Meg Johnson, who has died aged 86 after suffering from dementia, was a showbusiness all-rounder who went from singing and dancing in provincial pantomimes and performing with amateur operatic societies to appearing in West End musicals. However, it was the role of Pearl Ladderbanks in the ITV soap Emmerdale that brought her stardom.
Perhaps with the benefit of having belted out showstoppers, Johnson gave Pearl a loud, bawdy persona – complete with a colourful, flowery dress sense – when she made her debut in the Yorkshire serial in 2003. The effect Pearl had on the widowed Len Reynolds (Peter Martin) led the prudish, churchgoing Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox) to brand her a “trollop”, starting what became a long-running sparring partnership on screen. “Edna is shocked at her brashness and how she flirts with the men,” said Johnson.
