiona Richmond he was already separated from his wife Jean. Richmond became his girlfriend He gave Richmond a yellow Jaguar E Type sports car with the personalised number plate FU2, and she became recognised driving it around the West End. Despite his wealth she continued to work, as she valued her independence. Richmond had met Montgomery when she appeared on a TV show he was producing to promote a book she had written. The pair were married in 1983 and had one daughter, Tara, She went on to spend time in both countries and raise funds for the charity Gift Grenada. She talked positively about the magazine modelling work she did in the 1970s, saying:

<blockquote>"I didn’t have any problems taking my top off. There is nothing wrong with the naked female form and my photo shoots for Men Only were always pretty. Nowadays they are more suitable for trainee gynaecologists." and that most of the script changes she had suggested to make the film more accurate had not been taken up.