Josephine Tewson

Josephine Ann Tewson (26 February 1931 – 18 August 2022) was an English actress, known for her roles in British television sitcoms and comedies. She portrayed Edna Hawkins ("Mrs H") on Shelley (1979–1982), Jane Travers in Clarence (1988), and Miss Lucinda Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine (2003–2010). She portrayed the frequently put-upon neighbour Elizabeth "Liz" Warden in Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995). Tewson's professional career lasted more than 65 years, from 1952 until her retirement in 2019.

Infobox

Born

Josephine Ann Tewson(1931-02-26)26 February 1931Hampstead, London, England

Died

18 August 2022(2022-08-18) (aged 91)Northwood, London, England

Occupation

Actress

Years active

1952–2019

Spouses

mw- Leonard Rossiter (m. 1958; div. 1961) Henry Newman (m. 1972; died 1980)

Tables

· Filmography › Film

1972

The Troublesome Double

Role(s)

Mrs Wentworth

1977

The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It

Role(s)

Miss Hoskins

1978

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Role(s)

Nun

1984

Gabrielle and the Doodleman

Role(s)

Mrs Briggs/Fairy Godmother

1989

Wilt

Role(s)

Miss Leuchars

2000

The Mumbo Jumbo

Role(s)

Miss Hodges

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	The Troublesome Double	Mrs Wentworth
1977	The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It	Miss Hoskins
1978	The Hound of the Baskervilles	Nun
1984	Gabrielle and the Doodleman	Mrs Briggs/Fairy Godmother
1989	Wilt	Miss Leuchars
2000	The Mumbo Jumbo	Miss Hodges

· Filmography › Television

1959

Preview

Role(s)

Joan Garnett

Notes

Episode: "Marriage Bureau"

Charlesworth

Role(s)

Mrs. Furse

Notes

Episode: "Long Hot Spell"

1963

ITV Play of the Week

Role(s)

Barmaid

Notes

Episode: "Double Stakes"

No Hiding Place

Role(s)

Mavis Peters

Notes

Episode: "Four Faces of Clare"

First Night

Role(s)

Mrs Tullet

Notes

Episode: "The Initiation"

1963-1968

Role(s)

Z-Cars

Notes

Various

1964

No Hiding Place

Role(s)

June Merrall

Notes

Episode: "The Things Money Can Buy"

1965

The Sullavan Brothers

Role(s)

WPC

Notes

Episode: "The Outsider"

Emergency Ward 10

Role(s)

Mrs. Close

Notes

5 episodes

1966

Sergeant Cork

Role(s)

Martha St. Clair

Notes

Episode: "The Case of the Devil's Daughter"

1967

Emergency Ward 10

Role(s)

Dr. Saunders

Notes

Episode: "Devil Doll"

Mrs Thursday

Role(s)

Dulcie Ainsworth

Notes

Episode: "The Old School Tie Up"

1968

The Charlie Drake Show

Role(s)

Various

Notes

6 episodes

Frost on Sunday

Role(s)

Various

Notes

14 episodes

1969

The Champions

Role(s)

Hotel switchboard operator

Notes

Episode: "The Night People"

1969–1970

Role(s)

Hark at Barker

Notes

Mildred Bates

1969–1979

Role(s)

The Dick Emery Show

Notes

Various

1970

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

Role(s)

Gladys

Notes

Episode: "Suffer Little Children"

1971

Six Dates with Barker

Role(s)

Travers

Notes

Episode: "1937: The Removals Person"

Copper's End

Role(s)

WPS Penny Pringle

Notes

13 episodes

1971–1981

Role(s)

The Two Ronnies

Notes

Various

1972

His Lordship Entertains

Role(s)

Mildred Bates

Notes

All 7 episodes

1973

Comedy Playhouse

Role(s)

Lady Cynthia

Notes

Episode: "Elementary My Dear Watson"

Whoops Baghdad!

Role(s)

Fatima

Notes

Episode: "The Wazir Takes a Wife"

It's Tarbuck

Role(s)

Various

Notes

6 episodes

Son of the Bride

Role(s)

Miss McDowdie

Notes

All 6 episodes

Casanova '73

Role(s)

Mrs Kershaw

Notes

Episode: #1.3

Tell Tarby

Role(s)

Various

Notes

6 episodes

1974

Thriller

Role(s)

Yvonne

Notes

Episode: "A Coffin for the Bride "

1975

Tarbuck and All That!

