in her own sitcom in the UK. She played the lead role in the TV sitcom Land of Hope and Gloria, which ran for six episodes in 1992 and was her first acting venture. She also wrote and sang the title song for the series. Although a second series was planned, the idea was shelved after the death of co-star Joan Sanderson. She has appeared in the British sitcom Desmond's, playing nightclub owner Rochelle Jackson, and the British soap opera Brookside, playing Susan Robinson. Ferguson was a panelist in Les Dawson's first hosting of the quiz show Blankety Blank in 1984 and has appeared on the TV show Never Mind the Buzzcocks several times, three times as a panelist and once dressed as a pirate in the celebrity line up. She also appeared on Comic Relief in Da Bungalow. In 2004 Ferguson was a contestant on the fourth series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, followed by being a contestant in the first series of Celebrity MasterChef in 2006. In May 2011, she starred in the second series of Channel 4s Celebrity Five Go To, in which the celebrities visited South Africa. She has appeared as a celebrity contestant on The Weakest Link, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Pointless Celebrities (in both 2013 and 2014). Ferguson appeared in the second BBC series of The Real Marigold Hotel, and spent a month in India with seven other celebrities. Presenter Ferguson presented the documentary The Philadelphia Records Story for Smooth FM in the UK on March 22, 2009. On April 11, 2012, Ferguson co-hosted Newcastle-based charity, Toma Fund's Eurovision Reunited event.. Author In 1989, Ferguson published a cook book inspired by recipes from her African American background, Soul Food: Classic Cuisine from the Deep South. She is the first African American in England to ever publish a cookbook related to Soul food. Awards In 2013 Ferguson was awarded the Variety Legends of Industry Award for services to music. She was awarded an Ethnic Minority Business Foundation national achievement award by the Bank of England and its Governor Eddie George in 1999 and was awarded the City of Compton California Book Award for her book Soul Food: Classic Cuisine from the Deep South. Philanthropy Ferguson is a patron of the theatre charity The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and has long been a supporter of