Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is International Rescue’s London agent. She lives in a mansion in England, owns a pink Rolls Royce called FAB 1 and has a butler named Parker. Penny was voiced by Thunderbirds co-creator Sylvia Anderson.
Here is a table of Canon Foundry facts about Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward:
From the TV Series and Movies (Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6):
| The Canon Fact | The Source |
|---|---|
| Jeff calls her ‘Penny’ when talking to her but 'Penelope' when referring to her in third person. The boys and Tin Tin usually address her as ‘Lady Penelope’ and refer to her in 3rd person as 'Penelope'. Grandma addresses her as 'Penelope. | Seen in the episodes "The Perils of Penelope," "The Mighty Atom," "The Man from MI.5" and "Atlantic Inferno." Also referenced in all Theydon novels. |
| Is scared of mice. | Seen in the episode "The Mighty Atom" |
| Owns a yacht named FAB II. | The yacht's name is on a lifebelt in the episode "The Man from MI.5" |
| She's both a bad driver and a good driver. | In "Vault of Death" she's a bad driver, but in "Brink of Disaster" she's a good driver |
| She is an accomplished cross-country skier. | Seen in the episode "The Cham-Cham" |
| Owns a sheep farm in Australia called Bonga-Bonga. | Seen in the episode "Atlantic Inferno" |
| Can get Jeff Tracy to back down and do what she wants. | When she "convinces" him to join her in Australia in the episode "Atlantic Inferno" |
| She rides horses. | She is wearing a riding outfit when she receives a message from Jeff in the movie "Thunderbirds Are Go" |
| She is not a pilot. | Seen in the movie "Thunderbird 6" |
| Had an ancestor in the Edwardian era called "the Duchess of Creighton-Ward." | In the movie "Thunderbird 6" we see her dressed to mimic a portrait on the wall of the drawing room, in an outfit from the Edwardian era which she says ‘belonged to her ancestor, the Duchess of Creighton-Ward.’ |
| Smoking: Penelope is shown holding a cigarette holder in the opening titles. we also see her smoking while on FAB II in 'Man from MI5,' in 'The Impostors' (on Fireflash) and in 'Perils of Penelope' when talking to Sir Jeremy in FAB1. | All episodes (opening titles) and various other episodes. |
| Lady Penelope smokes. | She is holding a cigarette in the opening credits. We also see her smoking while on FAB II in "Man from MI5," in "The Impostors" (on Fireflash), in "Perils of Penelope" when talking to Sir Jeremy in FAB1, and Parker lighting her cigarette in the casino scene in "The Duchess Assignment." |
| Other Sources: | |
| LADY PENELOPE - British agent and ally of the Tracy's. Age - 26. | Thunderbirds Information Sheet |
| Lady Penelope is IR’s London agent, who conceals the adventure and daring of a female James Bond beneath a sophisticated exterior. | ITV Programme notes |
| Age 26, birthdate 24th December (no year given). | Thunderbird Six Press facts sheet, 1967 |
| Penny has a cousin, the honourable Augustus Montmorency Montacute Algernon Creighton-Ward, or Gus for short | Theydon, John (1966), Calling Thunderbirds . Titan Books Ltd. p.29. ISBN 1-85286-161-4 |
| Her yacht is Seabird IV | Theydon, John (1966), Calling Thunderbirds . Titan Books Ltd. p.36. ISBN 1-85286-161-4 |
| The Creighton-Ward family fortune started with an ancestor who seized a Spanish galleon of gold in the sixteenth century. | Theydon, John (1966), Calling Thunderbirds . Titan Books Ltd. p.37. ISBN 1-85286-161-4 |
| Lady Penelope chose her life of danger and intrigue because she has nerves of steel and quickly becomes bored with inactivity. | (1966), Thunderbirds Annual . City Magazines Ltd. p.12 |
| She loves gadgets and the latest fashions. She is polite and can be generous, providing both financial aid and comfort to those in need. | (1966), Thunderbirds Annual . City Magazines Ltd. p.12 |
| An only child, her father was Sir Hugh Creighton-Ward, a man whose waxed moustache was a joy to behold, and who wore his monocle at all times, even in the bath. | Annual: Lady Penelope , "Biography," City Magazines Ltd and A.P. Film (Merchandising) Ltd/Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1967. pp. 16-17 |
| Her mother Amelia was the daughter of a colonel and had blue-grey eyes. | Annual: Lady Penelope , "Biography," City Magazines Ltd and A.P. Film (Merchandising) Ltd/Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1967. pp. 16-17 |
