It has a very interesting history
Cambridgeshire is full of great places to live, all with something different to offer. Many have a claim to fame, but one tiny village has also been home to a very famous name.
Diddington near St Neots is a very quiet village that has been named the smallest village in Cambridgeshire is reported to have a population of just 56, according to 2016 statistics. Years ago, this tiny village saw the birth of a baby who went on to be a very successful actress – Rula Lenska.
The English-Polish actress may be best known to some for her role as Claudia Colby in Coronation Street, as well as her time in Celebrity Big Brother. Her early life provides an interesting insight into the Cambridgeshire area, as she was born in September 1947 in a Polish refugee camp, which had previously been a US Army Evacuation Hospital. The area remained home to a large Polish community until the late 1950s.
Her family are reportedly members of the Polish nobility, and once owned a castle. But when Rula got into acting she decided to discard her title as a Polish countess, saying “In Britain it doesn’t count, if you’ll excuse the pun.”
She has appeared in a huge number of popular television series – including To the Manor Born, Casualty, Doctor Who, and EastEnders, as well as various films.
Rula’s role on Corrie – as a glamorous friend of Audrey Roberts since 2009 – was so popular that the producers gave her an “open door” when she left the show to join the Calendar Girls theatre tour in 2011. She was able to reprise her role in Weatherfield in 2018 before leaving again in April 2020
Rula has been married twice, firstly to actor Brian Deacon with whom she has a daughter, Lara, and secondly to actor Dennis Waterman.
Her birth village Diddington sits directly next to the busy A1. It only has a church and village hall, which doesn’t really account for much tourism. Today it could very easily be the set of a period drama, with tiny whitewashed cottages and wooden fences.
