Jill Summers (born Honor Margaret Rozelle Santoi Fuller; 10 December 1910 – 11 January 1997) was an English music hall performer, actor and comedian. Her career in entertainment lasted eighty years and in 1982 she achieved stardom as Phyllis Pearce, in Granada Television's long-running soap opera Coronation Street. She made her last appearance in May 1996, and died eight months later. Early life Summers was born in Eccles, Lancashire, one of four sisters and a brother, to father Alf Rozelle, a circus tightrope walker, and mother Mary Fuller (stage name Marie Santoi), a famous revue artist. Born into a theatrical family, her grandmother was a well-known bare-back rider, and her uncle, Johnny Fuller, known as "The Famous Cat", frequently acted alongside Fay Compton in the pantomime Dick Whittington. Career She first performed on stage aged six. Her childhood was mostly unhappy, with her touring parents often leaving her with foster families. When Summers was 13, her mother died, and she went to work in a cotton mill. Summers formed a musical comedy double act with her half-brother, Tom F. Moss, during which time she performed at nearly every theatre in Britain. Her half-brother was the son of Summers' mother and Tom Major-Ball. Major-Ball later went on to marry Gwen Coates, and they had three children, one of whom, John, became British Prime Minister in 1990. In her early twenties, Summers damaged her vocal cords by reaching for a high note one night, cracking her voice, and by the end of the turn she was left with her distinctive gravelly voice. By 1939, she had left the stage to take up hairdressing and ran a combined hairdresser's and newsagent's with her first husband. During World War II, she entertained troops as part of ENSA, and was known as Lancashire Comedienne Jill Summers, the Pin-Up Girl of British Railways. Born Honour Fuller, her stage name was derived from her favourite measurement of alcohol, a gill, and her favourite time of year, summer, and when asked by an agent, her reply was "Jill Summers, the gill of a Summer's Day." Most of her variety material was written by her second husband, Dr Clifford Simpson Smith, including three of her best known sketches, "The Landlady", "The Bartered Bride" and "The Lady Porteress". She became a comedian when she tripped up on stage and swore, which the audience lapped up. Her act, "The Pipes of