As a teenager in the Fifties, the highlight of the week was a visit to Brighton's Hippodrome.

Many speciality acts supported the big stars and my favourite was a lady called Joan Rhodes, who was billed as The Strong Lady. Joan's great gimmick was her appearance - a slim beautiful blonde, she was a dead ringer for Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich and the young Diana Dors.

The audience gasped at her great beauty but gasped even more as she proceeded to tear in half a pile of telephone directories, one by one, before moving on to a stack of iron bars which she would bend with ease. Ten-inch nails took on a U-shape with seemingly no effort.

She would leave the stage to great applause, not a sequin on her long gown out of place and without so much as a scratch on her nail polish.

Does anyone have any information on Joan Rhodes or, possibly, a photograph? I would love to know her story.

-Michael Parker, Lewes Road, Brighton