Françoise Pascal

Françoise Pascal (born 14 October 1949) is an actress and model who was born to French Mauritian parents in Mauritius. She is best known for her role as Danielle in the British sitcom Mind Your Language.

Pascal was born in Mauritius, then a colony of the United Kingdom.

Her earliest films were Norman J. Warren's Loving Feeling and Pete Walker's School for Sex (both 1969), and she also appeared briefly in an orgy scene in the troubled cult horror film Incense for the Damned (1970), but her breakthrough role was playing Paola in There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) with Peter Sellers. She went on to do the black comedy Burke & Hare (1972), playing Marie, and another Sellers film, Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974).

After that appearance, she moved to France where she starred in such films as Et si tu n'en Veux Pas (1974) and Les Raisins de la Mort (1978), directed by Jean Rollin. The producer of Rollin's La Rose de Fer, then gave her the lead in the film but it was not a success. Later she returned to England to appear in Keep It Up Downstairs (1976) alongside Diana Dors, Jack Wild and Mary Millington.

Her first television work came in October 1971 with a role in Coronation Street, playing Ray Langton's friend. Then came guest starring roles an episode of Play of the Month for the BBC in "Don Quixote" (1973) with Rex Harrison and for ITV's Sunday Night Theatre "Giants & Ogres" (1971). She was cast in numerous guest starring appearances in many television comedy series such as Happy Ever After (1976) with Terry Scott and June Whitfield, as well as My Honourable Mrs (1975) with Derek Nimmo for the BBC. She co-starred in an episode of the thriller You're on Your Own starring Denis Quilley, for the BBC.

She played seductive French au-pair Danielle Favre in the first three series of the ITV sitcom Mind Your Language (1977–79); she then took on her stage roles in Happy Birthday (reuniting with Fraser Hines), and starring in a pantomime of Aladdin. Pascal left for the United States in 1982, where she acted in Hollywood with a two-year contract in The Young and the Restless, Gavillan, My Man Adam, Lightning,The White Stallion. She returned to England in 1987.

In 2015, Pascal signed on with Salopian Films for a new comedy series called For the Love of Ella. The series also stars Ewen Macintosh, Lucy Drive, Bobby Ball, Alex Reid, Daniel Peacock, Melanie Sykes, Darren Day and Billy Pearce. The script was written by Simon W. Golding (co-producer) and directed by James Farina (co-producer)

On 4 December 2010, she joined Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood at Claygate Village for turning on the village Christmas lights and singing a solo of Silent Night.

In December 2012, Pascal took part in the ITV1 programme Storage Hoarders, in which she sorted and sold at auction some of her more valuable possessions which she had kept in storage for months.