Role(s)

Various

Notes

5 episodes

Wodehouse Playhouse

Role(s)

Mabel Potts

Notes

Episode: "Rodney Fails to Qualify"

Dawson's Weekly

Role(s)

Cleoberry

Notes

Episode: "Stage-Struck"

Larry Grayson

Role(s)

Various

Notes

2 episodes

1976

Happy Ever After

Role(s)

Mrs Robins

Notes

Episode: "Mistaken Identikit"

Lucky Feller

Role(s)

Shirley

Notes

Episode: "Where There's Life There's Soap"

1977

Whodunnit?

Role(s)

Miss Frisby

Notes

Episode: "No Happy Returns"

No Appointment Necessary

Role(s)

Penelope Marshall

Notes

All 7 episodes

Odd Man Out

Role(s)

Dorothy Sutcliffe

1979

Rings on Their Fingers

Role(s)

Mrs Harris

Notes

Episode: "Home Market"

1979–1984

Role(s)

Shelley

Notes

Edna Hawkins

1983-1985

Role(s)

Terry and June

Notes

Brenda/Mrs. Robins

1983

Tears Before Bedtime

Role(s)

Beatrice

Notes

Episode: "Show Me the Way to Leave Home"

1985

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Role(s)

Various

Notes

TV film

1987

Rude Health

Role(s)

Mrs Thorpe

Notes

8 episodes

1988

Clarence

Role(s)

Jane Travers

Notes

All 6 episodes

1990–1995

Role(s)

Keeping Up Appearances

Notes

Elizabeth "Liz" Warden

1994

Coronation Street

Role(s)

Peggy Phillips

Notes

2 episodes

1999

Sunburn

Role(s)

Louise Montague

Notes

Episode: #1.1

2000

Midsomer Murders

Role(s)

Samantha Johnstone

Notes

Episode: "Judgement Day"

2002

Heartbeat

Role(s)

Mrs Morris

Notes

Episode: "Closing the Book"

2003–2010

Role(s)

Last of the Summer Wine

Notes

Miss Lucinda Davenport

2006

Holby City

Role(s)

Mabel Phillips

Notes

Episode: "Looking After Number One"

2009-2015

Role(s)

Doctors

Notes

Various

2012

Lewis

Role(s)

Hazel O'Brien

Notes

Episode: "The Indelible Stain"

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Preview	Joan Garnett	Episode: "Marriage Bureau"
1959	Charlesworth	Mrs. Furse	Episode: "Long Hot Spell"
1963	ITV Play of the Week	Barmaid	Episode: "Double Stakes"
	No Hiding Place	Mavis Peters	Episode: "Four Faces of Clare"
	First Night	Mrs Tullet	Episode: "The Initiation"
1963-1968	Z-Cars	Various	3 episodes
1964	No Hiding Place	June Merrall	Episode: "The Things Money Can Buy"
1965	The Sullavan Brothers	WPC	Episode: "The Outsider"
1965	Emergency Ward 10	Mrs. Close	5 episodes
1966	Sergeant Cork	Martha St. Clair	Episode: "The Case of the Devil's Daughter"
1967	Emergency Ward 10	Dr. Saunders	Episode: "Devil Doll"
1967	Mrs Thursday	Dulcie Ainsworth	Episode: "The Old School Tie Up"
1968	The Charlie Drake Show	Various	6 episodes
1968	Frost on Sunday	Various	14 episodes
1969	The Champions	Hotel switchboard operator	Episode: "The Night People"
1969–1970	Hark at Barker	Mildred Bates	All 15 episodes
1969–1979	The Dick Emery Show	Various	15 episodes
1970	ITV Saturday Night Theatre	Gladys	Episode: "Suffer Little Children"
1971	Six Dates with Barker	Travers	Episode: "1937: The Removals Person"
1971	Copper's End	WPS Penny Pringle	13 episodes
1971–1981	The Two Ronnies	Various	5 episodes
1972	His Lordship Entertains	Mildred Bates	All 7 episodes
1973	Comedy Playhouse	Lady Cynthia	Episode: "Elementary My Dear Watson"
	Whoops Baghdad!	Fatima	Episode: "The Wazir Takes a Wife"
	It's Tarbuck	Various	6 episodes
	Son of the Bride	Miss McDowdie	All 6 episodes
	Casanova '73	Mrs Kershaw	Episode:
	Tell Tarby	Various	6 episodes
1974	Thriller	Yvonne	Episode: "A Coffin for the Bride "
1975	Tarbuck and All That!	Various	5 episodes
	Wodehouse Playhouse	Mabel Potts	Episode: "Rodney Fails to Qualify"
	Dawson's Weekly	Cleoberry	Episode: "Stage-Struck"
	Larry Grayson	Various	2 episodes
1976	Happy Ever After	Mrs Robins	Episode: "Mistaken Identikit"
1976	Lucky Feller	Shirley	Episode: "Where There's Life There's Soap"
1977	Whodunnit?	Miss Frisby	Episode: "No Happy Returns"
	No Appointment Necessary	Penelope Marshall	All 7 episodes
	Odd Man Out	Dorothy Sutcliffe	All 7 episodes
1979	Rings on Their Fingers	Mrs Harris	Episode: "Home Market"
1979–1984	Shelley	Edna Hawkins	23 episodes
1983-1985	Terry and June	Brenda/Mrs. Robins	2 episodes
1983	Tears Before Bedtime	Beatrice	Episode: "Show Me the Way to Leave Home"
1985	The Caucasian Chalk Circle	Various	TV film
1987	Rude Health	Mrs Thorpe	8 episodes
1988	Clarence	Jane Travers	All 6 episodes
1990–1995	Keeping Up Appearances	Elizabeth "Liz" Warden	43 episodes
1994	Coronation Street	Peggy Phillips	2 episodes
1999	Sunburn	Louise Montague	Episode:
2000	Midsomer Murders	Samantha Johnstone	Episode: "Judgement Day"

