Penelope Keith

Dame Penelope Keith DBE,DL
Keith in 2017
Born	Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield (1940-04-02)2 April 1940 Sutton,Surrey,England
Occupation(s)	Actress and presenter
Years active	1959–present
Spouse	Rodney Timson ​ (m.1978)​
Children	2

Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith,DBE,DL(néeHatfield;born 2 April 1940) is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in theBritish sitcomsThe Good LifeandTo the Manor Born.She succeededLord Olivieras president of the Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989, and was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire(DBE) in the2014 New Year Honoursfor services to the arts and to charity.

Keith joined theRoyal Shakespeare Companyin 1963, and went on to win the 1976Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performancefor the playDonkeys' Years.She became a household name in the UK playingMargo Leadbetterin the sitcomThe Good Life(1975–78), winning the 1977BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance.

In 1978, Keith won theBAFTA TV Award for Best ActressforThe Norman Conquests.She then starred as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in the sitcomTo the Manor Born(1979–81), a show that received audiences of more than 20 million. She went on to star in another six sitcoms, includingExecutive Stress(1986–88),No Job for a Lady(1990–92) andNext of Kin(1995–97). Since 2000, she has worked mainly in the theatre, with her roles including Madam Arcati inBlithe Spirit(2004) and Lady Bracknell inThe Importance of Being Earnest(2007).

Early life

Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield was born inSuttonin 1940.Her father, an army officer who was a Major by the end of theSecond World War,left her mother Connie when Keith was a baby, and she spent her early years inClacton-on-Sea,EssexandClapham,south London. Her great uncle, John Gurney Nutting, was a partner in thecoachbuildingfirm ofJ Gurney Nutting & Co Limited,and Keith recalls sitting in thePrince of Wales's car.

Although not a Roman Catholic, at the age of six she was sent to a Catholicconventboarding school,run by French nuns, inSeaford,East Sussex,withJudy Cornwell.Here she became interested in acting,and she frequently went to matinées in the West End with her mother. When she was eight years old, her mother remarried and she adopted her stepfather's surname, Keith. While she did not get on with her stepfather, her mother was a "rock of love" to her. She was rejected by theCentral School of Speech and Drama,on the grounds that, at 5'10 "(1.78 m), she was too tall. However, she was then accepted at theWebber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Artand spent two years there while working at the Hyde Park Hotel in the evenings.

Keith began her career working inrepertory theatrearound Britain, includingLincoln,Manchester,andSalisbury.Keith's earliest appearances were inThe Tunnel of Love,Gigi,andFlowering Cherry.In 1963, she joined theRoyal Shakespeare Companyand acted with them inStratfordand at theAldwych Theatrein London.

Career

Early career

Keith began her television career in programmes such asThe Army Game,Dixon of Dock Green,Wild, Wild WomenandThe Avengers.In the early 1970s, she appeared inThe Morecambe & Wise Show,Ghost StoryandThe Pallisers.Her film appearances during this time includedEvery Home Should Have One,Take A Girl Like You,RentadickandPenny Gold.In 1967, she had a minor role inCarry On Doctor,but the scene was cut from the final edit.She appeared as a nurse inA Touch of Love1969.

Her best known theatre appearance, in 1974, was playing Sarah inThe Norman Conquests,alongsideFelicity Kendal,her co-star inThe Good Life.Keith and Kendal would often filmThe Good Lifeduring the day and perform on stage in the West End in the evening.

Television fame

Keith achieved popular fame in 1975 when theBBCsitcomThe Good Lifebegan. In the first episode, she was only heard and not seen in her role as Margo Leadbetter, but as the episodes and series went on, the scope of her role increased. In 1977, Keith won aBAFTAaward for "Best Light Entertainment Performance" for her role of Margo Leadbetter.

From 1979 to 1981, she played the lead role of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in the TV seriesTo the Manor Born.FollowingTo the Manor Born,Keith has appeared in the lead role in six other sitcoms:Sweet Sixteen,Moving,Executive Stress,No Job for a Lady,Law and DisorderandNext of Kin.She also had the starring role in a TV adaptation ofAgatha Christie's playSpider's Web.She won a second BAFTA award as "Best Actress"in 1978 forThe Norman Conquests.

In 1982, Keith starred in a TV production of Frederick Lonsdale'sOn Approval.In 1988, she hosted one series of theITVpanel showWhat's My Line?,following the death of its former presenter,Eamonn Andrews.She had a featured role in the 1998 ITV serialComing Home.