| When she was young her father went to work for the government in India, but the climate did not agree with the young girl and she had to be sent home after suffering a series of illnesses. | Annual: Lady Penelope , "Biography," City Magazines Ltd and A.P. Film (Merchandising) Ltd/Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1967. pp. 16-17 |
| She can remember the gardener, Rudkin and her strict nanny, Miss Petherton. Penny was 11 when she was sent to Rowden, an exclusive girls’ boarding school. She eventually became head girl and the school’s top athlete. From here she went to finishing school in Switzerland, then travelled around Europe, learning Italian, French and German until she was fluent in all three languages. | Annual: Lady Penelope , "Biography," City Magazines Ltd and A.P. Film (Merchandising) Ltd/Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1967. pp. 16-17 |
| Her ‘coming out ball’ was the talk of the season, but she soon tired of the meaningless social life and became a secret agent, until she was recruited by Jeff Tracy to become IR’s London agent. | Annual: Lady Penelope , "Biography," City Magazines Ltd and A.P. Film (Merchandising) Ltd/Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1967. pp. 16-17 |
| Penny was educated at Hightower School before going on to Rowden. | Annual: Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds , "The Women of Spectrum and Interntional Rescue," Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1969. p.49 |
| Is credited with speaking Spanish in addition to Italian, French and German. | Annual: Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds , "The Women of Spectrum and Interntional Rescue," Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1969. p.49 |
| She rose to become Supreme Commander of the Federal Agents Bureau before Jeff recruited her to work for IR. | Annual: Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds , "The Women of Spectrum and Interntional Rescue," Century 21 Publishing Ltd, 1969. p.49 |
| Lady Penelope was born on 24 th December 1999 and is 27 years old. | de Klerk, Theo, “Thunderbirds All Series Guide,” Supermarionation is Go #10, Spring 1984. p. 26. |
| Lady Penelope became a secret agent through the help of a family friend who was highly placed in British Intelligence, her argument being that no-one would suspect an aristocrat. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson. Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| She proved to have a talent for the role of secret agent and became and agent for the World Intelligence Network. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson. Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| She met and married Lord Ward, who sadly died soon afterwards of a hereditary disease, leaving her the family mansion. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson. Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| Lady Penelope is an expert shot, a world-class swimmer and can scale a building almost blind-folded. | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson. Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| In a story in her own Lady Penelope comic she has a horse called FAB 3. | Lady Penelope (comic), 3 February 1968, City Magazines/Century 21 Publications, #107 |
| Her mansion is located in Kent. | Lady Penelope (comic), 3 February 1968, City Magazines/Century 21 Publications, #107 |
| Lady Penelope and Parker were involved in a series of adventures in a comic series called 'Elegance, Charm and Deadly Danger' against several adversaries before Jeff Tracy recruited them as agents for International Rescue. 'Elegance, Charm and Deadly Danger' was her family motto and appeared on her family crest. | Lady Penelope had her own strip in TV21 from issue One (dateline 23 January 2065 (1965) pp.16-17). The title of the strip was 'Lady Penelope'. The 'Elegance, Charm and Deadly Danger' line was a subtitle, based on her family motto. The first issue of her own comic had it on the cover - Photo 1 - and it continued for 6 issues on the cover only and then in Issue 5, page 8, the motto was offered as a necklace having been made into a crest for the charm. Photo 2. Photo 3. As well, it appears on the cover as a highlight of issue 6. Photo 4. Photo credit and additional information: Norman Boyd |
