Su Pollard was born the eldest daughter of Don and Hilda Pollard. Her interest in acting began at the age of six when she played an angel in a school nativity play, She attended Berridge Road School, Hyson Green and Peveril Bilateral School, Robin's Wood Road (now Nottingham Girls' Academy). After leaving school at 16 she got a job at the Tennant Rubber Company in Carlton as a shorthand typist and began singing in working men's clubs and charity shows.

Following an apprenticeship at the Arts Theatre in Nottingham, Pollard appeared on Opportunity Knocks in 1974 singing "I Cain't Say No" from Oklahoma! and came second to a singing Jack Russell. Su started appearing in many West End musicals including Godspell, Big Sin City, Grease and Oh, Mr Porter!.

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In 1979, Pollard was chosen by the BBC to play Flo in a new sitcom called Two Up, Two Down with Paul Nicholas. However, this lasted only one series. The following year, Pollard landed the role of chalet maid Peggy Ollerenshaw in Hi-de-Hi!. She continued in this role until the programme's end in 1988, by which time she had become a household name.

In 1981 she became one of the presenters of children's magazine show Get Set for Summer, in which she delivered wacky reports and bogus weather forecasts.

During the run of Hi-de-Hi!, Pollard had a singing career, and in 1986, she reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart with the song "Starting Together", the theme song from the BBC Television 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary series The Marriage. It was her only Top 40 hit; her first single, "Come To Me (I Am Woman)", had reached No. 71 in 1985 and her only charting album, Su, peaked at No. 86 in the UK Albums Chart in November 1986. In 1987, she toured the UK with The Su Pollard Show and co-hosted It's a Royal Knockout.

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Shortly after Hi-de-Hi! had ended, the writers David Croft and Jimmy Perry chose Pollard to star as Ivy Teasdale in their new sitcom You Rang, M'Lord?, which starred her Hi-de-Hi!co-stars Paul Shane and Jeffrey Holland. This period sitcom ran from 1988 to 1993.

 

In 1988, she won the "Rear of the Year" award. In 1989 she hosted the short lived ITV game show Take The Plunge, but it was cancelled after one season. From 1993 until 1996, Pollard starred opposite Gorden Kaye in For Better or Worse, a BBC Radio 2 sitcom about an engaged-to-be-married couple.

 

In 1995 Pollard took over as face of the National Egg Awareness Campaign. From

 

1995 to 1997 she played Ethel Schumann in another David Croft sitcom Oh, Doctor Beeching! which once again saw her reunite with Paul Shane and Jeffrey Holland.

 

 

 From 1989 to 1990, Pollard's distinctive voice voiced the lead character in the BBC children's television series Penny Crayon

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Su also made a guest appearance in Gimme Gimme Gimme in 2001 and voiced Noisy in Little Robots. In 2001, she presented Songs of Praise three times and she has made four appearances on Just a Minute. She also regularly appears in stage shows including Annie and The Pirates of Penzance. In 2008, Pollard starred in the musical Shout! alongside Claire Sweeney. From April 2009, Pollard appeared in the London transfer of Shout! at the Arts Theatre. In December 2010, Pollard had a guest role in the Christmas special of ITV's hit show Benidorm, playing herself. In December 2011, Pollard appeared as a guest on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. In the 2012 movie Run For Your Wife she had a cameo role as the newsagent. She starred in Who's Doing the Dishes? in September 2016. In 2018 she appeared in ITV's Last Laugh in Vegas, The Keith & Paddy Picture Show, Loose Women, Through the Keyhole and Doctors. 

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Su became a semi Finalist on Celebrity Masterchef on BBC1 as part of their 2021 series. 

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Pantomime History
 

1976/77 Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Grand Theatre Wolverhampton

1979/80 Babes in the Wood at the Pavilion Theatre Bournemouth

1981/82 Mother Goose at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford

1982/83 Jack and the Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal Nottingham

1984/85 Aladdin at the Palace Theatre

1987/88 Aladdin at the Alhambra Theatre Bradford

1988/89 Dick Whittington at the Richmond Theatre

1989/90 Dick Whittington at the Bristol Hippodrome

1990/91 Aladdin at the Bournemouth Pavilion

1991/92 Dick Whittington at the Lyceum Theatre Sheffield

1992/93 As Dick in Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal Nottingham

1993/94 As Robin Hood in Babes in the Wood at the Theatre Royal Brighton

1994/95 As Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Birmingham Hippodrome

1996/97 As Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at the New Theatre in Cardiff

1997/98 As Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Belfast Grand Opera House

1998/99 As Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal Plymouth

1999/00 As Dick in Dick Whittington at the Churchill Theatre Bromley

2000/01 As Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen

2001/02 As Dick in Dick Whittington at the North Wales Theatre Llandudno

2002/03 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Theatre Royal Lincoln

2003/04 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Hexagon in Reading

2004/05 No panto as Su was appearing in Annie

2005/06 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Pavilion Theatre Rhyl

2006/07 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Palace Theatre Mansfield

2007/08 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Festival Theatre Malvern​

2008/09 As Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella at the Grand Theatre Swansea

2009/10 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Bournemouth Pavilion

2010/11 No panto as Su was appearing in Annie

2011/12 No panto as Su was appearing in Annie

2012/13 As Carabosse In Sleeping Beauty at the Bournemouth Pavilion

2013/14 As Mermaid in Peter Pan at the Theatre Royal Nottingham

2014/15 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Sunderland Empire

2015/16 As the Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Grand Theatre Blackpool

2016/17 Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Assembly Hall Tunbridge Wells

2017/18 Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

2018/19 Wicked Queen in Snow White at the Festival Theatre Malvern

2019/20 As Queen Rat in Dick Whittington at the Wolverhampton Grand
2020/21 No panto
2021/22 As Wicked Queen in Snow White at The Sunderland Empire

2022/23 Ad Fairy in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Northwich Memorial Court