· Filmography › Theatre roles

1957

Year

1957

Production

Free as Air

Role

Ivy Crush

Venue

Savoy Theatre, West End

1961

Year

1961

Production

Androcles and the Lion

Role

Megaera

Venue

Mermaid Theatre, London

1964

Year

1964

Production

Coriolanus

Venue

Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham

1966

Year

1966

Production

The Ballad of False Barman

Venue

Hampstead Theatre, London

1968

Year

1968

Production

The Real Inspector Hound

Role

Mrs. Drudge

Venue

Vaudeville Theatre, West End

1972

Year

1972

Production

A Cuckoo in the Nest

Venue

Thorndike Theatre

1976

Year

1976

Production

Absurd Person Singular

Venue

Wimbledon Theatre, London

1985

Year

1985

Production

Noises Off

Role

Dotty Otley

Venue

Savoy Theatre, West End

1986–87

Year

1986–87

Production

Woman in Mind

Role

Muriel

Venue

Vaudeville Theatre, West End

Year

Production

Moscow Shadows

Role

Natasha

Venue

New End Theatre, Hampstead

See How They Run

Year

See How They Run

Production

Miss Skillon

Role

Watermill Theatre, Newbury

1989

Year

1989

Production

Last of the Red Hot Lovers

Role

Jeanette Fisher

Venue

Strand Theatre, West End

1994

Year

1994

Production

Arsenic and Old Lace

Role

Abby Brewster

Venue

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and tour

1995

Year

1995

Production

The Killing of Sister George

Role

Mercy Croft

Venue

Ambassadors Theatre, West End

Year

Production

The Importance of Being Earnest

Role

Lady Bracknell

Venue

Horseshoe Theatre, Basingstoke

Talking Heads: A Lady of Letters

Year

Talking Heads: A Lady of Letters

Role

Swan Theatre, Worcester

1998

Year

1998

Production

Romeo and Juliet

Role

Nurse

Venue

Salisbury Playhouse, Wiltshire and tour

2002

Year

2002

Production

A Woman of No Importance

Role

Lady Hunstanton

Venue

No. 1 Tour

2004

Year

2004

Production

The Importance of Being Earnest

Role

Miss Prism

2008

Year

2008

Production

Salonika

Role

Charlotte

Venue

West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds

2009

Year

2009

Production

Separate Tables

Role

Lady Matheson

Venue

Chichester Festival Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Venue
1957	Free as Air	Ivy Crush	Savoy Theatre, West End
1961	Androcles and the Lion	Megaera	Mermaid Theatre, London
1964	Coriolanus		Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham
1966	The Ballad of False Barman		Hampstead Theatre, London
1968	The Real Inspector Hound	Mrs. Drudge	Vaudeville Theatre, West End
1972	A Cuckoo in the Nest		Thorndike Theatre
1976	Absurd Person Singular		Wimbledon Theatre, London
1985	Noises Off	Dotty Otley	Savoy Theatre, West End
1986–87	Woman in Mind	Muriel	Vaudeville Theatre, West End
?	Moscow Shadows	Natasha	New End Theatre, Hampstead
?	See How They Run	Miss Skillon	Watermill Theatre, Newbury
1989	Last of the Red Hot Lovers	Jeanette Fisher	Strand Theatre, West End
1994	Arsenic and Old Lace	Abby Brewster	Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and tour
1995	The Killing of Sister George	Mercy Croft	Ambassadors Theatre, West End
?	The Importance of Being Earnest	Lady Bracknell	Horseshoe Theatre, Basingstoke
?	Talking Heads: A Lady of Letters		Swan Theatre, Worcester
1998	Romeo and Juliet	Nurse	Salisbury Playhouse, Wiltshire and tour
2002	A Woman of No Importance	Lady Hunstanton	No. 1 Tour
2004	The Importance of Being Earnest	Miss Prism	No. 1 Tour
2008	Salonika	Charlotte	West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
2009	Separate Tables	Lady Matheson	Chichester Festival Theatre

· Filmography › Radio

1994

Uncle Dynamite

Role(s)

Lady Bostock

2009

Leaves in Autumn

Role(s)

Iris

Notes

Wireless Theatre Company

Year	Title	Role	Company