Work

Keith has regularly appeared on stage, taking the classics and new plays across the UK. These include Shakespeare, Shaw, Sheridan, Wilde, Rattigan and Congreve. She played Lorraine inNoël Coward'sStar Quality,while in 2004 she played Madame Arcati in Coward'sBlithe Spiritat theSavoy Theatre.In 2004, Keith starred in the first of ten full-cast BBC radio dramatisations ofM.C. Beaton'sAgatha Raisinnovels, playing the title role. Two years later, she appeared at theChichester Festivalin the premiere ofRichard Everett's comedyEntertaining Angels,which she later took on tour.

In 2007, she played the part of Lady Bracknell inThe Importance of Being Earneston tour, which transferred to the West End in 2008, at theVaudeville Theatre.She has voiced adverts including ones forPimm's,Lurpak,Tescoand most famously,The Parker Pen Company,which was named one of the 100 Greatest Adverts in aChannel 4programme. In 2012, she starred in Keith Waterstone'sGood Grief,having previously appeared in the play's premier production in 1998.

In 1997, she starred in the radio adaptations ofTo the Manor Born.In 2003, she appeared oppositeJune Brownin the television filmMargery and Gladys.In 2007, she starred in a one-offTo the Manor BornChristmas Special, Keith also voiced The Bear with Brown Fuzzy Hair inTeletubbies.

In 2009 she presentedPenelope Keith and the Fast Lady,a one-off documentary forBBC FouraboutDorothy Levitt,theEdwardianmotoring pioneer. She presented the four-part BBC documentaryThe Manor Rebornin 2011.

Since 2014, she has presented all three series of theMore4/Channel 4programmePenelope Keith's Hidden Villagesand in June 2016 she presentedPenelope Keith at Her Majesty's Serviceagain for Channel 4.In December 2017, she presentedPenelope Keith's Coastal Villages,a continuation of theHidden Villagesseries.

In early 2018, she presented theChannel 4seriesVillage of the Year with Penelope Keith.It was announced in February 2018 that Keith would be starring as Mrs St Maugham in theChichester Festival Theatreproduction ofEnid Bagnold'sThe Chalk Gardenfrom 25 May to 16 June 2018.

Personal life

In 1978, the yearThe Good Lifeended, she married Rodney Timson, a policeman. They had met while he was on duty atChichester Theatrewhere Keith was performing.In 1988, ten years after their wedding, theyadoptedtwo boys, who were brothers.Keith and Timson now live inMilford, Surrey.Keith has a great passion for gardening. In 1984, she had a rose named after her.She is president of theSouth West Surreychapter of theNational Trust.

In 2014, she presented4 Extra Goes Gardeningin which she celebrated the work of garden designerGertrude Jekyllat her former home, Munstead Wood inGodalming.It is occasionally repeated onBBC Radio 4 Extra.Keith was President of the Actors' Benevolent Fund from 1990 to 2022,taking over after the death ofLaurence Olivier.She was a Trustee ofBrooklands Museumfrom 2009 to 2018.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Carry On Doctor	Plain Nurse	scenes cut
1968	Secret Ceremony	Hotel Assistant	uncredited
1969	A Touch of Love	Nurse	uncredited
1970	Every Home Should Have One	Lotte
1970	Take a Girl Like You	Tory Lady
1972	Rentadick	Reporter
1973	Penny Gold	Miss Hartridge
1974	Ghost Story	Rennie
1976	Seven Nights in Japan	Mrs. Hollander (voice)
1978	The Hound of the Baskervilles	Massage Receptionist
1981	Priest of Love	Dorothy Brett
1992	Beauty and the Beast	Madame Bonbec	voice
1992	Aladdin	Madam Dim Sum	voice

Awards and honours

On 2 April 2002, her 62nd birthday, Keith began a one-year term asHigh Sheriff of Surrey,the third woman to hold the post. She has also served in the past as aDeputy LieutenantofSurrey.

Keith was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in the 1989 New Year Honours.She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2007 New Year Honoursfor "charitable services".In the2014 New Year Honours,she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to the Arts and to Charity.

Year	Award	Work	Result
1976	Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play	Donkey's Years	Nominated
	Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance		Won
1977	BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress	Private Lives	Nominated
	BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance	The Good Life	Won
1978	BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress	The Norman Conquests/Saving it for Albie	Won
	BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance	The Good Life/The Morecambe & Wise Show	Nominated
1980	BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance	To the Manor Born	Nominated

External links

• Penelope KeithatIMDb