Veteran TV stars Penelope Keith, Sean Phillips and James Bollum are embroiled in a bitter dispute over allegations of bullying and harassment at a crisis actors charity.
Actors’ Charitable Fund, of which prince charles The Royal Patron is now being investigated by the Charity Commission.
Trustees including Dame Cyan, I of Claudius fame, and potential Lads actor Mr Bollum were reportedly kicked out of the charity because they were ‘bullying’ Secretary General Jonathan Ellicott.
At a board meeting in February, 88-year-old Dame Sian and 86-year-old Mr Bollum, the head of the charity, along with The Good Life star Dame Penelope, 82, were told their trusteeship had been terminated, leaving observers behind for a ‘coup’. as described.
The actors then issued a ‘formal complaint and complaint’ about Mr Ellicott, warning that ‘governance is an important concern’ and ‘the council is useless’.
Penelope Keith (pictured), 82, is one of several actors who have been accused of bullying a secretary of The Actors Benevolent Fund.
James Bollum, 86, ended his trusteeship in a ‘coup’ this year after he and two actresses were kicked out of an actors charity.
Founded in 1882, the fund has assets of £30 million and spends over £1 million a year helping actors or stage managers deal with hardship. A year-long dispute has stirred rancor through the organization, with Mr Ellicott accusing the trustees of intimidating them by requesting detailed financial information.
Dame Penelope, who has been president since 1990, and her fellow trustees argued it was their legal duty to interrogate Mr Ellicott. His position was described as unstable but the motion to remove him was unsupported.
The row prompted a lawyer trustee to resign in protest, claiming that Mr Ellicott’s conduct ‘has led me to conclude that he is not a fit person for the day-to-day responsibility of administering the Fund’. . ,
But Mr Ellicott received the support of youth council members, one of whom complained to Dame Penelope that a trustee had insulted the secretary general by questioning him on signing checks and using company credit cards.
Dame Sean Phillips, 88, president of The Actors Benevolent Fund, has been charged with ‘harassing, intimidating’.
Mr Ellicott has filed his complaint accusing Dame Penelope of ‘harassing, intimidating and undermining me’ after suggesting an independent mediator be brought in.
Mr Ellicott’s claims are said to have been dismissed by an outside consultant and an expert lawyer. He is said to have said then that he would be willing to step down for a £100,000 settlement.
Records at the end of the fiscal year show that Mr Ellicott left his role, but the terms of his departure were not specified.
Dame Sian said she was ‘waiting for the conclusion of the Charity Commission’s investigation’, adding that Private Eye, the satirical magazine that first reported the feud, explained it very well.
A charity commission spokesman said the matter was ongoing, adding: ‘We are assessing the concerns we have been told about the governance of the charity.’