The Devil and dishy Debbie
- Publication: News of the World
- Date: 1983-10-30
- Author: Bill Munnings
- Page:
- Language: English
Satan pins her to the bed in the dead of night
SEXY actress Debbie Watling believes she is haunted by the Devil. She lives in terror of an evil apparition, half man and half beast, which visits her in bed.
She has even touched the creature, she claims. And once she was horrified to find strange black hairs covering her chest as she made love with her husband, actor Nick Field.
Debbie, 36, who played naughty Norma in the TV war series Danger UXB, has been told by mediums that she has great psychic powers. She says:
'I know it's the Devil I've seen. I've had many visits from him since I was 14.
At first I thought it was just a ghastly dream. But then I woke up once and saw a creature bending over my bed.
Its top half was a goat, and the bottom half was a man. I've also seen it with the animal half in the shape of a wolf.
Once I put my arms out and felt the middle of its body. It was definitely a man's body, but with that horrible animal head. Its presence is unbearable. I've been at the stage where I've been too scared to go to sleep for fear it will visit me again.
SILENT
I always know when something weird is going to happen because I see strange lights moving around the room.
I feel they are patches of some kind of energy. Experts have told me they are spirits visible only to psychics like myself.
After the lights, everything goes terribly silent. Then it's on me. I know this thing, ..his presence. is there. And it's so strong.
I feel the most incredible pressure bearing me down.
almost smothering me. I scream, but no sound comes out. I'm paralysed and I can't move.
Then I remember the Lord's Prayer and say it to myself, sometimes twice. and all of a sudden the presence is gone.
I'm so afraid because every time the presence seems to be getting stronger. I can't describe it— it's just dreadful.'
Debbie says her 35-year-old husband has shared some of her hauntings.
"One night when we were staying in digs our door opened and shut it itself." she says.
"A rush of cold air came in and the flame of our candle started to go up and down of its own accord.
"Nick was wide-eyed with terror.
"Then I saw a very bright hovering light in the corner of the room and I prayed he wouldn't see it. But he said, ' Why is the wall lit up? '
LOVE
"Suddenly the candle went out. and he dived under the bedclothes and wouldn't come out.
"He tried to get me under to protect me, but I was struggling to see what was going on.
"Another night. we were about to make love when Nick shuddered and said, ' Your chest!'
"I looked down and found it was covered in black hairs.
"I suggested that Nick must have had his hair cut recently and the clippings had fallen on me. But he hadn't had a haircut for weeks.
"Then the hairs started to come away and part of the room started to light up again, with one of those peculiar lights."
Debbie believes that experience could have been a sexy practical joke by the spirit of Nick's father, comedian Sid Field, who died in 1950.
"I often feel it's him when spooky but amusing things happen." she says.
"I feel I know him. and he absolutely adores me.
"I'd go so far as to say that he says: 'Hm, I'd like a bit of that' when he sees me in bed at night.
" I wish I'd known Sid. I'd adore to communicate with him through a medium."
Nick is baffled by his wife's supernatural experiences.
He says: "I can't explain all the things that have happened to Debbie. But at least I saw some of them. as proof that they actually did happen.
"I saw the candle flame go up and down. And I saw the black hairs which suddenly appeared on her chest just as we were about to make love.
"That was really extraordinary and I don't know what you can put that down to.
"When Debbie gets .bad vibes. such as with the goat-man creature. she has to try to keep away from the whole business. I think she will need to have an exorcism in the end." .
Debbie has had, help from psychic export Lee Everett, estranged wife of TV comic Kenny.
Lee said: Probably. she had dealings with the Devil in a previous existence. and he now has a direct line through to her.
SPIRITS
The strange hovering lights she sees are spirits.
"She should put - on lights at night when. she's afraid. It's the best way to ward off evil presences."
After prayers for Debbie from a psychic group run by Lee, the actress says her terrifying visitations have stopped.
"I'm very grateful for Lee's help," she says. "I pray now that a full exorcism won't be necessary."
Caption: NICK: Baffled
Caption: DEBBIE: "Too scared to sleep"
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- APA 6th ed.: Munnings, Bill (1983-10-30). The Devil and dishy Debbie. News of the World .
- MLA 7th ed.: Munnings, Bill. "The Devil and dishy Debbie." News of the World [add city] 1983-10-30. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Munnings, Bill. "The Devil and dishy Debbie." News of the World, edition, sec., 1983-10-30
- Turabian: Munnings, Bill. "The Devil and dishy Debbie." News of the World, 1983-10-30, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=The Devil and dishy Debbie | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_Devil_and_dishy_Debbie | work=News of the World | pages= | date=1983-10-30 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=The Devil and dishy Debbie | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_Devil_and_dishy_Debbie | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2025}}</ref>