1971, 1973	The Secret Life of Kenneth Williams	Maisie	BBC Radio
Early 1970s	Mostly Monkhouse	Various
July 1981	It Sticks Out Half a Mile	Miss Baines
1994	Uncle Dynamite	Lady Bostock
2009	Leaves in Autumn	Iris	Wireless Theatre Company

References

Hertfordshire Mercury
https://web.archive.org/web/20120818135152/http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Whats-On-Leisure/Stage-and-Comedy/Josephine-Tewson-in-one-woman-show-at-Hertford-Theatre-23072012.htm
FreeBMD
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=41qvA9%2FNf6MTg2Pl1lD7kg&scan=1
South Wales Echo
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/%3a+An+actress+of+great+importance%3b+Josephine+Tewson+has+starred...-a086338813
Derby Telegraph
https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224945/http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Keeping-appearances-player-signed-Rams/story-11596030-detail/story.html
New Straits Times
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19880925&id=2a1UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2478,2432896
"Student and Graduate Profiles: Josephine Tewson" Archived 20 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. rada.ac.uk. Retrieved
https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles?aos=acting&yr=1952&fn=josephine&sn=tewson
British Comedy Guide
https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/news/6980/josephine-tewson-rip/
The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/roy-clarke-john-challis-london-itv-british-b2148703.html
"Josephine Tewson dead: Keeping Up Appearances star dies aged 91"
https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/19/josephine-tewson-dead-keeping-up-appearances-star-dies-aged-91-17213494/
Sky News
https://news.sky.com/story/josephine-tewson-last-of-the-summer-wine-and-keeping-up-appearances-actress-dies-aged-91-12676734
TVGuide.com
https://www.tvguide.com/movies/gabrielle-and-the-doodleman/cast/2000031220/
Shaw, Karen. "Tonight Josephine", Northern Life. Last modified 27 September 2012. Accessed 28 March 2013. Archived 30 No
http://www.northernlifemagazine.co.uk/article.aspx?aid=373
Evening Standard
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/royal-academy-of-dramatic-art-london-itv-british-born-b1019795.html
"The Wireless Theatre Company"
https://web.archive.org/web/20091128025115/http://www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/index.php/component/jotloader?Itemid=15&cid=2&id=94
Northern Life
https://northernlifemagazine.co.uk/josephine-tewson
"Josephine Tewson: 8 Fascinating Things About The British Actress!"
https://www.dailyhawker.co.uk/josephine-tewson-8-fascinating-things-about-the-british-actress/
Roberts, Jo (11 March 2015)."Josephine Tewson of TV's Keeping Up Appearances launches one-woman show" Archived 13 Februa
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/whats-on/news/keeping-up-a-solo-appearance-33233/
"Josephine Tewson – Still Keeping Up Appearances"
https://m.ticketline.co.uk/josephine-tewson-still-keeping-up-appearances-tickets?platform=mobile#bio
The Daily Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8188742/Leonard-Rossiter-Character-Driven-review.html
"Josephine Tewson ex-husband: Who is Henry Newman?"
https://nsemwokrom.com/josephine-tewson-ex-husband-who-is-henry-newman/
BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-62605184
ITV News
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-08-19/keeping-up-appearances-star-josephine-tewson-dies-aged-91-agent-confirms
British Comedy Guide
https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/josephine_tewson/
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fgenome%2Fentries%2Fc22e6cce-4877-4f32-8b38-a9d8eb3490ba