Stage school star Sylvia Young's savage reprimand to young Rita Ora over rule-break

She mostly passed unnoticed in the street but in many ways Sylvia Young was everywhere – in soaps, sitcoms and TV dramas, in Hollywood films and on West End stages, and in worldwide hits and stadium shows.

Without her, we might never have known pop stars like Amy Winehouse, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora or Leona Lewis. And from Grange Hill to Doctor Who and EastEnders, some famous names may never have been discovered.

Although she never wanted the spotlight, the screens, stages and soundtrack of Britain today would be very different without the “backstage matriarch”, who died yesterday morning, aged 86.

Tributes poured in from some of Britain’s biggest stars, each crediting Sylvia with their success.

All Saints singer Nicole Appleton said: “She was a massive part of my life and paved the way for so many of us.” Actress Sadie Frost added: “She was always so lovely to me and I will cherish the memories for ever.”

Dua Lipa told of the encouragement she got from staff at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, saying: “Sometimes, all it takes is one thing for them to say and that carries you on for the rest of your life.” Radio icon Tony Blackburn said Sylvia was “a very lovely lady who I’ve had the privilege of knowing for many years”.

Sylvia was born in Hackney, North East London, in 1939, just as the Second World War broke out. One of nine children, she remembered as a teenager seeking refuge from her busy house at the local library, where she would go every day to read, falling in love with plays.

She joined a local theatre company but recalled: “I used to get stage fright. I used to lose my voice before every production. When I think about it, they were sort of panic attacks.” She left school at 16 and in her early 20s married Norman Ruffell, a telephone engineer, and became a stay-at-home mother.

Sylvia, who had daughters, Frances and Alison, started drama classes for children at schools, charging 10p a lesson, and then ran a Saturday school at a Drury Lane sports club. The school later went full-time, staring with 29 pupils in 1981.

By 2010 it had grown tenfold due to good GCSE results and pupils’ TV roles. The theatre school moved to Marylebone, where it remains.

Although the fee-paying school was in high demand, she always ensured low-income students could attend on scholarships.

Her daughter Frances Ruffelle, a West End star and mum of pop star Eliza Doolittle, said her mum was “a true visionary” who “gave people from all walks of life the chance to pursue their performing arts skills to the highest standard”. The late Amy Winehouse studied at the school after Sylvia gave her a part-scholarship.

Sylvia said: “At Amy’s audition she sang On The Sunny Side Of The Street so superbly that I thought, ‘My God, this is the new Judy Garland!’ She was tremendously musical, she had her own style, image, everything.

“She wouldn’t wear the school uniform correctly, her tie would often be askew and in classes she’d chew gum. But I couldn’t be angry with her because she was her own person. She was a free spit and had been given a special gift."

EastEnders’ Dean Gaffney was at the school in the early 90s, in the same years as actors Daniella Westbrook and John Pickard, and Spice Girl Emma Bunton.

READ MORE: Sylvia Young alumni - Emma Bunton, Amy Winehouse, EastEnders legends and more

Dean, who was also on a half-scholarship, remembered: “On the Monday to Wednesday, you did normal academic subjects, then on a Thursday and Friday, it turned into a complete Fame school, with people singing down the hallways.

“If I hadn’t gone to that school, who knows where I’d be. Maybe EastEnders wouldn’t have picked up the phone to see who they’d got on their books.”

Other famous attendees included Billie Piper, Letitia Dean, Lily Cole and Gemma Collins. Doctor Who actor Matt Smith, Little Mix singers Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Busted bassist Matt Willis also went there.

Pop star and talent show judge Rita Ora, who studied music at the school, recalled also having trouble following the rules.

She said: “I was cheeky. I hated wearing a hairnet. Sylvia would come into ballet class and catch me without one. ‘Rita, there are some rules. This is a serious matter’, she’d say.

“Sylvia had a soft spot for me, though. I was never rude, I just wasn’t great at listening.” McFly rocker Tom Fletcher met his wife, presenter Giovanna, at the school, which they attended from the age of 13. Sylvia was at their wedding. Giovanna said: “My life would not be what it is without Sylvia Young. She knew what every child was up to and how to get the best out of everyone.”

While some pupils knew what they wanted to do with their talent, others, like Denise van Outen, were not so sure.

Denise, who studied with actresses Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes, remembered: “When we got towards the end of our time there, Sylvia sat each of us down for a careers chat and asked which way we wanted to go.

“They wanted you to choose one route or another, but I said, ‘I like doing it all’. I was a bit confused, I suppose, because unlike Billie and Keeley, I didn’t have an obviously outstanding talent. I enjoyed everything and could do it all okay.

“So Sylvia said, ‘Well, try and do it all and see what happens. You don’t have to be brilliant at everything’."

It worked, and Denise went on to present the Big Breakfast, starred in musical Chicago and was runner-up in Strictly.

Dua Lipa attended the school at weekends as a child, then re-enrolled following her A-levels. During the pop star’s ITV Christmas special at the Royal Albert Hall last year she had an emotional reunion with her old music teacher, Ray.

She recalled of him: “He heard my really deep voice and was like, ‘You’ve got something special, use it’. He completely changed my life.”

Well into her latter years, Sylvia still lived in the school, describing herself as the “caretaker” as she and Norman stayed in the upstairs flat.

And right up to her death, she continued to nurture the stars of the future. The legacy of the “backstage matriarch” will continue to shape the screens, stages and stadiums of Britain.