Josephine Tewson
Josephine Tewson | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouse(s) | Leonard Rossiter (1959–1961) (divorced) Henry Newman (1972-present) |
Josephine Tewson (born 26 February 1939) is an accomplished English actress. Tewson is perhaps best known for her roles as Elizabeth in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances and as Miss Davenport in the British television series Last of the Summer Wine.
Early life
Tewson was born in Hampstead, London. Her father was a professional musician. After grammar school, Tewson studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She was briefly married to actor Leonard Rossiter and in 1961 divorced. She was a cousin to actor John Inman of Are You Being Served? fame.
Early career
A regular comedy performer in sketches featuring Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker on Frost on Sunday and Hark at Barker in 1970, she later appeared in Mostly Monkhouse, a BBC Radio Comedy programme with David Jason supporting Bob Monkhouse. She also appeared on the Charlie Drake show, Z Cars and Emergency Ward 10 in the 1960s. Tewson played Edna Hawkins (usually referred to as Mrs H by Shelley) in the first six series of the British sitcom Shelley. In 1988, she played Jane Travers in the sitcom Clarence, which was written by Ronnie Barker and was his last starring television role before his retirement.
Recent work
More recently, she has appeared semi-regularly as Miss Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine (written by Roy Clarke, who also wrote Keeping Up Appearances). She has also appeared in two episodes of the documentary series Comedy Connections, talking about her work in Keeping Up Appearances (2004) and opposite The Two Ronnies (2005). In 2009, she played the role of Iris in the radio drama, Leaves in Autumn written by Susan Casanove and produced by the Wireless Theatre Company.
Other television appearances were in an episode of Heartbeat in 2002 called "Closing The Book", which was part of the eleventh series. She also featured as a competition judge in 'Judgement Day', an episode in the mystery drama Midsomer Murders.
Theatre
| Theatre | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Play | Role | Notes |
| 1957 | Free as Air | Ivy Crush | Savoy Theatre |
| 1961 | Androcles and the Lion | Megaera | Mermaid Theatre |
| 1968 | The Real Inspector Hound | Mrs Drudge | Criterion Theatre |
| 1986-1987 | Woman in Mind (December Bee) | Muriel | Vaudeville Theatre |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Frost on Sunday | various |
| 1969 | Hark at Barker | Mildred Bates |
| 1971 | Copper's End | WPS Penny Pringle |
| 1972 | His Lordship Entertains | Mildred Bates |
| 1974 | Thriller | Yvonne |
| 1977 | Odd Man Out | Dorothy |
| 1978 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | Nun |
| 1979 to 1984 | Shelley | Edna Hawkins |
| 1985 | Terry and June | Mrs Robins |
| 1988 | Clarence | Jane Travers |
| 1990 to 1995 | Keeping Up Appearances | Elizabeth Warden |
| 2000 | Midsomer Murders | Samantha Johnstone |
| 2002 | Heartbeat | Mrs Morris |
| 2003 to 2010 | Last of the Summer Wine | Miss (Lucinda) Davenport |
| 2009 | Doctors | Mrs Winston, a kleptomaniac |
Commercials
Tewson played a nanny in 30-second commercial for Nabisco Fruit Newtons (first aired in 1997/U.S.)
External links
Jospehine Tewson in radio play Leaves In Autumn