IT is 43 years since Judy Matheson made her name “screaming and screaming and screaming” while being burnt at the stake by puritan witch-hunters in the cult horror film, Twins of Evil.

The scene helped turn the young “jobbing actress” into a poster girl for the legendary Hammer film company.

Now living in Lady Somerset Road, Kentish Town, Ms Matheson told the New Journal this week how she is ready to help fans celebrate Hammer’s 80th anniversary with a special guest appearance next month.

Judy Matheson is in hot demand as Hammer Horror hits its 80th anniversary

“Things really started to change in the last few years and people are now looking at these films in a different way,” she said. “I had never really spoken about them before and it was only last year that I went to my first event in the Electric Ballroom. It was a horror film memorabilia fair and people were coming up to me asking me to sign their books and take photos. There are people out there talking about these films in an intellectual way now, about the Gothic elements and their construction.” 

Ms Matheson added: “They are not saddos. There are students doing PhDs on my horror films from the 1970s.”

Ms Matheson began her career in esteemed company, joining the New College of Speech and Drama in Hampstead with a young Helen Mirren. Both had come up from hometowns in Essex to learn their trade.

Her career began in The Most Dangerous Man in the World, alongside Gregory Peck. She also starred in Hammer’s Lust for A Vampire, among other lesser-known flicks such as The Flesh and Blood Show. 

But her blood-curdling introduction to Twins of Evil, which also starred legendary horror actor Peter Cushing and two Playboy playmates as the twins, is what Ms Matheson is perhaps best remembered for.

Speaking of her famous scene, she said: “They left me up there screaming and screaming and screaming for what felt like hours. I thought the director went out for a cup of tea and left me there. At the end the crew all burst into applause. The film is interesting because the bad guys are these Christ-worshipping puritans who are burning all the girls.”

She added: “I had a successful career as a film actress in the 60s and 70s before someone said I had a good voice and offered me a job as a continuity announcer on ITV. It was unlike now, as it was done live and you were actually on camera.”

Ms Matheson became close friends with the late Roger Lloyd Pack who was a neighbour. 

She will be at Westminster Central Hall on Saturday November 8 when Hammer Films marks its landmark birthday.

She will be joined by a cast of horror film actors including Dave Prowse and Philip Voss.

For more information visit www.londonfilmconvention.co.uk