| Jeff recruited Lady Penelope and Parker by setting a test which they passed with flying colours. (This is also where Jeff Tracy is first introduced in the comics.) | Fennell, Alan, Editor, August 6, 2066 (1966), TV Century 21, Century 21 Publishing Ltd. #44-51 |
| A postcard names her house as Creighton-Ward Manor, though the rest of the address is concealed. | Fennell, Alan, Editor, August 6, 2066 (1966), TV Century 21, Century 21 Publishing Ltd. #44-51 |
| Lady Penelope’s yacht is called Seabird I. | Fennell, Alan, Editor, February 27, 2065, TV Century 21, Century 21 Publishing Ltd. # 6, pp. 16-17 |
| In her mid-twenties, Lady Penelope comes from an old titled family and was a secret agent in her own right before joining IR. | Fennell, Alan, Editor. November 26, 2066 (1966), TV Century 21, Century 21 Publishing Ltd., #97, p. 22 |
| Born 24 th December 2039, Lady Penelope inherited her father’s spirit and determination. Craving danger, she rejected the life of a socialite to become a secret agent, eventually becoming chief operative for the Federal Agents Bureau. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds . Carlton Books, Ltd.. p. 59. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| She owns her pink Rolls-Royce, FAB1, her yacht, FAB2, Seabird (an ocean-going cruiser) and her prize-winning racehorse, FAB3. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds . Carlton Books, Ltd.. p. 59. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| Lady Penelope wears clothes by top designers Elaine Wickfen and Francois Lemaine and a perfume, Soupcon de peril made exclusively for her by Paris perfumier, Jacques Verre. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds . Carlton Books, Ltd.. p. 59. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| The first Lord Creighton-Ward was a courtier to Elizabeth I. His portrait hangs to the left of the fireplace in the drawing room. | Olivier, Jenny (2001), Lady Penelope's Secrets. Carlton Books Limited. p. 11, p. 66 |
| Her favourite colour is pink. | Olivier, Jenny (2001), Lady Penelope's Secrets. Carlton Books Limited. pp. 14-15 |
| Lady Penelope’s hair stylist is Charles Worthington III. | Olivier, Jenny (2001), Lady Penelope's Secrets. Carlton Books Limited. p. 35 |
| Creighton-Ward Mansion is built on a site that has been occupied since Norman times. The current house was built for Lord Cuthbert Creighton-Ward in 1730 following a fire that destroyed the previous building in 1729. The architect of the Palladian-style mansion was Colen (sic ) Campbell. | Olivier, Jenny (2001), Lady Penelope's Secrets. Carlton Books Limited. p. 66 |
| FAB1 was originally built for Penelope’s father, Lord Hugh, but later modified for her special requirements. | Olivier, Jenny (2001), Lady Penelope's Secrets. Carlton Books Limited. pp. 60-63 |
| As well as FAB2 (sic) the family own a fleet of ships. FAB2 was built by International Engineering. | Olivier, Jenny (2001), Lady Penelope's Secrets. Carlton Books Limited. pp. 64-65 |
| "Lady Penelope is an old friend of Jeff's from his Agency days. Because of the delicate nature of some of his missions, he had met the cool, beautiful Lady P., ostensibly a woman of wealth and leisure, but actually one of the most effective female secret agents of all time. Jeff realized that with his secret organization, he would need an advisor who really knew the field, and Lady Penelope happily agreed. In gratitude, Jeff had Brains design and build her some very special equipment, including the fantastic FAB 1, her shocking pink Rolls Royce." | Peel, John (1988) Supermarionation: the Magical World of Gerry Anderson . "Supporting Cast: Lady Penelope," Los Angeles, California; Schuster and Schuster |
| British agent and ally of the Tracys. Age 26 | The Thunderbirds Information Sheet. This document provides definitive proof of the official birth order of the Tracy boys. It was mailed directly from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's office to fans who wrote in requesting information about International Rescue. The document we have (see menu to the left, "TB Info Sheet"): a picture of it was sent originally to Peter Singleton on April 4, 1966. It was signed by Una, Gerry Anderson's secretary, on his behalf. Pete Singleton shared it with Stephen La Riviere (TB 1965), who shared it with TICipedia webmistress Jaimi Sorrell on June 10, 2017 (and later publicly as well on the TB 1965 Facebook page). |