A KEY figure in a defining scandal of the 1960s was appearing on the Wyvern stage exactly 36 years ago.

In 1963, dancer and model Mandy Rice-Davies had been embroiled in the Profumo affair.

Minister for War John Profumo resigned after it was revealed that he had lied to the Commons over his involvement with Christine Keeler, a friend of Rice-Davies.

Rice-Davies herself had been involved with various powerful figures.

By 1981, however, she had long since embarked on what she termed her slow descent into respectability as an actor, author and businesswoman.

In early June of that year we reported: “After more than 1,500 performances in the West End, Dirty Linen, Tom Stoppard’s play about sex and politics, opens at the Wyvern Theatre on Monday.

“A Select Committee is investigating the moral standards of the House of Commons, a somewhat unconventional process partly due to the presence of an ultra-sexy secretary whose clothes have a habit of coming off in the hands of various members of Parliament.

“Appropriately, you may think, she’s played by Mandy Rice Davies, who shared a flat with Christine Keeler during the Profumo affair, the sex scandal which rocked a Government.

“Since then, she’s become a mother, authoress, restaurant and club owner and a leading actress of the Israeli theatre, and now makes her acting debut in this country.”

The actress also had local connections. We said: “Blonde Mandy, 36, was born in Mere in South Wiltshire and has strong family ties in Swindon. Two cousins and an aunt live in the area.”

She told us: “It’s like coming home in a way. I know it very well.”

Other cast members included Henry McGee, remembered today largely for his longstanding role as a straight man to Benny Hill, and Anthony Morton, a familiar face to millions thanks to TV appearances in everything from Crossroads to The Sweeney.

Mandy Rice Davies went on to take more British acting roles. They included an appearance in Chance in a Million, a cult 1980s sitcom starring Brenda Blethyn and Simon Callow.

In 1982, she appeared with Richard Griffiths in another programme which has since attained cult status, a pioneering cyber-crime thriller called Bird of Prey.

Mandy Rice-Davies died of cancer in 2014, aged 70. Some obituaries noted that in later years she and her third husband had been holiday acquaintances of Denis and Margaret Thatcher.