LOCAL PEOPLE
Judo, The Avengers & Me Christine Gallie was at the forefront of women’s competitive judo in the 60s and 70s, becoming British Open Champion six times, and European Champion twice, eventually achieving the grade of 7th Dan. Under her stage name of Cyd Child, she was also a very successful stunt girl, appearing in the James Bond, Superman, and The Pink Panther film franchises as well as TV classics such as The Avengers, The New Avengers and The Goodies. For years, people had been telling Chris to write her biography, so retirement seemed a good opportunity to piece her memories and photos together, resulting in ‘Judo, The Avengers & Me’.
martial arts club in London. There she worked towards her black belt grading, becoming a 1st and then 2nd Dan. At that point she hit an impasse, as she needed to compete against six people of the same level to progress to the next grade and there simply weren’t enough women available at that level.
public so the public were not allowed to watch; furthermore, there was even a different scoring system from the men’s competitions. Eventually, in 1971, the British Open Championships for Women was held. Other countries started holding championships for women and a European circuit gradually evolved, becoming more formal in 1974 with the Coppa Europa in Genoa, and the first official European Championships in 1975, when Chris won her European titles, establishing her reputation as a trailblazer for women’s judo. Prior to this, Chris started working as an industrial photographer and studying photography at Ealing College. One day a college tutor brought in a photo of people doing judo on a film set. When Chris discovered they were stuntmen, she was astounded and resolved to become a stuntwoman, an ambition she pursued in tandem with her judo exploits. Her lucky break came when Diana Rigg’s stunt double on The Avengers was injured, and Ray Austin needed to recruit someone quickly. Diana’s stunts had been performed by a man, but at 5’10” Chris was a perfect match. Her hair was cut and coloured in Diana’s style and she was asked to lose some weight. A stuntman himself, Ray coached Chris, as well as helping her choose her stage name, Cyd Child (based on Cyd Charisse and her maiden
While growing up, Chris always preferred playing outdoors and climbing trees. When she was 15, she went along to a judo club which had started in the neighbouring village. She was one of only two women. The club was very welcoming and she enjoyed her first experience of judo, so kept coming back for more. After Chris had gained her brown belt, her teacher recommended that she join The Budokwai, a wellestablished and influential Japanese
Although men’s judo had already reached the Olympics by 1964, there weren’t any formal competitions for women until a 1966 national team competition. Initially, it was thought inappropriate for women to fight in
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Photo by Terence Donovan
