Four years ago. an unknown blonde appeared on Arthur Askey's television show. Today she is the star booked as the "fabulous and glamorous" Sabrina. She is also very feminine, only her stature denies her doll-like appearance - golden hair, china-blue eyes and a peaches and cream complexion.
Currently appearing at Sydney's Tivoli, in the "Pleasures of Paris" in exotic, lavishly beaded gowns and sparkling tiaras and jewellery, she says of the ethereal world behind the footlights: "I think the public expect somebody who is on the stage to have glamour and allure around them - after all they would not come to see someone who is 'like the girl next door'!"
In no way has her life been just like that of the "girl next door," either. Even before she became Sabrina, even when she was a young girl in Manchester, she was deprived of those things most girls regard as part of growing up. At 11, Sabrina was struck by polio, at 14 she succumbed to osteomyelitis and in addition suffered rheumatic fever and double pneumonia.
Little make-up, pony-tail hair
Sabrina never let these setbacks discourage her. As she says: "I used to get very annoyed when people took pity on me, and I still do." She took up desistraining gning costume jewellery and it was while she was doing this that her photograph was taken for a magazine cover. This led to her appearance on Arthur Askey's show
A Sabrina (above), different from the one seen on the stage, appeared at the Point Piper flat of radio star Jack Davey tor Breakfast With Davcy." She had her hair in a pony-tail, was using very little make up, and was dressed in a shirt with tapered pants. Despite this, she still didn't look like the girl next door! After breakfast, Sabrina thoroughly enjoyed her favourite relaxation swimming and sunning herself at Lady Martin's Beach.
Sabrina will reveal another facet of her personality during a programme discussion with compere Terry Dear and the panel of "Leave It to the Girls." broadcast over 2GB, on Tuesday, March 31.
For a celebrity of standing, Sabrina is somewhat shy and her voice is softly modulated. Her solutions to the listeners' problems are frank, practical, feminine and witty. For instance, when discussing the problem of a man whose wife had improved with age and had many admirers, she answers, "I think that perhaps 'Fed-Up Fred' should also try to improve with the years. After all, nobody goes out for margarine when they can have butter at home."
