Penelope Keith
Birth name	Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield
Born	2 April 1940 (1940-04-02) (age 67) Sutton, Surrey, England

Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL (born Penelope Hatfield on 2 April 1940) is an English actress who is best known for her roles in The Good Life and To the Manor Born, and has also had a long career on stage. If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... View of Sutton town centre, as seen from the top of the Gibson Road car park. ... This article is about the English county. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The Deputy Lieutenant is the deputy to the Lord Lieutenant of a county. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the English as an ethnic group and nation. ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... The good life is an ambiguous term for the life that one would like to live. ... To the Manor Born was a popular and high-rating British sitcom starring Penelope Keith that aired for three series from 1979 to 1981. ...

Early life

Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield was born in Sutton, Surrey in 1940. ^[1] Her father, who was a Major by the end of the war, left her mother Connie when she was a baby, and she spent her early years in Clacton-on-Sea and Clapham. At the age of six she was sent to a Catholic boarding school in Seaford, Sussex, and it was here she first became interested in acting ^[1], and she and mother would frequently go to matinees in the West End. When she was eight years old, her mother remarried and Penelope adopted her stepfather's surname of Keith. While she didn't get on with her stepfather, her mother was a "rock of love" to her. ^[2] Keith was rejected from the Central School of Speech and Drama, on the grounds that, at 5'10", she was too tall. ^[3] However, she was then accepted at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and spent two years there while working at the Hyde Park Hotel in the evening. ^[4] View of Sutton town centre, as seen from the top of the Gibson Road car park. ... This article is about the English county. ... Major is a military rank the use of which varies according to country. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Town - Clacton-on-Sea Location - Essex, England Founded - 1871 Population (1991) - 45,065 Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring Peninsula, in Essex, England. ... Clapham is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South London. ... A boarding school is a usually fee-charging school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. ... , Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, England, on the south coast, east of Newhaven, Brighton and west of Eastbourne. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, England, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland. Along with New Yorks Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre... The Central School of Speech and Drama is a United Kingdom government funded higher education college in London. ... The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London was a drama school in the UK which offers comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a professional career. ...

Like many aspiring actors and actresses of the time, she started her career in working in rep across the UK, including Lincoln, Manchester and Salisbury. Keith's earliest appearances were in The Tunnel of Love, Gigi and Flowering Cherry. In 1963, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company both in Stratford and at the Aldwych Theatre in London. Repertory or rep, called stock in the U.S., is a term from Western theatre. ... Lincoln (pronounced //) is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England. ... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... For other uses, see Salisbury (disambiguation). ... The Tunnel of Love is a 1958 romantic comedy based on the Broadway hit by Peter De Vries and Joseph Fields. ... Gigi is a 1945 novel by the French sentimental romance writer Colette about a wealthy cultured man of fashion who discovers that he is in love with a young Parisian girl who is being groomed for a career as a grande cocotte, and eventually marries her. ... Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a British theatre company. ... Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon is a town in Warwickshire, England. ... Aldwych Theatre in April 2007 The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. ...

Early career

Keith started her television career in programmes such as The Army Game, Dixon of Dock Green, Wild, Wild Women and The Avengers. In the early 1970s, she appeared in The Morecambe & Wise Show, Ghost Story and The Pallisers. Her film appearances during this time included Every Home Should Have One, Take A Girl Like You, Rentadick and Penny Gold. In 1967, she had a minor role in Carry On Doctor, but the scene appears to have been cut from the final edit. ^[5] The Army Game was a British television series about life in National Service broadcast between 1957 and 1961 by Granada Television . ... Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series, which ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. ... Wild, Wild Women was a short-lived black-and-white British sitcom starring Barbara Windsor that lasted for only one series. ... The Avengers is a British 1960s television series featuring secret agents in a fantasy 1960s Britain. ... Morecambe and Wise Morecambe and Wise were a famous British comic double act comprising Eric Morecambe OBE and Ernie Wise OBE. The act lasted four decades until Morecambes retirement, shortly before his death in 1984. ... The Palliser series comprises six novels by Anthony Trollope. ... Novel written in 1960 by Kingsley Amis. ... Carry On Doctor is the fifteenth Carry on film // Plot Summery Francis Bigger, preacher and healer, ends up in hospital in this chaotic Carry-on medical movie. ...

Her best known theatre appearance, in 1974, was playing Sarah in The Norman Conquests, opposite her The Good Life co-star Richard Briers. Keith would often film The Good Life during the day and perform on stage in the West End in the evening ^[6]. In 1978, the year The Good Life ended, she married Rodney Timson, a former policeman. They had met while he was on duty at a theatre where Keith was performing. ^[6] Timson, who is eight years her junior, had been married twice before. ^[6] They adopted two children, who were brothers, in 1988. ^[1] The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. ... Richard Briers, CBE (born on January 14, 1934) is a popular English actor whose career encompasses the theatre, television, film and radio. ... For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). ...

