Gloria Brittain

About Gloria Brittain

Gloria Brittain, a woman whose bright disposition and childlike demeanor were amplified by a noticeable lisp and a voluminous hairstyle, was not destined for critical acclaim as a performer. Her career path led her primarily into nude modeling, a common trajectory for many in the entertainment industry during the 1970s and 1980s, which eventually saw her in minor roles in soft-core films.

Her uncredited debut occurred in The Playbirds (1978), where she portrayed a model meeting a fiery end. The juxtaposition of her dubbed screams and seemingly bewildered expressions created a comical effect against the scene's grim nature. Brittain also utilized the alias Busty Bibi Forbes, a name that surfaced early in connection with The Playbirds, appearing in the novelization of the film. According to the book's photographic section, "Busty Bibi" was presented as an American model lauded by a magazine as "America's new Linda Lovelace" for her role in the film. In reality, Gloria hailed from Middlesex and frequently employed the name and persona of Bibi Forbes in her modeling endeavors.

In 1981, Brittain was cast in her sole leading role in the short film 'The Perils of Mandy.' Throughout the film's forty-minute runtime, she navigated the narrative with a lisp and a smile, appearing at times lost in the proceedings. The story, which chronicles a young woman's rise in London through nude modeling and sex films, often mirrored Brittain's own real-life ambitions in a somewhat cartoonish fashion. Within the film, Gloria experienced the fantasy of being a prominent sex symbol, surrounded by photographers and showered with attention at a premiere. However, her actual career trajectory placed her firmly in the lower ranks of sexploitation actresses.

A more telling depiction of her career was the filmed striptease contest, The Great British Striptease (1980). In this event, she participated in a group striptease, endured unwanted advances from host Bernard Manning, and ultimately did not win the modest £500 prize. Given these circumstances, her singular starring moment in 'The Perils of Mandy' can be seen as a well-deserved, albeit brief, opportunity for a genuinely kind person.