Rustie Lee

{{Short description|British-Jamaican chef, actor and musician (born 1949)}}

{{Infobox person

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|05|22|df=y}}{{cite web|title=Who is Rustie Lee? Meet the cast of The Real Marigold Hotel series two|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/documentaries/2017-03-15/who-is-rustie-lee-meet-the-cast-of-the-real-marigold-hotel-series-two/|date=15 March 2017|website=Radio Times|access-date=8 January 2021}}

| birth_place = Portland, Jamaica

| occupation = Television personality, chef, actress, singer, politician

| image = Rustie_Lee.jpg

| party = UKIP (2004–09)

| years_active = 1983–present

| website = {{URL|rustielee.co.uk}}

}}

Rustie Lee (born 22 May 1949{{cite tweet|number=1263784615095029761|user=Rustie_Lee|title=Yes it’s my Birthday 🍰 today many thanks for all the good wishes. And if it’s your Birthday today like ⁦… |date=22 May 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://companycheck.co.uk/company/07782160/REIT-HEALTHCARE-UK-LIMITED/companies-house-data|title=REIT HEALTHCARE (UK) LIMITED. Free business summary taken from official companies house information. Free alerts. Registered as 07782160}}) is a British-Jamaican television personality, television chef, actress and singer. She participated on the Channel 5 reality-television show Celebrity Super Spa in 2013; ITV's Who's Doing the Dishes?, hosted by Brian McFadden, in 2016; and Celebrity Coach Trip in 2020. Between 2015 and 2017 Rustie also appeared on children's BBC TV programme Twirlywoos.

Early life

She attended the girls' grammar school King Edward VI Handsworth School.Sunday Mirror 29 August 1993, page 30

Broadcasting career

Lee first came to public attention for her appearances during the 1980s on the morning television station TV-am.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3811841.stm |title=TV chef is UKIP's latest recruit |access-date=2008-01-16 |work=BBC |date=2004-06-16}} Following her initial successful period as a chef on TV-am in 1983, Lee took over from Sarah Kennedy on the second incarnation of the ITV gameshow Game for a Laugh.{{cite news |title=Rustie's fit for a shining star turn; Singer, restaurateur and now film star. Life's blooming for Birmingham's Rustie Lee, says Ros Dodd. |first=Ros |last=Dodd |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rustie's+fit+for+a+shining+star+turn%3B+Singer,+restaurateur+and+now...-a060491703 |newspaper=The Birmingham Post |date= 1999-08-12}}

In 2004, Lee appeared on Livings I'm Famous and Frightened! 2, a reality show featuring a number of celebrities staying in a castle over a weekend, taking part in various challenges and looking for paranormal activity, guided by a medium. Viewers voted for their favourite star, and the celebrities were voted off one by one. Lee won the series showing a keen interest in the tasks and occasional emotional involvement, giving detailed and varied accounts of how she felt at certain points.

In recent years, she has made occasional appearances on This Morning, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Daily Cooks/Saturday Cooks. She has also made appearances on That Antony Cotton Show, The Wright Stuff, Loose Women, Would I Lie To You?, and Channel 5's Big Brother's Bit on the Side, a spin-off chat show for Big Brother. She also appeared on the Channel 5 reality show Celebrity Super Spa.{{cite web |url=http://www.channel5.com/shows/celebrity-super-spa/the-celebrities/rustie-lee |title=Channel 5 – Celebrity Super Spa|access-date=2013-09-08}}

Politics

In 2004, Lee joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and was adopted as their candidate for the Wyre Forest constituency in the 2005 general election. She also appeared in the party's election broadcast that year.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Wg2kpmKtg|title=Rustie Lee on UKIP's immigration policy |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2012-07-27}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}} On polling day, she came fifth, with 1,074 votes (2.3% of the total).{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/654.stm|title=Result: Wyre Forest|publisher=BBC News |date=2005-05-06 |access-date=2008-04-28}}

Lee stood for UKIP for the 2009 European Elections in the West Midlands constituency in June 2009,{{Cite web|url=http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/info/200033/about_councillors_and_becoming_a_councillor/1162/european_election_candidates|title=European Election Candidates, West Midlands|access-date=2013-09-09|archive-date=2013-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005002946/http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/info/200033/about_councillors_and_becoming_a_councillor/1162/european_election_candidates|url-status=dead}} but was not elected.

=General election contested=

class="wikitable"

! Date of election !! Constituency !! Party !! Votes !! %

2005

Wyre Forest

UKIP

1,074

2.3

Other activities

Lee has written several cookbooks, including Rustie Lee's Caribbean Cookbook (1985){{cite book|title=Rustie Lee's Caribbean Cookbook|id= {{ASIN|0004112873|country=uk}}}} and A Taste of the Caribbean (2007).{{cite book|title=Rustie Lee – A Taste of the Caribbean|id= {{ASIN|0954851854|country=uk}}}}

In 2008, Lee briefly joined the cast of EastEnders as Gus Smith's aunt Opal Smith.{{cite news|url=http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2008/02/03/rustie-s-eastenders-role-98487-20307354/|title=Rustie's EastEnders role|publisher=Sunday Mirror|date=2008-02-03|access-date=2008-02-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207165703/http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2008/02/03/rustie-s-eastenders-role-98487-20307354/|archive-date=2008-02-07}} She also appeared briefly in Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice. She appeared in the last episode of Benidorm Series 6 as Queenie. She also narrated children's stories for BBC Radio in Birmingham.

Lee has recorded as a singer. In 1985, she released the album Invitation to Party,{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Rustie-Lee-Invitation-To-Party/release/3929246|title=Rustie Lee – Invitation To Party|website=Discogs|year=1985 }} including her cover versions of "Barbados"{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUbOJqzXQiw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/YUbOJqzXQiw |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Rustie Lee "Barbados"|date=6 January 2011 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}} and "My Toot Toot". In 1994, she released a further single, "You'd Better Phone", paired with a B side cover of Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle) by The Outhere Brothers{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC8A3qG6yIw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/eC8A3qG6yIw |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Rustie Lee – You'd Better Phone|date=16 October 2011 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}} She also sang on a number of her appearances on Big Brother's Bit on the Side.

Lee has appeared in several pantomime productions including Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan among others. In 1988 she appeared in the musical Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Library Theatre in Manchester alongside disco singer Miquel Brown.