Television fame

Penelope Keith became a household name in 1975 when the BBC sitcom The Good Life began. 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 she got a bigger role. In 1977, Keith won a BAFTA award for 'Best Comedy Performer' for her role of Margo Leadbetter. Following the success of The Good Life, each of the four main stars were given their own programme, and from 1979 to 1981 she played Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born. Both characters shared similar characteristics, both being generally likeable, upper-class ladies. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... A British sitcom is a situation comedy (sitcom) produced in the United Kingdom. ... The good life is an ambiguous term for the life that one would like to live. ... The good life is an ambiguous term for the life that one would like to live. ... The British Academy Television Awards, also known as the BAFTAs or, to differentiate them from the BAFTA Film Awards, the BAFTA Television Awards, are the most prestigious awards given in the British television industry, analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States. ... To the Manor Born was a popular and high-rating British sitcom starring Penelope Keith that aired for three series from 1979 to 1981. ...

Following To the Manor Born, Keith has appeared in six other sitcoms as the main lead: Sweet Sixteen, Moving, Executive Stress, No Job for a Lady, Law and Disorder and Next of Kin. However, none matched the success of The Good Life or To the Manor Born. She has also had roles in The Norman Conquests and The Spider's Web. Keith won a second BAFTA award as 'Best Actress' in 1978 for The Norman Conquests. Sweet Sixteen is a short-lived British sitcom starring Penelope Keith that aired in 1983. ... Moving is a short-lived British sitcom starring Penelope Keith that aired in 1985. ... Executive Stress was a British sitcom starring Penelope Keith that aired from 1986 to 1988. ... No Job for a Lady was a British television sitcom, broadcast in three series between 1990 and 1992. ... Law and Disorder is a short-lived British sitcom starring Penelope Keith that aired in 1994. ... Next of Kin was a British sitcom that aired from 1995 to 1997. ... The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. ... The Spiders Web (1938) is a Columbia movie serial based on the pulp magazine character The Spider. ...

Recent years

In recent years, Keith has regularly appeared on stage across the country, including a role in Noel Coward's Star Quality and in 2004 she played Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit at the Savoy Theatre. In 2006, she appeared at the Chichester Festival in the premiere of Richard Everett’s comedy Entertaining Angels, which she later took on tour. She has also done voice work, and has voiced many adverts including ones for Pimm's, Lurpak, Tesco and most famously, The Parker Pen Company, which was named one of the 100 Greatest Adverts in a Channel 4 programme. In 1997, she provided the voice of the narrator for Teletubbies, and also starred in the radio adaptations of To the Manor Born. In 2003, she appeared opposite June Brown in the TV drama Margery and Gladys. Noël Peirce Coward (December 16, 1899 – March 26, 1973) was an Academy Award winning English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... The term star quality has numerous references: star quality (attribute) - the attribute of a leading star, such as a movie star, with synonyms: allure, allurement, animal magnetism, appeal, attraction, charisma, dazzle, fascination, flash, glamour, it, got it, magnetism, pizzazz, something, witchcraft, witchery. ... Blithe Spirit (1941) is a comic play written by Noel Coward. ... Savoy Theatre London, December 2003 The Savoy Theatre, which opened on 10 October 1881, was built by Richard DOyly Carte (1844 - 1901) on the site of the old Savoy Palace in London as a showcase for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy Operas... Chichester Festival Theatre is one of the UKs flagship theatres with an international reputation for creating magical live performances. ... A vintage Pimms Bottle Pimms is a brand of alcoholic beverages now owned by Diageo. ... Arla Foods UK plc (LSE: ARU) is a major British dairy products company. ... For other uses, see Tesco (disambiguation). ... a Parker Frontier Ball-point Pen The Parker Pen Company is a manufacturer of pens, founded in 1891 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin. ... This article is about the British television station. ... Teletubbies is a BBC childrens television series, particularly aimed at young children, produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. ... To the Manor Born was a popular and high-rating British sitcom starring Penelope Keith that aired for three series from 1979 to 1981. ... June Brown (born 16 February 1927) is an English actress and director, best known as Dot Branning in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. ...

Keith and her husband Rodney Timson live in Milford, Surrey, and she has a great passion for gardening. ^[3] In 1984, she had a rose named after her. ^[7] Penelope Keith has been President of the Actors' Benevolent Fund since 1990, taking over after the death of Lord Olivier, and is president of the South West Surrey National Trust.^[8] On 2 April 2002, she began a one-year term as High Sheriff of Surrey, being only the third woman to hold the post. She was made an OBE in 1989 and was upgraded to a CBE in the 2007 New Year Honours for "charitable services". ^[1] Keith is also a Deputy Lord Lieutenant. ^[9] Milford is a large village, sited south west of Godalming in Surrey, England. ... This article is about the English county. ... For other uses, see Rose (disambiguation). ... Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, (IPA: ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and four-time Emmy winning English actor, director, and producer. ... This article is about the English county. ... The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is a British preservation organization. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The New Year Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 30 December 2006, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2007. ... The Deputy Lieutenant is the deputy to the Lord Lieutenant of a county. ...

References

For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Daily Express (disambiguation). ... The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is a British preservation organization. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ...

External links

• Penelope Keith at the Internet Movie Database
• BBC News Article on Appointment as High Sheriff
• BBC Breakfast Interview Article